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.

Kyle Breytenbach

South African born lock Kyle Breytenbach played in Major League Rugby from 2018-2022, and again in 2024. He represented the Austin Elite/Gilgronis from 2018-2019 and again from 2021-2022, the Houston SaberCats (2020), and the Dallas Jackals (2024).

Born and raised in South Africa, Breytenbach moved to Austin, Texas in 2016 and played with the Austin Huns until professional rugby arrived in the Lone Star State in 2018. He played with his adopted hometown team the Austin Elite for 2 seasons, earning 23 caps (18 starts) for Austin before moving to Houston to play with the SaberCats for the 2020 season. Breytenbach started all 5 games of the 2020 season before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was signed to the SaberCats for the 2021 season but returned to Austin when his wife became pregnant.

Breytenbach spent another two seasons playing with Austin (now the Gilgronis) between 2021-2022, earning another 15 caps (8 starts) and scoring 2 tries in his 2nd stint with the AGs. In total, he earned 38 caps with Austin, starting 26 times and scoring 2 tries. During his second stint in Austin he also represented the USA Selects XV in Uruguay. With 1 match to go in the 2022 regular season, and with the Austin Gilgronis sitting top of the Western Conference, MLR announced that the team had been disqualified from the post-season for alleged breaches of the salary cap. The team would fold in the 2022 off season and as of 2024, pro rugby has yet to return to Austin.

Breytenbach still sits as the 3rd most capped Austin player of all time, and has 43 MLR caps in total with his time in Houston added in. He sat out the 2023 MLR season but was signed by the Dallas Jackals on 13th May 2024 (the signing deadline) for the remainder of the 2024 season, in place of Jackals Captain Sam Golla who missed a large chunk of the season due to injury. By signing for Dallas, Breytenbach enters an exclusive club of MLR players who have represented all 3 Texas clubs in MLR.

Victor Comptat

Victor Comptat, an American-born lock of French origin, was a real journeyman of Major League Rugby. He played in the competition from 2018-2022, representing 4 teams in that time: Austin (2018), Houston (2019-2020), San Diego (2021), and Seattle (2021-2022). In 2021, Comptat was traded mid-season from San Diego to Seattle, so appeared for both sides that season.

In total, Comptat earned 36 caps in MLR, starting 21 times. His only try in the competition came for the Seattle Seawolves in 2021.

On June 26th, 2022 it was announced that Comptat had signed for Nationale 2 side, US Seynoise, in the 4th tier of French Rugby.

MLR Honours:

2020 Team of the Week – Round 1
2021 Team of the Week – Round 18
2022 MLR Runner-up – Seattle Seawolves

Ben Mitchell

English born, Irish raised lock Ben Mitchell played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2024. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2018-2019), the San Diego Legion (2020-2022) Seattle Seawolves (2023) and Rugby FC LA (2024).

Born in Nottingham, Mitchell moved to Ireland with his family when he was 6, and began playing youth rugby with Youghal RFC in Cork. He played centre and fullback through high school and was selected to the Munster School’s team in 2011, before attending UC Cork in 2012 and playing with UCC RFC where he was moved from the backs into the second row. Mitchell initially played with the U20 side but earned his All-Ireland League debut in 2014 where he played through the 2017/18 season during which time UCC RFC was promoted from Div 2 to Div 1.

Mitchell signed with the Austin Elite in 2017, ahead of MLR’s inaugural season the following year, earned 23 appearances (all starts) for Austin through the first 2 seasons of MLR, scoring 4 tries and completing 289 tackles. He Captained the Elite for his entire time there, and earned All-MLR selections in both seasons. Mitchell moved from Austin to San Diego ahead of the truncated 2020 season, appearing in 4 games (2 starts) as the Legion recorded a 5-0 record before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Mitchell earned 31 appearances for the Legion in total (27 starts) between 2020-2022, scoring 3 tries and becoming the 14th player in league history to earn 50 MLR caps, which he achieved in 2022. Mitchell then headed up the west coast to join the Seawolves in Seattle for the 2023 season, recording another 11 appearances, before returning to California with the newly relocated and rebranded Rugby FC LA, where he earned 2 starts in 2 games during their inaugural MLR season in 2024.

To date, Mitchell is among the highest capped MLR players, with 67 appearances (58 starts) across 7 seasons in Major League Rugby.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 11
14th Player in League History to reach 50 MLR Caps – 2022
2019 All-MLR Second XV Selection
2018 All-MLR First XV Selection

NOLA Gold – Active

A list of current, active NOLA Gold Players complete with their stats on the season.

This list can be used to easily view team leaders in various categories.

Marco Fepulea’i

New Zealand born Samoan Marco Fepulea’i played in Major League Rugby from 2019-2022. He represented the Colorado Raptors from 2019-2020, and the LA Giltinis from 2021-2022, with whome he won the 2021 MLR Championship. In July 2022 he signed with French Pro D2 side, Colomiers Rugby.

