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.

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
captain

Logo & Jersey

Logo 2021-2022

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.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

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 4th in the brutal 2023 Western Conference. Had the Warriors been in the Eastern Conference, a 50pt season would’ve put them in 2nd 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: 4th (Semi-Finalist)
2019: 2-2-12 (-136) – 21pts: 8th
2020: 2-1-2 (-9) – 12pts: 2nd in Western Conference
2021: 10-0-6 (+42) – 57pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Conference Runner-Up)
2022: 5-0-11 (+29) – 33pts: 6th in Western Conference
2023: 10-0-6 (+24) – 50pts: 4th 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

*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

logo & Jersey

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

5yr Anniversary Logo
2018-2021, 2023-Present

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.

Zion’s Bank Stadium

 

Colorado Raptors

Background & History

The Colorado Raptors were one of MLR’s founding clubs. They competed in MLR from the league’s inaugural season in 2018, until 2020. They were Runners-up in 2018. They were the first MLR team to withdraw from the competition and the only one to date to withdraw and continue operations.

Founded as an amateur club in 2006 as the Glendale Raptors, they were accepted as a founding member of Major League Rugby in 2017 ahead of the league’s inaugural season in 2018. The Raptors finished the 2018 season top of the standings, but fell in the Championship Final to the Seattle Seawolves, 19-23. They finished with a .500 record in 2019 (7-2-7) and missed the post-season in 6th place. Their 2020 season got off to a middling 2-3 start before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season after only 5 rounds. This would prove to be the Raptors’ final season in Major League Rugby.

On April 9th, 2020 the Raptors announced that they were withdrawing from Major League Rugby. The Raptors stated that they felt MLR was not doing enough to develop domestic players by saying that “our greater responsibility lies in the development of American players who can win the World Cup for the United States.” When asked to explain how the withdrawal of the Raptors would help the development of domestic players, Glendale City Manager Linda Cassaday explained that the league had expanded so quickly that there were not enough domestic players to fill the rosters of all the teams and the number of international players per matchday roster had increased due to this, from 3 in 2018 to 10 in 2020.

Since withdrawing from Major League Rugby, the club has rebranded as the American Raptors and focused on crossover athletes with the aim of creating new US Eagles. In 2023 the Raptors joined the Super Rugby Americas competition in South America. That same season they announced a partnership with Columbian club Cafeteros Pro and the FederaciĂ³n Colombiana de Rugby (FCR). This partnership seemed to contradict the Raptors’ reasons for leaving MLR (partnerships with the Columbian Rugby Federation will not help to generate domestic players in the US), leading some to question whether the reasons given by the Raptors for leaving MLR are true, or if it was in fact because they could not win a Shield.

The Raptors competed in Super Rugby Americas (SRA) for 2 seasons as between 2023-2024, finishing 6th of 7 both seasons, with a 2-10 & 3-9 records respectively. In October 2024, Maggie Wolanske of Denver7 News announced that the Raptors had confirmed that they would not be playing professional rugby in 2025. It remains to be seen if they will return in the future.

Records & Record Holders

All Time:

Top Scorer: Will Magie (130pts)
Top Playoff Scorer: Zach Fenoglio (15pts)
Top Try Scorer: John Ryberg (16)
Most Appearances: Luke White (31)
Most Starts: Luke White & Harley Davidson (25)
Top Tackler: Luke White (277)
Top Meter Eater: John Ryberg (1999m)

Single Season

Top Scorer: Robbie Petzer (85pts) – 2019
Top Try Scorer: John Ryberg (13) – 2019
Top Tackler: Luke White (158) – 2019
Top Meter Eater: John Ryberg (1,440m) – 2019

Historical Performances

2018: 7-0-1 (+84) – 34pts: 1st (Runner-Up)
2019: 7-2-7 (-7) – 43pts: 6th
2020: 2-0-3 (-32) – 9pts: 3rd in Western Conference

Overall Regular Season Record: 16-2-11
Overall Championship Series Record: 1-1
Championship Series Appearances: 1 (2018)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 1
First Possession: 2018 – Rd 9
Last Possession: 2018 – Rd 10
Successful Challenges: 1
Failed Challenges: 6
Challenge Success Rate: 14.28%
Successful Defences: 0
Failed Defences: 1
Defence Success Rate: 0.00%

Head coach & captain

Head Coach:
  • David Williams (2018-2019)
  • Peter Borlase (2019-2020)
Captain:

Logo & Jersey

For their time in MLR, the Raptors wore a combination of Black & blue for home jerseys, and yellow for away. They used a black jersey with dark blue feathers design over the top and a primarily yellow away in 2018. The home jersey did not change in 2019 but the away featured black lines across it to stand out. For the short 2020 season and name change to the Colorado Raptors, their home jersey was primarily dark blue with a red ‘speed blur’ affect, and featured the ‘C’ logo of Colorado front and centre.

