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.

Asa Carter

Oklahoma back row Asa Carter played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2024. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2022), the Dallas Jackals (2022), and the Houston SaberCats (2023-2024).

A Tulsa native, Carter played with Arkansas State University and declared for the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in teh 2nd Round, 20th Overall by the Austin Gilgronis. Carter spent the fall of 2021 with the Austin Gilgronis’ academy side, the Austin Outlaws, earning a full MLR contract for the 2022 season. He earned 2 caps for the AGs before being traded to the Dallas Jackals along with Campbell Robinson, 2022 Cap Considerations (unknown) and Austin’s 2nd Rd pick in 2022 (20th overall, used to select Matias Caramuti). The Jackals had experienced an off-the-field incident and had suddenly found themselves with a large number of injuries, so needed to bring in replacements. Carter earned a further 6 caps for the Jackals, 5 of which were starts.

In late March 2023, a few weeks into that year’s MLR season, the Houston SaberCats announce the signing of Carter for the remainder of the 2023 season. He earned 5 caps for the ‘Cats, joining an elite club of MLR players who have represented all 3 Texas teams in MLR. On 21st December 2023, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Asa Carter for the 2024 MLR season. Although he made no additional starts in 2024, Carter earned a career high 9 appearances and took his career tackles over 100 for the SaberCats that year. He did not feature in MLR in 2025, and is instead playing with the Austin Blacks in Texas.

AChievements

Ronan Murphy

California native Ronan Murphy played in Major League Rugby during the 2022 season, and again between 2024-2026. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2022), the Houston SaberCats (2024-2025), and the California Legion (2026).

A former USA U20 player and Rudy Scholz Award nominee, Murphy joined the Austin Gilgronis organisation after playing at Trinity College in Dublin. He earned 3 MLR caps (all starts) with the AGs in 2022 before the team was disqualified from the 2022 MLR season and ceased operations shortly after the season’s conclusion. Murphy signed with the American Raptors crossover team during their Fall season, and toured with the USA Falcons to Uruguay. He stayed with the Raptors for their inaugural season in Super Rugby Americas in 2023, earning a number of SRA Team of the Week selections.

On 5th October 2023, the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of Ronan Murphy for the 2024 MLR season, where he appeared in all 17 SaberCats games, starting 15 of them and scoring 6 tries, as well as gaining over 400m in possession and finishing T-8th in MLR Tackling, with 172 completed. The SaberCats finished as the top MLR team during the regular season with a record of 14-2, but were stunned by the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinal, falling 22-34 to their Texas rivals. On November 15th, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Ronan Murphy for their 2025 campaign where he scored a 7th MLR try and started 2 of his 6 games in an injury-affected season, helping the Houston SaberCats to a 14-2 regular season record, and finishing the year as a MLR Runner-up with the ‘Cats.

With the surprise withdrawal of the Houston SaberCats from MLR during the 2025/26 off-season, Murphy returned to his native California to sign with the California Legion ahead of their inaugural season in 2026. The team announced the addition of Ronan Murphy on 9th February, 2026.

Achievements:

  • 2025 MLR Runner-Up: Houston SaberCats
  • T-8th in MLR Tackling: 2024 (172)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 1

Payton Telea-Ilalio

California native Payton Telea-Ilalio played in Major League Rugby during the 2022 season, and again between 2024-2026. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2022), the San Diego Legion (2024-2025), and Anthem RC (2026).

While playing with St. Mary’s College, the American prop won the Rudy Scholtz award during the 2019/20 season, recognising the best collegiate rugby player in the US. He was signed by the Austin Gilgronis in April 2022 for the remainder of that year’s MLR season, and earned 5 appearances (2 starts), scoring 2 tries. Following Austin’s disqualification and subsequent cessation of operations following the 2022 season, Telea signed with the American Raptors for their inaugural season in Super Rugby Americas in 2023.

Telea-Ilalio earned 12 appearances (8 starts) and scored 2 tries for the Raptors in the predominantly South American competition. Following his season with the Raptors, a then-25yo Payton Telea-Ilalio returned to MLR and signed with the San Diego Legion ahead of the 2024 season. This signing was announced by the Legion on 3rd November 2023. Telea scored 1 try in 14 games (10 starts) for San Diego in 2024 as the Legion qualified for the playoffs with a 11-5 record, where he earned a MLR Team of the Week selection for his performance in Round 10. He started their Western Conference Semifinal clash with the Seattle Seawolves, as they fell 30-28 to their MLR rivals.

Following the 2024 MLR season, Telea was included in the USA Eagles squad for their 2024 PNC campaign, and earned his debut as Eagle #580 off the bench in the PNC 3rd place playoff, as the USA fell 18-13 to Samoa in a tight game in Japan. On 1st November 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Payton Telea-Ilalio for the 2025 MLR season. He earned a career high 13 starts for the Legion in 2025, scoring 1 try and recording 133 tackles to more than double his career total. Telea-Ilalio earned 3 MLR Team of the Week nominations in 2025 despite a disappointing season for the San Diego Legion as a whole, who missed out on the postseason by a single point. Following the Legion merging with Rugby FC LA in the 2025 offseason to create the California Legion, Telea-Ilalio tested the market as a free agent and on 15th November 2025, Anthem RC announced his signing for their 2026 season.

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 9
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 10

Luke Beauchamp

Australian Flanker Luke Beauchamp played in Major League Rugby from 2019-2023, representing the Houston SaberCats (2019-2021), Austin Gilgronis (2022) and Chicago Hounds (2023). He captained the SaberCats for most of the 2021 season, and was named Vice-Captain of the Chicago Hounds ahead of their inaugural 2023 season.

A former Australia u19 player, Beauchamp earned 32 MLR caps in his 3 seasons with the SaberCats, before moving to Texas rivals Austin for what would turn out to be the Gilgronis’ last season in MLR, as they were disqualified along with LA prior to the 2022 Championship Series. Beauchamp was selected by expansion side Chicago in the subsequent dispersal draft, and signed there for the Hounds’ inaugural MLR season in 2023.

On 14th July, 2023, Beauchamp announed the end of his professional playing career. He earned 49 MLR caps in his 5 seasons in the competition.

Chris Mattina

New York native Chris Mattina played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2024. He represented Rugby United New York (2019-2021), the Austin Gilgronis (2022), the Chicago Hounds (2023), and the San Diego Legion (2024).

Mattina played under Mike Tolkin (later the USA Eagles head coach and now runs the Premier Rugby 7s) at Xavier High School in NY between 2008-2011. Following high school, Mattina attended the University of Delaware between 2011-2016, captaining the team for 3 years, and was the team president in his final year. He played with NYAC in 2017 as the team advanced to the USA Rugby Division 1 Club XVs National Championship, losing to the Austin Huns, and he also delved into the world of Sevens, touring South America with the USA Falcons and playing in the Punta Del Este Sevens, in Uruguay and the Viña Del Mar Sevens in Chile. He continued his sevens career the following year, making 24 appearances in eight HSBC World Sevens Series Tournaments for the USA after debuting at the Sydney Sevens. He was signed with the San Diego Legion during 2018, but his Sevens commitments took priority. Mattina earned his test debut for the USA in August 2023 against Romania as Eagle #564. He was declared the Player of the Tournament during the La Vila Cup in November 2023.

Mattina signed with his hometown team, Rugby United New York, for their inaugural MLR season in 2019, scoring the first try in club history in the season opener. He earned 12 appearanced (all starts) during his debut season in MLR, scoring 41pts total (18/26 from the tee). Mattina played with New York for 3 seasons, earning 26 caps for the Ironworkers (21 starts), scoring 3 tries and 62pts total (23/36 from the tee). He moved to the Austin Gilgronis for the 2022 season, earning 12 caps with the AGs (7 starts) and scoring 2 tries, 17pts during the regular season. Prior to the 2022 Championship Series, the Austin Gilgronis were disqualified from the season (along with the LA Giltinis) for alleged salary cap violations, and folded shortly after. Mattina was selected by the Chicago Hounds in the subsequent Expansion/Dispersal draft, and represented them during their inaugural season in 2023. He appeared in all 16 games for the Hounds in the regular season (15 starts), scoring another try and 41pts total (15/19 from the tee), including a last minute kick to secure one of the Hounds’ 3 wins. His performance in the 2023 season earned him a place in the USA Eagles squad for their 2023 RWC qualifying campaign, where he earned his test debut and 4 additional caps that year.

Through his first 5 seasons in MLR, Mattina earned 54 caps in the competition, including 43 starts. He scored 6 tries and 120pts total (41/58 – 70.89% from the tee), and earned 5 Team of the Week Selections. On 28th December 2023, the San Diego Legion announced that they had signed Chris Mattina for the 2024 MLR season, where he added two further appearances off the bench. On November 23rd, 2024, Chris Mattina announced his retirement on Instagram after 6 seasons in MLR. He is heavily involved with the United States Rugby Players Association (USRPA) and the Major League Rugby Players Association (MLRPA) so he will still be around the game and the league, but off the field.

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Round 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 7

JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez

Argentinian winger JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez Widmer played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025. He represented the NOLA Gold between 2020-2021, the Austin Gilgronis in 2022, and the Chicago Hounds between 2023-2025.

