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.

Osea Kolinisau

Fijian Sevens legend Osea Kolinisau played in MLR from 2018-2021. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2018-2020) and Old Glory DC (2021). Kolinisau is the most capped player in Fijian Sevens history, and captained the side to Fiji’s first ever Olympic Gold Medal in 2016.

Kolinisau started all of his 26 MLR Caps, scoring 9 tries and 50pts across his 4 seasons in the competition to go with his 1000+pts for Fiji Sevens in his 250+ appearances. He is one of the few MLR players to have scored a drop goal in the competition and has the honour of having scored the first try in Major league Rugby history, in 2018.

achievements

2018 All-MLR 2nd Team

NARDB Player #5

NOLA Gold

background & History

The New Orleans (NOLA) Gold were founded in 2017 as a founding member of Major League Rugby and they have competed in every season of MLR to date, 2018-2024. NOLA Gold was owned by founder Tim Falcon, the owner of Falcon Law Firm and from 2020, French Top 14 side ASM Clermont Auvergne owned a minority stake of the team. NOLA Gold took part in the first ever MLR game, a 26-35 away victory against the Houston SaberCats.

The NOLA Gold had the unenvious record of having the longest postseason drought in MLR history, not qualifying for the Championship Series until 2024. They missed out by 2pts in 2021, and by just 1pt in 2019, prior to the introduction of the Conference system. For the 2024 season, MLR announced the expansion of the Championship Series from 6 teams to 8, meaning that 66% of the league will qualify for the post-season. Finishing 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-6, the NOLA Gold finally ended their post-season drought and qualified for their first Playoffs in 2024. As the higher seeded team, the Gold hosted the Chicago Hounds (also in their first ever playoff game) in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, where they fell 21-45. With inconsistent performances haunting their 2023 & 2024 seasons. Despite a first post-season qualification and arguably best-ever regular season, NOLA Gold announced that they were parting ways with Head Coach Cory Brown after only 1 season. Ahead of the 2025 season, the Gold announced an influx of French investment and the appointment of Alexandre Maumont as CEO and Denton Hunter as Chief Revenue Officer. NARDB understands that investor Thierry Daupin is involved in the team. Daupin was previously involved in the Austin Elite side, pulling out in 2020 that forced MLR to persuade Adam Gilchrist to take over the Austin franchise, renaming it the Gilgronis.

For the 2025 Campaign, the NOLA Gold hired outgoing Chicago Hounds head Coach Danny Lee to lead an impressive squad. Despite arguably the strongest roster fielded by the Gold on paper, they struggled during the 2025 season. They finished 5th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-12 record that included both a 5-game and 6-game losing streak. The Gold ended with 32pts, 9 back of the Miami Sharks. This left them on the outside of the MLR playoff picture once again.

Despite Maumont’s encouraging End-of-Season Statement regarding the growth of the team, in late July 2025 rumors began to circulate in MLR circles about a number of teams that may be withdrawing from MLR ahead of the 2026 season. On 29th July 2025, MLR Weekly posted on X: ‘It is looking like NOLA Gold will not be in the league in 2026, according to Rugby Wrap Up sources.’ NARDB understands that a players meeting was held on 30th July, 2025, when they were informed that the team would not participate in the 2026 season. The reason given was that the business model was not working. The official announcement came later that day, with all contracts terminated and all players becoming free agents. Later that day, the NOLA Gold posted a statement on their website confirming that they do not intend to participate in the 2026 season. This is a surprise to many, given that the Gold received an influx of new investment from France following the 2024 season. These investors likely know the financial state of MLR and that it is a long term investment, so to withdraw after 1yr is interesting. Additionally, there were reports of the Gold moving on from their arena at the Gold Mine, eyeing a newly renovated stadium that would be ready in 2027. This has fueled other rumours that the Gold may withdraw for 2026, and return in their new stadium for the 2027 season.