The Raptors logo remained generally the same for their 3 years in MLR, but saw a slight re-colour before the 2020 season that would prove to be their last in the competition. The logo featured a 3-headed eagle (a raptor), with a shield at it’s centre and ‘Glendale’ (2018-2019) or ‘Colorado’  (2020) above a large ‘Raptors’. A banner below the moniker reads ‘Rugby Football Club’ for the Glendale logo and changes to just ‘Rugby’ for the Colorado logo, and features a rough version of the seal of the city of Glendale (2018-2019), or the ‘C’ from the state flag of Colorado (2020)

2018-2019
2020

VenuE

The team played all 3 of their Major League Rugby seasons out of the 5,000 seater Infinity Park in Glendale, CO, the first rugby-specific, municipally-owned stadium in the United States. The Raptors continue to play out of Infinity Park despite their withdrawal from MLR, as the Colorado XOs and eventually the American Raptors in the Super Rugby Americas competition.

Infinity Park

 

Seattle Seawolves

background & History

Founded in 2017, the Seattle Seawolves are a founding member of Major League Rugby and have competed in every season of MLR to date. The team was founded by an investor group headed by Adrian Balfour and Shane Skinner and is one of the most successful teams in MLR history. The Seawolves won the inaugural season to become the first team to lift the MLR shield in 2018, defeating the Glendale (later Colorado) Raptors and claimed a second MLR Championship the following year, defeating the San Diego Legion to lift the 2019 Shield. The Seattle Seawolves were the first MLR team to win multiple Championships, and the first of only two teams to have captured back-to-back Shields.

Following a controversial 2022 season the Seattle Seawolves made their 3rd Championship Final appearance but were unable to capture a third MLR Shield, falling to Rugby New York. Despite the Seawolves’ historical success, they have never finished as the #1 seed at the end of the regular season, but have finished 2nd (either overall or in the Western Conference) in 3 separate seasons (see below). Despite numerous injuries to key players in 2024, the Seawolves finished the regular season with a solid 11-5 record, and faced their rivals the San Diego Legion in the playoffs yet again. Unlike in 2023, the Seawolves prevailed in 2024 and then defeated the impressive Dallas Jackals in the 2024 Western Conference Final to advance to their 4th MLR final, against the New England Free Jacks, fighting for back-to-back titles. The Seawolves would fall in the 2024 Championship game, and finished the 2024 season as Runners-Up for the 2nd time. Although they were the first side to do so, they are not the only team in MLR to win back-to-back Shields, joined by the 2023-2024 New England Free Jacks.

Despite putting in some impressive results including a win over 2025 Runners-Up the Houston SaberCats, a win over 2025 Champions the New England Free Jacks, and defeating the 2025 Regular Season leading Utah Warriors on the road, the 2025 Seattle Seawolves struggled in a cutthroat Western Conference. They started slowly, with a 1-4 record and finished with a record of 8-1-7 and 49pts, squeezing into the postseason as 4th place in the Western Conference by a single point at the expense of their rivals, the San Diego Legion. Although the regular season was up and down, the Seawolves put in a valiant performance in Western Conference Semifinal against the league-leading Utah Warriors, their come back fell just short, falling 23-21. With the New England Free Jacks lifting the 2025 Shield and completing the Threepeat, the Seawolves no longer hold the most Shields in MLR history. Maybe this will give them something to fight for in 2026.

records & Record Holders

2018 MLR Champions
2019 MLR Champions
2022 Western Conference Champions
2024 Western Conference Champions

All Time:

Top Scorer: AJ Alatimu (321)
Top Try Scorer: Riekert Hattingh (48)
Top Playoff Scorer: AJ Alatimu (55)
Top Tackler: Riekert Hattingh (950)
Top Meter Eater: Riekert Hattingh (5,563m)
Most Capped Player: JP Smith (106)
Most Starts: JP Smith (96)

Single Season:

Top Scorer: Mack Mason (172pts) – 2024
Top Try Scorer: Riekert Hattingh (12) – 2023
Top Tackler: Charles Elton (272) – 2023
Top Meter Eater: Lauina Futi (1,495m) – 2023

historical performance

2018: 6-0-2 (+44) – 29pts: 2nd (Champions x1)
2019: 11-1-4 (+91) – 58pts: 2nd (Champions x2)
2020: 1-0-4 (-24) – 8pts: 4th in Western Conference
2021: 4-0-12 (-118) – 26pts: 5th in Western Conference
2022: 9-0-7 (+73) – 46pts: 4th in Western Conference (Runners-Up)
2023: 12-0-4 (+161) – 59pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Conference Runners-Up)
2024: 11-0-5 (+125) – 57pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Runners-Up)
2025: 8-1-7 (+38) – 49pts: 4th in Western Conference (Conference Semifinalist)

Overall Regular Season Record: 62-2-45
Overall Championship Series Record: 9-4
Championship Series Appearances: 6 (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 22
Longest Streak: 8 Games
First Possession: 2018 – Rd 5
Last Possession: 2025 – Rd 16
Successful Challenges: 7
Failed Challenges: 8
Challenge Success Rate: 46.67%
Successful Defences: 13
Failed Defences: 7
Defence Success Rate: 65.00%

Captains & Head Coaches

Head Coach
  • Tony Healy*: 2018
  • Phil Mack: 2018
  • Anton Moolman*: 2019
  • Richie Walker: 2019
  • Kees Lensing: 2020 – April 2021
  • Allen Clarke: May 2021 – Present

*= Appointed but unable to take up post due to visa difficulties

Captain

Logo & Jersey

2017-

The Seawolves logo depicts an Orca, also known as a Seawolf. The logo has not changed since the inaugural MLR season in 2018. Their jerseys initially fell in like with traditional Seattle sports team colours: faded blue and green. This worked in relation to the Seawolves as it gave images of the sea around the PNW. In later years, the Seawolves would step away from the blues and replace them with black. The green remained and their away kits were often primarily white.

Venue

The Seattle Seawolves have always played their home games out of Starfire Sports, a 4,500 seater turf stadium in Tukwila, South of Seattle. The Seawolves share these facilities with the Seattle Sounders of the MLS, who have offices and training facilities at the complex, as well as the NWSL team, Seattle Reign FC.

Starfire Sports Complex

 

Rugby New York Ironworkers

Background & HIstory

Previously known as Rugby United New York (RUNY) from 2019-2021 and Rugby New York in 2022, The Rugby New York Ironworkers joined the league in 2019 as a part of the first wave of expansion alongside the Toronto Arrows. The Ironworkers won 1 MLR Championship, lifting the 2022 MLR Shield after defeating the Seattle Seawolves 30-15 in the Championship Game following a controversial final few weeks of the season that saw the Austin Gilgronis and LA Giltinis disqualified.

Rugby United New York was founded in April 2018 by James Kennedy of Murphy Kennedy Group, a New York construction management company. At some point the team was taken over by the Bolton group which injected significant New Zealand influence into the team, aiding the team’s playoff push and 2022 Championship win. Since after the 2022 season, rumblings had been going on that the Bolton group was attempting to sell the franchise to new ownership. It seems that they had a prospective buyer lined up but a deal never materialised. Shortly after the Toronto Arrows announced that they were withdrawing from the 2024 season, the club missed a capital call with the league and were granted a few days extension but no solution was found. On 6th December 2023 after hours of speculation and rumours, MLR announced that the Rugby New York Ironworkers would not compete in the 2024 season. The league had lost it’s entire 2019 expansion class within 10 days (although the Arrows were a founding member, they did not compete in 2018).