NOLA Gold announced the signing of JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez in December of 2019 ahead of the 2020 MLR season. The former Los Pumas Sevens man joined from the Jaguares XV club playing in the Currie Cup First Division. DomĂ­nguez started all 5 games of the 2020 season, scoring 2 tries before the season was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. He added 9 tries in 14 appearances (all starts) for the Gold in the 2021 season, gaining a PB 972m in possession and earning a selection in the All-MLR First XV that season. On 28th September 2021, the NOLA Gold traded JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez to the Austin Gilgronis in exchange for 2022 Salary Cap Considerations (unknown) and Austin’s 1st Rd Draft Pick in 2022 (used to select Chase Jones).

DomĂ­nguez scored 6 tries in 12 regular season games (all starts) for the Gilgronis as they finished as the #1 seed in the Western Conference before being disqualified by MLR for alleged breaches related to the salary cap. The Austin Gilgronis would cease operations shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 season, along with the LA Giltinis. In the subsequent dispersal draft, the Chicago Hounds selected JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez in the 3rd Rd (27th Overall) and the ferocious runner would represent the Hounds during their inaugural MLR season in 2023. He added 6 more tries to his total in 13 regular season games (all starts) for the Hounds in 2023 including a hattrick in their Rd 17 victory over the Utah Warriors, the very first hattrick in Hounds history.

To date, DomĂ­nguez has scored 31 tries in his 55 MLR caps (53 starts) across 5 seasons, including a high of 9 in 2021 when he finished T-5th League-wide. On 21st October 2023, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez for the 2024 MLR season, where he scored 8 tries in 11 games (9 starts) as the Hounds finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference and qualify for the MLR Playoffs for the first time in their history, where they defeated Dominguez’s former team the NOLA Gold en route to the Eastern Conference Final, where they fell to the eventual champions, the New England Free Jacks. Dominguez earned his 3rd All-MLR selection in 2024, as he was named to the Second XV. On January 9th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of JuliĂ¡n DomĂ­nguez for a third season with the team in 2025, his 6th in Major league Rugby

Achievements:

  • 2024 All-MLR Second XV
  • T-9th in MLR Try Scoring: 2024 (8)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 17
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 12
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 17
  • Hattrick: 2023 – Round 17 (Chicago Hounds – 1st in club history)
  • 2022 All-MLR Second XV
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 9
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 1
  • T-5th in MLR Try Scoring: 2021 (9)
  • 7th in MLR Meters Gained: 2021 (972m)
  • 2021 All-MLR First XV
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 14
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 7
  • 5th in League Meters Gained: 2020 (380)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 3

Faka’osi Pifeleti

California-born front row Faka’osi Pifeleti played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the San Diego Legion (2018-2021, 2023-2024) the Austin Gilgronis (2022), and the Chicago Hounds (2025-2026).

Of Tongan heritage, Pifeleti moved to England at an early age. He played with the Saracens Storm with younger brother Kapeli Pifeleti, and they played together for the Legion in 2019 before Kapeli returned to Saracens in the English Premiership. Faka’osi spent his first 4 season in MLR with the San Diego Legion, earning 39 caps (26 starts) between 2018-2021 and scoring 4 tries. He was one of only two players in all 18 games for the Legion during their 2019 campaign (with Paddy Ryan), in which they advanced to the Championship Final, falling 23-26 to the Seattle Seawolves on the last play of the game. Following the 2021 season, Pifeleti earned his test debut for the United States in October, against the All Blacks.

Pifeleti signed with the Austin Gilgronis ahead of the 2022 season, earning 13 caps (7 starts) for the AGs during the regular season. Despite finishing at the top of the Western Conference, the Gilgronis were disqualified from the 2022 season (along with the LA Giltinis) prior to the Championship Series due to alleged salary Cap violations, and folded shortly afterwards. Pifeleti returned to the Legion for the 2023 season, earning another 15 appearances as they again advanced to the Championship Final, this time falling 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks in Chicago. Through the 2023 season, Pifeleti had earned 67 caps in Major League Rugby (46 starts), 54 of them with the Legion, and scored 8 tries total. Despite an impressive career in MLR, Pifeleti only earned his first Team of the Week selection in 2023

On 27th December 2023, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Faka’osi Pifeleti for the 2024 MLR season, where he added 5 further appearances (3 starts) during an injury-affected season. On 1st November 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the signing of Faka’osi Pifeleti for the 2025 MLR season. It is unclear if the Hounds acquired Pifeleti via a trade, or if he signed as a free agent. Pifeleti earned a career high 15 starts in 2025, starting all of his appearances for the Hounds and recording his first 100+ tackle season with 110, taking his career total over 500. On 17th December 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Faka’osi Pifeleti for his 2nd season with the Hounds, and 9th in Major League Rugby

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
  • 2023 MLR Runner-Up: San Diego Legion
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 15
  • 17th Player in MLR history to reach 50 caps (May 21, 2022)
  • 2019 MLR Runner-Up: San Diego Legion