EnglandEnglish back row Ed Timpson played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025) and the California Legion (2026).
Timpson attended the University of Nottingham in England, playing in the British Universities league, BUCS, until his graduation in 2023, playing alongside fellow RFCLA player Ben Sugars. Following his graduation, Timpson headed down under to Sydney, joining the Northern Suburbs in the Shute Shield. Returning to England following a year in Australia, Timpson signed a short-term contract with the Bristol Bears until early 2025, representing the Bears in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
On December 18th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Ed Timpson for their 2025 MLR season. He scored an impressive 7 tries in 15 games (13 starts) during his debut MLR season, completing 164 tackles as Rugby FC LA finished 3rd in the West and qualified for the postseason for the first time in their history. They fell 27-21 in a hard fought Western Conference Semifinal to the Houston SaberCats, a game in which Timpson played the full 80 minutes. For his efforts, he was named as Rugby FC LA’s 2025 Forward of the Year in their end of season awards. Following the merger of RFCLA with San Diego to form the California Legion, Ed Timpson remained in California, signing with the new iteration of the Legion for the 2026 season. This was announced by the team on 30th January, 2026.
Timpson was a jack of all trades during his second season in MLR. He appeared in 9 of the Legion’s 10 regular season games, starting 8 of them and scoring a pair of tries as well as recording a try assist to help California finish in 3rd and qualify for the postseason. Timpson started both playoff games for the Legion, and scored a try in the 2026 Championship Game, where the Legion fell to the dominant Chicago Hounds and finished as runners-up in their first season post-merger. Timpson finished the 2026 season with a pair of Team of the Week selections and more metres gained than any other forward in MLR, squeaking into the Top 10 with 516m in total. His fearsome running was proven by the fact that he beat 62 defenders, the highest in MLR in 2026. On defence, Timpson completed an impressive 125 tackles in total, averaging 11.4 tackles per game. Following the MLR season, Timpson headed back to the UK and on 24th July 2026, CHAMP rugby side Ampthill announced his signing for their 2026/27 campaign.
achievements
- MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5
- MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4
- Rugby FC LA 2025 Forward of the Year
- MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 7
- MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4
NARDB Player #1,353