records & Record Holders

all time

Top Scorer: JP Eloff (219pts)
Top Try Scorer: Pat O’Toole (17)
Top Playoff Scorer: Rodney Iona (6pts)
Top Tackler: Moni Tonga’uiha (912)
Top Meter Eater: JP du Plessis (4,530m)
Most Capped Player: Moni Tonga’uiha (102)
Most Starts: Moni Tonga’uiha (81)

single season

Top Scorer: JP Eloff (141pts) – 2019
Top Try Scorer: Tristan Blewett (12) – 2019
Top Tackler:Jonah Mau’u (181) – 2025
Top Meter Eater: JP du Plessis (1,533m) – 2022

historical performance

2018: 3-0-5 (-82) – 17pts: 6^th2019: 9-0-7 (+60) – 54pts: 5^th2020: 3-0-2 (+33) – 16pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference
2021: 10-1-5 (-3) – 51pts: 3^rd in Eastern Conference
2022: 4-0-12 (-159) – 25pts: 5^th in Eastern Conference
2023: 7-0-9 (-96) – 35pts: 4^th in Eastern Conference
2024: 10-0-6 (+61) – 50pts: 2^nd in Eastern Conference (Conference Semifinalist)
2025: 4-0-12 (-45) – 32pts: 5th in Eastern Conference

Overall Regular Season Record: 50-1-58
Overall Championship Series Record: 0-1
Championship Series Appearances: 1 (2024)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 3
Longest Streak: 1 Game
First Possession: 2018 – Rd 1
Last Possession: 2025 – Rd 12
Successful Challenges: 3
Failed Challenges: 12
Challenge Success Rate: 20.00%
Successful Defences: 0
Failed Defences: 3
Defence Success Rate: 0.00%

Head Coach & Captain

head coach

Nate Osborne (2018-2021)
Kane Thompson (2022-2023)
Cory Brown (2024)
Danny Lee (2025)

captain

Taylor Howden (2018)
Eric Howard (2019-2020)
Kyle Baillie (2021)
Cam Dolan (2022-2023)
Moni Tonga’uiha (2024-2025)

logo & Jersey

The NOLA Gold logo barely changed at all since the founding of the club in 2017. It depicts a shield divided into quarters of Gold & White, with ‘NOLA’ written across the quarters. Atop the shield logo is a golden crown which has changed very slightly through the years. There have been minor variations to this logo, with a recurring one being Mardi Gras beads hanging from the crown (see above).

In 2018, the NOLA Gold jerseys were primarily gold with faded hoops for home, and primarily white with faded gold accents. Since 2019, the Gold have always had at least one jersey divided into quarters (similar to their logo) and coloured with alternating Gold and black or white sections. For many seasons the Gold also had a special Mardi Gras jersey that was alternating hoops of the traditional purple, green, and gold. In 2024, this Mardi Gras jersey, which was always very popular, became the Gold’s regular away jersey.

venue

For their first two seasons in MLR (2018-2019), the NOLA Gold played their home games out of Joe Zimmerman Stadium at Archbishop Shaw High School a 3,000 capacity natural turf field that was branded as ‘Gold Stadium’. For the 2020 season and beyond, the Gold moved homes to the Gold Mine on Airline (formerly Shrine on Airline, or Zephyr Field), a 10,000 seater Baseball stadium in Metairie, Louisiana owned by the State of Louisiana. The Gold had been the only tenants of the Stadium since 2020, perhaps allowing for the ‘Gold Mine’ name.

Utah Warriors – Active

A list of current, active Utah Warriors players and their stats for the current season.

Seattle Seawolves – Active

A list of current, active Seattle Seawolves players and the stats they have recorded during the current season.

Old Glory DC – Active

A list of current, active Old Glory DC players and the stats earned during the current MLR season.

Houston SaberCats – Active

A list of current, active Houston SaberCats players and the stats earned during the current MLR season.

New England Free Jacks – Active

A list of current, active Free Jacks players and the stats they have earned during the current MLR season.

Donald Brighouse

Samoan Prop Donald Brighouse joined the New England Free Jacks for the 2020 MLR season. He started all 5 games for the Free Jacks before the 2020 season was suspended.

NARDB Player #5

LA Giltinis

background and history

MLR’s first foray to Los Angeles dates back to 2018, when a MLR expansion bid was launched by Adam Gilchrist (founder of F45) and LA Coast Rugby, with plans to enter the league in 2019. This bid was later replaced by a bid between Gilchrist and Loyals Rugby in 2020 as the LA Giltinis, a team named after a to-be-announced cocktail entering in the 2021 season. ‘Giltini’ comes from a mix of the words ‘Gilchrist’ (the Team’s owner) and ‘Martini’. The Giltinis had a strong Australian identity (Gilchrist himself is also Australian) and brought in many professional players from Australia, as well as a number of domestic-classed players with Australian heritage. The team made a splash by announcing the signing of Wallabies legends Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper for their inaugural season, as well as a number of other high-profile players.

In their first season of competition in 2021, the Giltinis recorded a 12-0-4 record to finish 1st in the Western Conference, and advanced to the 2021 MLR Championship Final (hosted at the LA Coliseum, the home ground of the Giltinis) where they defeated a strong Rugby ATL side 31-17 to lift the MLR shield in their first season of competition. Following this season, Adam Ashley-Cooper announced an end to his playing career but stayed with the Giltinis on the coaching side. For the 2022 season, the Giltinis remained a strong outfit and finished with a 11-0-5 record and 2nd in the Western Conference, behind sister team the Austin Gilgronis (also owned by Gilchrist and following the same naming convention, but this time ‘Gilchrist’ and ‘Negroni’). However, prior to the start of the Championship Series, MLR announced that the LA Giltinis (along with the Austin Gilgronis) were disqualified from the 2022 playoffs due to a violation of league rules, allegedly including salary cap issues. In June of that year, Adam Gilchrist filed suit with MLR and both LA and Austin were expelled from the league in October 2022, after failed attempts to sell the teams.

MLR rugby would return to LA in 2024 following the sale and relocation of Rugby ATL, rebranded as Rugby FC LA.

records and record holders

2021 MLR Champions

all time

Top Scorer: Matt Giteau (98pts)
Top Try Scorer: Angus Cottrell (14)
Top Playoff Scorer: Matt Giteau (15pts)
Most Capped Player: Nathan den Hoedt (32)
Most Starts: Dave Dennis (30)
Top Tackler: Christian Poidevin (360)
Top Meter Eater: Billy Meakes (2,466m)

single season

Top Scorer: Matt Giteau (96pts) – 2021
Top Try Scorer: Angus Cottrell & DTH van der Merwe (11) – 2021
Top Tackler: Christian Poidevin (200) – 2022
Top Meter Eater: Billy Meakes (1,553m) – 2022

historical performance

2021: 12-0-4 (+240) – 63pts: 1st in Western Conference (Champions x1)
2022: 11-0-5 (+128) – 54pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Disqualified)

Overall Regular Season Record: 23-0-9
Overall Championship Series Record: 2-0
Championship Series Appearances: 1 (2021)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 1
Longest Streak: 1
First Possession: 2022 – Rd 4
Last Possession: 2022 – Rd 5
Successful Challenges: 1
Failed Challenges: 1
Challenge Success Rate: 50.00%
Successful Defences: 0
Failed Defences: 1
Defence Success Rate: 0.00%

head coach & captain

head coach

Darren Coleman (2021)
Stephan Hoiles (2022)

captain

Dave Dennis (2021-2022)

Logo & Jersey

The Giltinis logo resembles a martini glass with a ‘G’ motif inside. There were a couple of colour variations on this including a pink version, but the light blue was the most common version, used on the jerseys. The LA Giltinis jerseys were usually relatively plain, either a white with blue logo & number, or black with pink. There was a jersey in light blue as the logo on this page, as well as a version with palm leaves on a white background that invoked the beaches and sunshine of Los Angeles.

venue

The LA Giltinis were based in El Segundo, California and played their home games at the famous LA Coliseum, an enormous 77,500 seater monster that hosted the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, with plans to host again in 2028. It was also the home of the LA Rams of the NFL, prior to their move to SoFi Stadium which also hosted the LA Giltinis for a one-off MLR match.