Records & Record Holders

2022 MLR Champions

all time


Top Scorer: Dylan Fawsitt (205pts)
Top Try Scorer: Dylan Fawsitt (41)
Top Playoff Scorer: Jason Emery (24pts)
Top Tackler: Nate Brakeley (842)
Top Meter Eater: Fa’asiu Fuatai (3,059m)
Most Capped Player: Dylan Fawsitt (72)
Most Starts: Dylan Fawsitt (65)

single season

Top Scorer: Dan Hollinshead (111pts) – 2021
Top Try Scorer: Dylan Fawsitt (13) – 2019
Top Tackler: Brendon O’Connor (238) – 2022
Top Meter Eater: Fa’asiu Fuatai (1,350m) – 2022

historical performance

2019: 11-0-5 (+91) – 54pts: 4th (Semifinalist)
2020: 3-0-2 (+5) – 15pts: 4th in Eastern Conference
2021: 10-0-6 (+29) – 53pts: 2nd in Eastern Conference (Semifinalist)
2022: 11-0-5 (+25) – 56pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference (Champion x1)
2023: 8-0-8 (+41) – 43pts: 2nd in Eastern Conference (Conference Semifinalist)

Overall Regular Season Record: 43-0-26
Overall Championship Series Record: 3-2
Championship Series Appearances: 4 (2019, 2021. 2022, 2023)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 8
Longest Streak: 3 Games
First Possession: 2019 – Rd 8
Last Possession: 2023 – Rd 1
Successful Challenges: 4
Failed Challenges: 4
Challenge Success Rate: 50.00%
Successful Defences: 4
Failed Defences: 4
Defence Success Rate: 50.00%

head coach & captain

Head Coach
  • Mike Tolkin (2018-2019)
  • Greg McWilliams (2020)
  • Marty Veale (2021-2022)
  • James Semple (2022-2023)
captain

Logo & Jersey

Bar the initial change from 2019 to 2020, the logo has only undergone a number of small changes almost annually. For MLR 2023, the moniker ‘Ironworkes’ was added to reflect the changing landscape of New York, as well as rugby in the USA, and also to recognise the workers who constructed the famous New York skyline.

2019
2020-21
2022
2023

The New York jersey began as a dark blue & orange ‘pinstripe’ design reminiscent of an old style baseball jersey. This chanced to a primarily dark blue jersey with orange accents for much of the team’s history. They did wear a brave bright orange away jersey for a time, but the team’s away jerseys tended to be primarily white with light blue accents. Each season from 2021-2023 the jerseys featured an iconic piece of New York, such as the Statue of Liberty or the Brooklyn Bridge, for example. New York have had a number of one-off jersey as well such as a primarily pink jersey, or a city edition jersey mimicking the New York subway system.

Venues

There have been issues in finding a stable home venue from year to year, in part due to the lack of top tier rugby facilities within the dense NYC area, and in part due to the cost of NY in general. Below is a list of NY home venues since they entered the league:

  • MCU Park (Capacity 7,000): 2019-2020
  • Cochrane Stadium (Capacity 4,000): 2021
  • JFK Stadium (Capacity 1,000): 2022
  • Memorial Stadium (Capacity 3,900): 2023

The team came under some scrutiny in 2022 for playing out of JFK Stadium, a high-school turf field that had a very small capacity because of it’s small footprint. The field was not licensed so couldn’t serve alcohol, and stray rugby balls would regularly fly over the fence to the neighboring children’s playground. There was even a number of viral moments about a rooftop at the end of the pitch, were fans would watch from that could regularly be seen on the live feeds. The team made the most of that experience, but moved to the far more appropriate Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium for 2023.

Mt. Vernon Memorial Stadium

 

Rugby ATL

Background and history

Rugby ATL joined MLR as a part of the second wave of expansion with the New England Free Jacks, and Old Glory DC announced in September of 2018. The name Rugby ATL was announced in February of 2019, and the team became informally known as the RATLers. This nickname proved so popular that a rattlesnake variant of the logo was produced and used on some merchandise. Their inaugural season was 2020 and only lasted 5 rounds before the COVID-19 pandemic forced MLR to cancel the season. When the league returned in 2021, Rugby ATL proved a strong side, finishing with a 11-0-5 record good enough for 1st in the Eastern Conference. Rugby ATL finished as Runners-up in 2021 after losing the MLR Championship game to the LA Giltinis, 31-17.

In 2021, the original owner of the team, S. Marcus Calloway, sadly passed away and ownership of the team was transferred to an investment group tasked with the eventual sale of the club. In 2022, Rugby ATL repeated their impressive 11-0-5 season but fell in the Eastern Conference Eliminator to eventual Champions, Rugby New York. The club went through a controversial rebrand following the 2022 season, moving away from the greys and blacks, and the RATLers moniker to dark greens and white, with light blue and peach accents (a nod to Georgia, the peach state). This rebrand did not go down well with fans, or some long-term players. The team took a step back on the pitch in 2023, finishing with a 5-1-10 record for 5th in the Eastern Conference.

