New Zealand winger Michael Manson played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season, representing the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

Manson was a Top 3 sprinter in New Zealand at u18 level, recording a time of 10.8 seconds for the 100m. His signing was announced by the Utah Warriors on 24th October 2023, joining from the Southland Stags in NZ’s NPC competition, whom he represented since 2022 having previously played with Otago.

His debut season in North America was hampered by a short suspension and injury, but he still had a huge effect on the field for the Utah Warriors. He was the first MLR player of the 2024 season to pass the 1,000m gained milestone which he achieved in only 8 games, and scored 4 tries in Utah’s high-scoring 50-46 victory over the Dallas Jackals, becoming just the 4th player in MLR history to score 4+ tries in a game. Manson finished his debut MLR season as MLR’s Top Try Scorer (14) and Top Meter Eater (1,491m) during the regular season, and finished as Joint-top Try Scorer and 3rd in Metres Gained (just 1m behind Seattle’s Divan Rossouw…) despite only playing 12 games. For his outstanding performance in 2024, he was named as the Utah Warriors Back of the Year and was selected for the All-MLR First XV.

On 26th June 2024, the Southland Stags announced that Manson would return for their 2024 NPC campaign following the conclusion of the MLR season.

achievements:

• 2024 All-MLR First XV
• T-1st in MLR Try Scoring: 2024 (14)
• 3rd in MLR Meters Gained: 2024 (1,491m)
• 2024 Utah Warriors Back of the Year
• 4+ Try Game: 2024 – RD 17 (4)
• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 17
• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 16
• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 8
• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6