League: Major League Rugby
Founded in 2017 with it’s inaugural season played in 2018, Major League Rugby (MLR) is the highest level of professional rugby in North America.
Mikey Sosene-Feagai
US-born, Samoan raised hooker Michaelangelo ‘Mikey’ Sosene-Feagai played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2021, and again in 2025. He represented Old Glory DC (2020-2021), and Rugby FC LA (2025).
Born in Los Angeles, Sosene-Feagai was raised in Apia, Samoa and Auckland, New Zealand. He played rugby through his time at Sacred Heart College and while attended the University of Waikato. He played with the Hawke’s Bay development squad in 2014 & 2015, earning his ITM Cup debut (now the Bunnings NPC) for the Magpies against Canterbury in 2015. The following year he return to the country of his birth, signing with the San Diego Breakers in the short-lived PRO Rugby competition for 2016, the spiritual predecessor to MLR. After returning to New Zealand and playing with the Ardmore Marist and Auckland Marist, Sosene-Feagai joined the Auckland Mitre 10 Cup team (now also the Bunnings NPC), defeating Canterbury in the final to claim the 2018 title. He continued to play with Auckland until signing with Old Glory DC ahead of their inaugural MLR season in 2020.
Internationally, Mikey Sosene-Feagai earned his test debut for his birth country against Canada in February 2016, becoming USA Eagle #471. He has over 10 caps with the US national team and has been consistently selected to the Eagles squad in recent years.
Sosene-Feagai’s first stint in MLR didn’t get off to a great start. His debut season was cancelled just 5 rounds in due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after he had started both of his appearances for Old Glory DC. He returned to the Flags the following season and scored 2 tries in 13 games (all starts), racking up over 500m gained and completing over 100 tackles. Following 2 seasons with DC, Sosene-Feagai headed to France after signing with Top 14 side Toulon in a high-profile move for a USA international. He played with Toulon between 2021-2022 before joining Agen in the Pro D2.
On December 30th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Mikey Sosene-Feagai for the 2025 MLR season joining from Agen. He’s returning to the state of his birth and to MLR for the first time since 2021.
achievements
- MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 7
Apisai Naikatini
Fijian veteran Api Naikatini has played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2023. He represented the Seattle Seawolves in 2019, before joining Old Glory DC for their inaugural season. He has played with DC for 4 seasons.
Internationally capped with Fiji, Naikatini earned 16 caps with the Seattle Seawolves in 2019 en route to their 2nd MLR Championship, before moving to DC ahead of the 2020 season, where he has earned an additional 32 caps with the Flags to bring his MLR total to 48 caps in the competition by the end of the 2023 season.
The 38yo forward (at the conclusion of the 2023 season) has also scored 2 tries in the competition, 1 for each of the MLR teams he has represented. On 19th July 2023, White Plains RFC announced Naikatini in a ‘player spotlight’, suggesting he will be spending the off-season playing with the American Rugby Premiership side. It is not known if Naikatini will appear in the MLR for the 2024 season.
Achievements:
- MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Week 17
- 2019 MLR Champion – Seattle Seawolves
- MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Championship Final
- MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Week 3
Mike Dabulas
New Jersey native Mike ‘Chicken’ Dabulas played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2024. He represented Old Glory DC from their inaugural season in 2020 through to 2024.
Dabulas scored one of 2 tries for Old Glory DC in their first ever MLR game, receiving a crossfield kick from Dylan Taikato-Simpson in one of his 4 caps during Old Glory DC’s first season in Major League Rugby. Depite injury affecting his 2022 and 2023 seasons, Dabulas has earned 28 MLR caps (19 starts) for Old Glory DC, scoring 8 tries and 48pts total, including a personal best of 3 tries and 21pts in 2022. Dabulas earned his full USA Eagles debut in October 2021 against the All Blacks at FedEx Field, MD.
Achievements:
- MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 9
- MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Round 10
Will Vakalahi
Indiana native Will Vakalahi played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025. He represented Old Glory DC (2020-2022), the Houston SaberCats (2023-2024), and the Chicago Hounds (2025).
Vakalahi played rugby throughout his time at Penn High School, playing Number 8 and helping the side to a 3rd place finish in Boys High School Rugby Nationals, also claiming a state championship. He was named a U17 All-American and was nominated for the best high school player in the country. Following high school he attended Davenport University where he was named to the Top Freshman D1A Team and was selected to the USA U20s camp. He featured for Old Glory DC during their exhibition season in a game against Shannon Rugby Club, before joining the USA U20s for a two-game series against Canada in the World Rugby Trophy qualifier.
Vakalahi signed with Old Glory DC ahead of their inaugural MLR season in 2020, appearing in all 5 games and starting 2 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He sustained an injury in the 2021 pre-season that sidelined him for the entire year, before earning 6 more appearances for the Flags upon his return in 2022. Following the 2022 season, Vakalahi played with the Houston SaberCats academy side, Rugby HTX, during the 2022 American Rugby Premiership season. After his performances with Rugby HTX, Vakalahi signed with the Houston SaberCats for the 2023 MLR season, earning 3 appearances while also playing for Rugby HTX once again and beginning the transition from prop to hooker. Vakalahi didn’t feature for an MLR side in 2024, but spent the year playing with the Chicago Hounds academy. On December 26th, 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced that they had signed Will Vakalahi to an MLR contract for the 2025 season.