During the 2023 off-season, Rugby ATL and MLR announced that the club had been sold and would be relocating to Los Angeles, leaving Atlanta without a pro rugby team. This relocation because Rugby FC LA, the league’s 2nd attempt at a professional team in Los Angeles. For the purposes of this website and MLRStats in general, RFCLA is treated like a completely new franchise with it’s own unique records. As of the 2024 season, Atlanta remains without a MLR franchise.

Records & Record Holders

2021 MLR Runners-Up

all time

Top Scorer: Kurt Coleman (174pts)
Top Try Scorer: Alex Maughan & Marko Janse van Rensburg (18)
Top Playoff Scorer: Kurt Coleman (28pts)
Top Tackler: Matt Heaton (635)
Top Meter Eater: Te Rangatira Waitokia (2,691m)
Most Capped Player: Alex Maughan & Johan Momsen (53)
Most Starts: Johan Momsen (49)

single season

Top Scorer: Kurt Coleman (83pts) – 2022
Top Try Scorer: Marko Janse van Rensburg (9) – 2021, 2022
Top Tackler: Matt Heaton (215) – 2023
Top Meter Eater: Will Leonard (1,267m)

Historical performance

2020: 2-0-3 (+6) – 12pts: 5th in Eastern Conference
2021: 11-0-5 (+99) – 57pts: 1st in Eastern Conference (MLR Runners-Up)
2022: 11-0-5 (+128) – 57pts:  2nd in Eastern Conference (Conference Semi-Finalist)
2023: 5-1-10 (-73) – 28pts: 5th in Eastern Conference

Overall Regular Season Record: 29-1-23
Overall Championship Series Record: 1-2
Championship Series Appearances: 2 (2021, 2022)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 9
Longest Streak: 4 Games
First Possession: 2021 – Rd 9
Last Possession: 2022 – Eastern Eliminator
Successful Challenges: 4
Failed Challenges: 3
Challenge Success Rate: 57.14%
Successful Defences: 5
Failed Defences: 4
Defence Success Rate: 55.56%

head coach & captain

Head Coach
  • Scott Lawrence (2020-2022)
  • Steve Brett (2023)
captain

logo & jersey

2020-21
Rugby ATL
2022
2023

 The RugbyATL brand and logo has gone through a number of changes over the course of their Major League Rugby story, including a large re-brand shortly before the 2023 MLR season where they moved away from the ‘RATLers’ brand and colours.

For their first few seasons in MLR, Rugby ATL used black and grey with red accents, as shown in the logos to the left. They also bought into the ‘RATLer’ moniker given to them by the fanbase, and had a variant of their logo with a snake as a nod to this. Their jerseys reflected this too, with grey typically being their away colour, and black their home. Following their controversial rebrand ahead of the 2023 season, ATL changed to a primarily dark green logo, and home jersey with the ‘lined ATL” subtly covering the chest. Their away jersey following this rebrand was primarily white with the ‘lined ATL’ covering the chest in dark green. The 2023 ATL home jersey was one of the best in the league at the time, but was unfortunately tainted by the rebrand which went down poorly with fans and long-time ATL players.

venue

Rugby ATL played shared strong ties with Life University in Marietta, GA. Life boasts a strong rugby program from with ATL drew and they played their home games at Life U’s stadium, the 2,500 seater Lupo Family Field, between 2020-2021. This was always intended as a temporary home and the club was forced to move in 2022 due to flood damage at Life U. Rugby ATL found it’s new home at the 5,000 seater Silverbacks Park, where they played for their final two seasons from 2022-2023.

Silverbacks Park

 

Old Glory DC

Old Glory DC

background & History

On May 15th 2018, Major League Rugby announced that a Washington, D.C. based team would enter the league by the 2020 season. The team was confirmed in November 2018 and the name of Old Glory DC was announced in February 2019. The team is owned by Chris Dunlavey and former USA Eagle Paul Sheehy and in March 2019, the Scottish Rugby Union announced that it had purchased a minority stake in the team.