MLR Honours:

2021 MLR Champion – LA Giltinis

NARDB Player #11

Sam Windsor

Australian Fly-half/fullback Sam Windsor played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2024. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2018-2021), Rugby New York Ironworkers (2022-2023), and the Seattle Seawolves (2024).

Windsor is a 7 year veteran of Major League Rugby, and a league legend. As of the conclusion of the 2023 MLR season, he is the highest points scored in league history, with 553pts scored. The Australian was the first player in MLR history to earn 50 starts in the competition, and the 3rd player to reach 50 caps in MLR. He was also the first (and as of the conclusion of the 2023 season, only) player in league history to pass 500pts in the competition. Windsor represented the Houston SaberCats for his first 4 seasons in MLR, and remains the club’s all-time leading points scorer (as of the conclusion of the 2023 season). He signed with Rugby New York ahead of the 2022 season, seemingly after the SaberCats either forgot or ignored the fact that his contract had expired. Windsor played with the Ironworkers between 2022-2023, lifting the shield in 2022 after a controversial season.

Windsor has finished as the top scorer in the league on 2 occasions (2018 & 2021) and has scored 100+pts in a season on 3 occasions, and was the first player in MLR history to score over 100pts in a season (103 in 2018). He is one of the few MLR players to have the accolade of scoring 100% of his team’s points in a winning game (Austin Elite 20-21 Houston SaberCats – Round 1 of 2019) and is also one of the few players to have scored a drop goal in an MLR game. He is one of two players to do so in a playoff game (2022 MLR Championship game vs. Seattle Seawolves). Windsor has earned 8 Team of the Week selections through his MLR career, and a All-MLR 1st XV selection for the 2018 season.

In early December 2023, MLR announced that the Rugby New York Ironworkers would not be participating in the 2024 season. Following this news, Sam Windsor signed with the Seattle Seawolves for the 2024 season, the signing was announced by the Seawolves on 13th December 2023. Windsor did not opt in to the Dispersal Draft for NY and Toronto players (The Arrows announced they would not compete in 2024 a week prior to NY), and signed with Seattle as a Free Agent, meaning that his 2024 salary still counted against the Salary Cap. Windsor added 3 tries and 42pts to his total of 595pts in MLR during the 2024 season in 17 appearances (3 starts) as the Seawolves advanced to their 4th MLR final, where Windsor came off the bench for Seattle as they fell 11-20 to the now back-to-back Champions, the New England Free Jacks.

Achievements

2024 MLR Runner-Up: Seattle Seawolves
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 10
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 5
2022 MLR Champion: Rugby New York
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 4
1st in MLR Scoring: 2021 (112pts)
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Round 14
3rd in MLR Scoring: 2019 (160pts)
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 11
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 9
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 1
1st in MLR Scoring: 2018 (103pts)
All-MLR First XV Selection: 2018 (Houston SaberCats)
MLR Team of the Week: 2018 – Round 5
MLR Team of the Week: 2018 – Round 3
MLR Team of the Week: 2018 – Round 2

NARDB Player #10

Matt Trouville

Australian born, USA Eligible Number 8 Matt Trouville represented the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby from 2018-2019. He captained the Cats 15 times, including for the majority of the 2019 season. Trouville is a capped USA Eagle, earning 5 caps prior to MLR’s inception, between 2014 & 2015. During the 2022 MLR season, Trouville was a regular sideline correspondent for Seattle Seawolves home games.

achievements

2018 All-MLR 2nd XV

NARDB Player #9

Chris Coyle

California Native and crossover athlete Chris Coyle represented the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby from 2018-2019. A former Arizona State tight end, Coyle was recruited by the Houston Texans as an undrafted Free Agent, but was dropped due to an injury. Coyle featured in the first game in MLR history, coming off the bench for the SaberCats against NOLA Gold at Dyer Stadium.

NARDB Player #8

Hubert Buydens

Saskatchewan native Hubert Buydens played in Major League Rugby from 2018-2019, representing NOLA Gold. He was a starter for NOLA in MLR’s first ever game in 2018, against the Houston SaberCats. He retired in 2020, ending a stellar career that saw him earning 58 caps for Canada including at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups.

NARDB Player #7

JP Eloff

Jean-Pierre Eloff is a South African born, American fullback/fly-half who has represented NOLA Gold since MLR’s inaugural competition in 2018. He started at centre in Major League Rugby’s first ever game in April 2018, a 26-35 away win for NOLA against the Houston SaberCats. As of the conclusion of the 2022 MLR season, Eloff was NOLA’s all-time top scorer, with 219pts in his 36 MLR Caps. He is one of the few MLR players to have scored a drop-goal in the competition.

Eloff achieved two seasons with over 1,000m gained, including a PB of 1,348m in 2019 when he finished with the 5th highest total in the league.

MLR Honours: