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.

Paula Balekana

Fijian winger Paula Balekana has played in Major League Rugby since 2021. He represented the Houston SaberCats in his debut season in the competition in 2021, and the New England Free Jacks from 2022-2026.

Balekana appeared in all 16 of the SaberCats’ games in 2021, scoring 6 tries and gaining 1,232m in possession, finishing 2nd in MLR in this category, behind Utah’s Mikey Te’o. This remains Balekana’s personal best in this category, although he came close in 2023.

After moving over to the Free Jacks, his potential as a lethal try scorer was truly discovered. He scored an additional 6 tries in the 2022 MLR season before exploding with 14 tries in the 2023 regular season, tying him for Top Try Scorer in MLR with Utah’s Joe Mano. He gained over 1000m in the 2023 season and was one of the stand out offensive threats league-wide. He currently sits on 31 tries scored all-time in MLR, the 4th highest try scorer in MLR history.

Balekana became an MLR Champion as part of the NE Free Jacks squad that lifted the Shield in 2023. Balekana scored his 15th MLR try of the 2023 season in the Championship Final, having appeared in 17 games (16 starts) and racked up 1,134m gained. He was the only non-kicker to appear in the Top 10 Points Scorer list in 2023, finishing 9th with 75pts from his 15 tries and finished as the Top Try Scorer of the 2023 season.

Balekana was named on Hawke’s Bay’s roster for their 2023 NPC season, which marked the Fijian’s first season in the NPC, but returned to the Free Jacks for the 2024 Title Defense, scoring 4 tries in 12 games (all starts) as the Free Jacks qualified for the playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and a 11-5 record. Balekana started all 3 playoff games for New England in 2024 as they defeated Old Glory DC and the Chicago Hounds to earn a spot in the MLR Championship Game and the chance to lift back-to-back Shields. With a 11-20 victory, Balekana and the Free Jacks became 2-time MLR Champions and, also for a second season in a row, Balekana was named to the All-MLR Honorable Mention XV.

On November 21st, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Paula Balekana alongside Cole Keith, Ethan Fryer, and Conor Keys. He recorded his first career MLR hat trick in a 43-6 victory over the Miami Sharks in Round 8 of the 2025 season, marking the 50th hat trick in MLR history. In Round 15, Balekana recorded his 10th try of the 2025 season, becoming just the 4th player in league history to record multiple 10+ try seasons following his MLR-record 15 try season in 2023. Balekana finished the 2025 regular season with 12 tries, before adding 3 in the postseason including a brace in the MLR Championship as the New England Free Jacks completed the Threepeat and lifted their (and Balekana’s) 3rd MLR Shield in as many seasons. He finished 2025 with 15 tries in 14 games, equaling his own MLR record from 2023. He also racked up 921m gained, finishing 5th League-wide that year and taking his career Meters Gained over 5,000m. Balekana was unsurprisingly included in the All-MLR First XV for 2025 after his stand-out performance. He then followed Free Jacks head Coach Ryan Martin to New Zealand, spending the offseason with Northland in the Bunnings NPC.

Due in part to MLR’s move towards fewer foreign players in matchday 23s, Paula Balekana found himself without a contract at the start of the 2026 MLR season. However, on 29th April 2026 MLR’s Availability Report listed him on the New England Free Jacks, suggesting that the defending champs had added him to their squad for the remainder of the season.

Achievements

2025 All-MLR First XV Selection
2025 MLR Champion – New England Free Jacks
5th in MLR Meters Gained: 2025 (921m)
MLR Player of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 12
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 10
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 8
2024 MLR Champion – New England Free Jacks
2024 All-MLR Honorable Mention XV
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 10
2023 MLR Champion – New England Free Jacks
2023 All-MLR Honorable Mention XV
1st in MLR Try Scoring: 2023 (15)
9th in MLR Scoring: 2023 (75pts)
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 11
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 10
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 5
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 4
2nd in MLR Meters Gained: 2021 (1,232m)

Van Stewart

Tim Stanfill

Thomas Morani

Florida born, Argentina raised centre Thomas Morani played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2023. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2020), Old Glory DC (2021), and the San Diego Legion (2021-2023).