Old Glory DC got off to a strong start in MLR, winning 4 of their first 5 games before the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Flags struggled following the league’s return in 2021, winning a combined 9 of the 32 games played between 2021-2022. In 2023 DC appeared to be starting to turn things around and although finishing with a mediocre 7-1-8 record, qualified for the Championship Series for the first time in club history and defeated the reigning Rugby New York Ironworkers in the Eastern Eliminator to advance to the Eastern Conference Final where they fell to eventual champions, the New England Free Jacks. The following year, thanks to an expanded playoff format Old Glory DC qualified for the post-season for the second year running, with a record of 7-2-7. They faced their rivals the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and although they defeated them in Quincy during the regular season, it was not to be, falling 29-33 on the road. The Flags will look to improve their regular season for 2025 and secure home field advantage in the playoffs for the first time.

Old Glory DC returned in 2025 with a similar roster. The Flags alternated wins and losses for the first half of the 2025 season that included star Fly-half Jason Robertson suffering a season-ending injury early in the campaign. Luckily for DC, they had picked up Jason Emery from Rugby FC LA in the offseason and while Emery is primarily a fullback, he covered the Old Glory DC 10 jersey superbly. The Flags finished with an even 8-8 record in the 2025 regular season, with a franchise best 45pts securing them 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. This made them the road team in the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the 11-5 Chicago Hounds who were able to deliver a 27-16 victory, ending the Flags’ season 1 step earlier than the year before. Despite qualifying for the postseason for the 3rd season in a row, Old Glory DC have still never finished an MLR regular season with a positive record.

Records & Record Holders

all time

Top Scorer: Jason Robertson (367pts)
Top Try Scorer: William Talataina (23)
Top Playoff Scorer: Tito Diaz Bonilla & Connor Buckley (17pts)
Top Tackler: Cory Daniel (888)
Top Meter Eater: Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (2,809m)
Most Capped Player: Jack Iscaro (76)
Most Starts: Tevite Naqali (64)

single season

Top Scorer: Jason Robertson (138pts) – 2024
Top Try Scorer: William Talataina (10) – 2023
Top Tackler: Cory Daniel (276) – 2024
Top Meter Eater: Renata Roberts-Te Nana (1,351m)

historical performance

2020: 4-0-1 (-7) – 17pts: 2nd in Eastern Conference
2021: 6-1-9 (-81) – 39pts: 5th in Eastern Conference
2022: 3-0-13 (-168) – 23pts: 6th in Eastern Conference
2023: 7-1-8 (-35) – 43pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference Finalists)
2024: 7-2-7 (-22) – 42pts: 4th in Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference Semifinalist)
2025: 8-0-8 (-40) – 45pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference Semifinalist)

Overall Regular Season Record: 35-4-46
Overall Championship Series Record: 1-3
Championship Series Appearances: 3 (2023, 2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 2
Longest Streak: 2 Games
First Possession: 2024 – Rd 2
Last Possession: 2024 – Rd 4
Successful Challenges: 1
Failed Challenges: 5
Challenge Success Rate: 16.67%
Successful Defences: 1
Failed Defences: 1
Defence Success Rate: 50.00%

Head Coach & Captain

head coach
  • Andrew Douglas (2019- March 2022)
  • Nate Osborne (April – October 2022) (Interim)
  • Josh Syms (October 2022 – 2023)
  • Simon Cross (Jul 2023 – Present)
captain

logo & Jersey

Old Glory DC
Logo 2020-

Old Glory DC is another of the MLR teams with a shield logo. Made up of red, white, and blue, the shield contains the name of the club ‘Old Glory DC’ within the shield and ‘Rugby Football Club’ written atop it. The logo also features the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. at the point.

Named after the US flag, Old Glory DC embraced their namesake in their early seasons, with kits featuring the US flag emblazoned across the breast on a background of blue or white depending on if they were at home or away, respectively. As time went on, the symbolism of the US capitol and flag became more subtle. In 2024, the home kit was entirely a dark blue with subtle imagery of the inside of the capitol rotunda, while the away kit was entirely red with subtle patterns nodding to the columns of the Lincoln Memorial.

