Irish scrum-half John Poland played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2024. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Poland previously represented Ireland u19s & u20s, and played with Cork Constitution in D1A of the All-Ireland League between 2015-2017, helping them to an All-Ireland title in the 2016/17 season. He has 1 cap for Munster that came during the 2017/18 Pro 14 season, where he spent most of the season playing with University College Cork in D1B of the All-Ireland League, winning the title that year.

Poland signed with the Free Jacks in October 2019 and has been a stalwart of the Free Jacks since joining, scoring 18 tries in his MLR career to date and was their most capped player through the 2024 season. He was the first Free Jack with 50+ caps in MLR. When the 2020 MLR season was cancelled after only 5 rounds, Poland was sat T-2nd for tries scored, with 4.

On 15th June 2023, Manawatu announced that they had signed Poland for the 2023 Bunnings NPC season. The NPC season does not interfere with MLR, so many players jump between the leagues allowing them to play professionally year-round and sure enough, Poland returned for the 2024 MLR season. He started 3 games before suffering a season-ending pectoral injury early in the 2024 season that sidelined him for the entire year, missing out on much of the Free Jacks’ 2024 Shield winning season. He acted as Assistant Coach to the New England Independents (the Free Jacks’ academy side) that year, joining them on tour to Ireland in May.

On October 16th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of John Poland for their 2025 MLR campaign.

achievements

• 2024 MLR Champion: New England Free Jacks
• 2023 MLR Champion: New England Free Jacks
• T-2nd in League Try Scoring: 2020 (4)