Utah Warriors

background & History

The Utah Warriors are a founding member of Major League Rugby, founded in 2017 by Rugby Utah Ventures with Kimball Kjar as CEO. Rugby Utah Ventures resurrected the name ‘Utah Warriors’ from an early 2010s entity that competed in Rugby Super League and folded in 2012. The Utah Warriors have competed in every season of Major League Rugby to date, 7 seasons in total.

The Utah Warriors struggled during their first seasons in MLR, only winning 7 games and drawing 3 (losing 17) through their first 3 seasons from 2018-2020 despite qualifying for the post-season in their first season in 2018, albeit with a 3-5 record. Since 2020 the Warriors have been an on/off team, recording two 10-6 seasons sandwiching a 5-11 season in 2022. The Warriors have reached the postseason on two occasions (2018, 2021), but have yet to win a Championship Series game in 2 attempts. In 2023, the Warriors recorded their second 10-0-6 season as mentioned above, and ended the regular season with 50pts which was only good enough for 4^th in the brutal 2023 Western Conference. Had the Warriors been in the Eastern Conference, a 50pt season would’ve put them in 2^nd place and easily through to the playoffs.

The Warriors put an emphasis on player development and home-grown talent and will often draft native Utah players or players from Utah universities. They have a robust pathway system and hosted a number of pathway/combine events every year including the Collegiate Rugby Shield and the Crossroads Cup that served as a talent ID camp prior to the MLR Collegiate Draft each year. this was replaced by MLR Rising ahead of the 2024 draft.

In January 2023, the Utah Warriors announced a partnership with French Top 14 club Stade Toulousain dubbed ‘The Rugby Alliance’. The first big manifestation of this partnership took place in September 2023 when Stade Toulousain faced a non-cap USA Eagles side at America First Field in Sandy, UT. The USA Eagles emerged 24-21 victors. The Warriors would host a game at America First Field themselves in 2024, their final game of that season saw over 10,000 fans attend their game against Rugby FC LA, a 24-31 loss that rounded out a difficult season for the Utah Warriors, struggling to start games on time and regularly finding themselves down by large margins early. The Warriors finished outside a playoffs spot, 5th in the Western Conference with a 5-11 record, just 3pts ahead of LA at the bottom of the West despite some incredible standout players in 2024 such as Frank Lochore, Dylan Nel, and most notably, joint-MLR leading try scorer in 2024, Michael Manson.

Following the 2024 season, the Utah Warriors went through a dramatic shake-up. They announced the departure of 17 players early in the 2024/25 offseason including standout Caleb Makene, much to the dismay of MLR and Warriors fans. To fill these gaps they brought in more experienced, international talent such as Dragons prop Aki Seiuli, Moana Pasifika center D’Angelo Leuila, and capped All Blacks hooker Liam Coltman. Although untested, this new look Warriors side proved formidable and quickly gained a reputation of being able to score in bursts but were vulnerable to defensive lapses. They bounced back from a poor 2024 with a vengeance, finishing with an 11-5 record and 58pts. This put them 1st in the Western Conference and made them the top team in MLR during the regular season, securing home field advantage in the playoffs. Facing the Seattle Seawolves in the Western Conference Semifinal, the Warriors put in a trademark performance, racing out to a big lead before letting their opponents slowly fight their way back in. Luckily, Utah were able to hang on to record their first ever playoff victory and advance to the Western Conference Final to face the Houston SaberCats. It’s possible that the win over the Seawolves took the energy out of the Warriors, because they were dominated by the SaberCats in the Conference Final, falling 19-33 at home that included two interception tries for Houston, and a consolation score for the Warriors on the final play. Despite this, the Warriors and their fans should be pleased with the huge step forward in 2025. Following the season, the team announced that Head Coach Greg Cooper was stepping away from the team to pursue other opportunities. A few days later, Warriors Assistant Coach Robbie Abel was promoted to Head Coach for the 2026 campaign.