Morani attended the University of Buenos Aires between 2016-2022, playing with the Club University of Buenas Aires (CUBA) in the URBA Top 13 competition when not in MLR. He signed with the Houston SaberCats ahead of the 2020 season, earning 2 starts for the ‘Cats before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season after only 5 rounds. When the league returned for the 2021 season, Morani had signed with Old Glory DC and started 3 games for the Flags before moving to the San Diego Legion, scoring 2 tries in 7 games (all starts) for the California club for the rest of the 2021 season. Morani played with the Legion through the 2023 season, earning 23 MLR caps with the Legion (19 starts), scoring 7 tries total. He earned 4 appearances (1 start) during the Legion’s historic 15-1 regular season in 2023, where the Legion advanced all the way to the Championship Final before falling 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks in Chicago.

On 11th January 2024, Thomas Morani was included on the American Raptors roster for the 2024 Super Rugby Americas season.

achievements

MLR Runner-Up: 2023 (San Diego Legion)
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 5
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 4
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Round 13

Matías Freyre

US-born Argentinian Matías Freyre played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2024. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2020-2021), the San Diego Legion (2022-2023), and the Miami Sharks (2024).

Freyre was born in Kansas City, MO and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He played for Club Newman in Argentina’s URBA Top 13 competition between 2015-2019, and represented Los Pumas in the HSBC World Sevens Series twice in 2018. He joined the Houston SaberCats for the 2020 MLR season, earning 4 starts in the ‘Cats first 5 games before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season early. He returned for Houston in 2021, starting all 5 of his appearances and scoring 2 tries before suffering an injury that cut his season short once more. Freyre moved to the west coast for the 2022 season, signing with the San Diego Legion where he had a break out year. He earned 15 caps for the Legion, starting 12 times and scoring 6 tries and 38pts total (3/6 from the tee). He returned for the Legion for their record-breaking 2023 season and earned a further 4 caps (3 starts) in limited game time as the Legion advanced to the Championship Final, where they fell 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks in Chicago.

On 27th December 2023, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Matías Freyre for their inaugural season in 2024. The strong Argentinian influence likely contributing to Freyre’s decision to sign. Freyre earned 8 appearances (6 starts) in his debut season with the Sharks, gaining over 400m with ball in hand as Miami held their own and threw together some competitive results and impressive victories despite missing out on the post-season. Freyre was named to the MLR Team of the Week for his performance in Round 17.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 17
MLR Runner-Up: 2023 (San Diego Legion)
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 6
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 1
MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 1

Tim Cadwallader

Tiaan Loots

South African centre Tiaan Loots played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2026. He represented the Houston SaberCats(2020), the San Diego Legion (2021-2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

Loots’ original move to MLR was announced in August 2019, when the Houston SaberCats announced his signing from the Newport Gwent Dragons (now just Dragons RFC) in the Pro14 (now URC) competition. Loots appeared in (and started) 4 of the 5 SaberCats games in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, finishing 6th in Meters Gained at the point the season was cancelled.

The San Diego Legion announced the signing of Loots in April 2021 for the remainder of that year’s season, which had started a few weeks prior. He earned 8 caps (all starts) and scored 3 tries in his first season with the Legion and has represented them in every season since, amassing 27 caps with them (31 total) and scoring 7 tries (8 total), 4 of which came in 5 games (3 starts) during the Legion’s record breaking 2023 season where they went all the way to the Championship Final before falling 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks in Chicago. Loots earned a personal best of 3 Team of the Week selections in 5 games in 2023.

On 10th October 2023, the Legion announced the return of Tiaan Loots along with 3 other members of their 2023 roster for the 2024 MLR season. Loots scored a career high 6 tries in 10 games (9 starts) in 2024 and gained over 800m in possession. The Legion qualified 3rd in the West but fell to rivals the Seattle Seawolves in the Western Conference Semifinal. Loots was named to the All-MLR Second XV for his performance in 2024. Loots returned for his 5th season with the Legion in 2025, starting 4 his 11 appearances to take him over 50 in his career. Loots scored 13 tries in 48 games for the San Diego Legion between 2021-2025, but following their merger with Rugby FC LA to create the California Legion, Loots headed northeast. The Chicago Hounds announced the addition of Tiaan Loots for his 7th season in MLR in 2026.