US-born Scottish winger Rufus McLean played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the Houston SaberCats for his entire MLR career.

Boston-born Rufus McLean played rugby while at Merchiston Castle School and also played with Watsonian FC in the Scottish Super 6 competition. He entered the Glasgow Warriors system and earned his URC debut at the age of 20 in the 2020/21 season. McLean has represented Scotland at U18 & U20 levels, and scored a pair of tries on his test debut for Scotland against Tonga in October 2021. He continued to represented the Glasgow Warriors until early 2023, when his contract was terminated after McLean was convicted of abusing his girlfriend over a period of two years. He was issued a 10-year non-harassment order and sentenced to 120 hours of community service.

In January 2024, the American Raptors announced the signing of Rufus McLean for the 2024 Super Rugby Americas season, where he was named the Raptors’ Player of the Year. Following the news that the Raptors would not play Pro rugby in 2025, McLean signed with the Houston SaberCats on January 23rd, 2025 for the 2025 season. McLean scored 4 tries and started all 15 of his appearanced for the SaberCats in 2025, gaining 673m in possession to help Houston qualify for the postseason for the 4th season in a row with a 10-6 record, where they earned the first playoff victories in team history. McLean started all of Houston’s playoff games in 2025 as they defeated Rugby FC LA and the Utah Warriors to claim the Western Conference Title, before falling to the New England Free Jacks in the 2025 Championship game in Rhode Island. McLean was an All-MLR Honorable Mention for his 2025 season.

Having been born in Boston, rufus McLean was controversially included in the USA Eagles squad for their July tests. He became US-eligible on July 16th, 2025 and earned his test debut as Eagle #595 on July 19th in a 5-40 defeat against England in Washington DC.

achievements

• 2025 All-MLR Honorable Mention
• 2025 Western Conference Champion – Houston SaberCats

NARDB Player #1,381