In the turmoil of the 2025/26 MLR offseason, rumours began to circulate that the Utah Warriors were looking for new investment. NARDB understands that they were granted an extention to the Capital Call (the call where all teams confirm they have funds for the next seasons) which expired in early November. On the morning of November 4th, 2025, rumours quickly spread that the Utah Warriors had not made the Capital Call, and would be withdrawing from Major League Rugby. This was confirmed by the team later that morning. With this, the Seattle Seawolves became the lone founding member in MLR for the 2026 campaign.

Records & Record Holders

All Time

Top Scorer: Joel Hodgson (329pts)
Top Try Scorer: Joe Mano (39)
Top Playoff Scorer: Joel Hodgson (11pts)
Top Tackler: Lance Williams (879)
Top Meter Eater: Joe Mano (3,684m)
Most Capped Player: Angus MacLellan (106)
Most Starts: Lance Williams (75)

Single Season

Top Scorer: Tim O’Malley (134pts) – 2019
Top Try Scorer: Joe Mano (14) – 2023, 2025
Top Tackler: Frank Lochore (301) – 2025
Top Meter Eater: Mikey Te’o (1,518m) – 2021

Historical performance

2018: 3-0-5 (-5) – 22pts: 4^th (Semi-Finalist)
2019: 2-2-12 (-136) – 21pts: 8th
2020: 2-1-2 (-9) – 12pts: 2^nd in Western Conference
2021: 10-0-6 (+42) – 57pts: 2^nd in Western Conference (Conference Runner-Up)
2022: 5-0-11 (+29) – 33pts: 6^th in Western Conference
2023: 10-0-6 (+24) – 50pts: 4^th in Western Conference
2024: 5-0-11 (-47) – 35pts: 5th in Western Conference
2025: 11-0-5 (+86) – 58pts: 1st in Western Conference (Conference Runner-Up)

Overall Regular Season Record: 48-3-58
Overall Championship Series Record: 1-3
Championship Series Appearances: 3 (2018, 2021, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 5
Longest Streak: 2 Games
First Possession: 2018 – Rd 4
Last Possession: 2024 – Rd 10
Successful Challenges: 3
Failed Challenges: 5
Challenge Success Rate: 37.50%
Successful Defences: 2
Failed Defences: 3
Defence Success Rate: 40.00%

head coach & Captain

head coach

Alf Daniels (2018-2019)
Chris Latham (2020)
Shawn Pittman (2021-2022)
Greg Cooper (2022 – 2025)
Robbie Abel (2025-2026)*

*Robbie Abel was named Head Coach in 2025 on a 2yr deal, but the Utah Warriors withdrew from MLR before he was able to take charge.

captain

Paul Lasike (2018)
Tim O’Malley (2019)
Dwayne Polataivao (2020)
Bailey Wilson (2021-2023)
Joel Hodgson (2024)
Gavin Thornbury (2025)

logo & Jersey

The Warriors unveiled a unique logo & emblem for the 2022 season, marking the 5th anniversary of the club (see left)

The Warriors logo has barely changed through the team’s time in Major League Rugby. It depicts the painted face of a warrior in front of a horizontal rugby ball. The Warriors have traditionally played in a black home kit with red accents, and the reverse for their away, occasionally incorporating a white or grey away kit. Every Utah Warriors jersey has featured 4 stripes, representing community, family, tradition, and respect. The Warriors have also honoured the State’s Pacific Islander population, as the Warriors play in white and light blue for the first time.

venue

Unusually for an MLR team, the Utah Warriors have played their home games out of Zions Bank Stadium for their entire history through the 2024 season. Zions Bank Stadium is a 5,000 seater artificial turf Stadium in Herriman, south of Salt Lake City, and also hosts the Collegiate Rugby Shield and Crossroads Cup competitions as mentioned above. They have played a game at America First Field in Sandy, UT, but this was a one-off to accommodate ‘WarriorsFest’, an end-of-season send off in 2024 that saw over 10,000 attend.