DC have also worn city edition jerseys featuring Japanese ‘Sakura’ (cherry blossom), a nod to the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., which were a gift from Japan

Venue

Like most Major League Rugby teams, Old Glory DC have moved home venues several times in their short history. For their inaugural season in 2020, the Flags played at Cardinal Stadium, a 3,500 seater artificial turf field at the Catholic University of America that only saw 2 MLR games before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season after only 5 rounds. Between 2021-2023, Old Glory DC played their home games at the 5,000 capacity Segra Field in Leesburg, VA, a soccer-specific stadium with an artificial turf pitch. In early September following the 2023 MLR season, Old Glory DC announced that they were moving to the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, MD on a 1yr deal. The 5,000 capacity stadium features seating for 3,200 plus general admission areas and sports a Bermuda grass pitch.

Old Glory DC spent two seasons at the Maryland Soccerplex between 2024-2025, before announcing that they were leaving Germantown on 7th October, 2025. After teasing an announcment on 14th October that strongly suggested that they would play out of George Mason University. The 4,500 capacity primarily soccer/lacrosse Bermuda grass field at GMU Stadium in Fairfax, VA is right on the outskirts of DC, and hosted Old Glory DC’s 27-14 win over the NOLA Gold in Round 14 of the 2025 season. On 10th November, 2025, Old Glory DC confirmed GMU as their home for the 2026 campaign.

George Mason Stadium at George Mason University

 

Houston SaberCats

Background & History

The Houston SaberCats were formed in 2017 from a local amateur club, the Houston Strikers, and are a founding member of Major League Rugby. The SaberCats have competed in every season of MLR to date (6 seasons through 2023). They were the first (and to date, only) MLR team to have their own purpose built venue, SaberCats Stadium, owned exclusively by the club (see more below in ‘Venue’ section). The team is owned by a consortium led by majority owner Miguel ‘Mike’ Loya, with one of his brothers, Javier, a minority owner.

The Houston SaberCats had a difficult time in the early years of MLR, finishing last in the inaugural season, and 7th out of 9 in 2019. When the conference system was introduced in 2020, the SaberCats finished bottom of the Western Conference in back-to-back seasons between 2020-2021, winning a combined 3 games out of 21 (The 2020 season only lasted 5 rounds before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Following the 2021 season, the tide began to turn for the SaberCats. Former Springboks head coach Heyneke Meyer was brought in as Director of Rugby, and Pote Human was hired as Head Coach. Houston began to bring in South African players which still make up a large contingent of the roster, and the wins started to come in. The club has won 19 of the 32 regular season games since Meyer & Human came in and qualified for the Championship Series in back-to-back seasons, the first post-season appearances in club history. The SaberCats qualified for the playoffs every season between 2022-2024, but are yet to record their first playoff victory. They were defeated by the Seattle Seawolves in both 2022 & 2023, and by the Dallas Jackals in a huge upset in 2024, after the SaberCats finished as the best team in the MLR regular season with a record of 14-2.

The Houston SaberCats maintained largely the same roster entering 2025. They delivered another strong season, finishing 3rd in MLR overall, and 2nd in the Western Conference with a 10-6 record and 54pts. This gave the SaberCats home advantage for the Western Conference Semifinals where, in their 4th successive year in the postseason, they finally earned their first postseason victory. They saw off Rugby FC LA at home before dominating MLR’s top regular season team, the Utah Warriors in the Western Conference Final to advance to the 2025 Championship in Rhode Island, where they fell 28-22 to the New England Free Jacks. The SaberCats finished 2025 as Western Conference Champions, and MLR Runners-Up.

On 11th September 2025, almost out of nowhere, the Houston SaberCats announced that they would not be participating in the 2026 Major League Rugby Season. No reasons were given and NARDB understands that this came as a surprise even to other team owners, but players and staff were told that morning of the team’s plans to withdraw. The SaberCats were the reigning Western Conference Champions and the only team in the league who owned their own venue, SaberCats Stadium. The future of this venue is now uncertain. The SaberCats’ withdrawal means that MLR has contracted from 11 teams in 2025 to 7 in 2026, and they are the 3rd MLR founding member to withdraw, along with the NOLA Gold, and the San Diego Legion who merged with RFCLA to create the California Legion.

Records & Record Holders

2025 Western Conference Champions

all time:

Top Scorer: Sam Windsor (432pts)
Top Try Scorer: Christian Dyer (19)
Top Playoff Scorer: AJ Alatimu (34)
Most Capped Player: Keni Nasoqeqe (63)
Most Starts: Davy Coetzer (50)
Top Tackler: Emmanuel Albert (469)
Top Meter Eater: Davy Coetzer (2,697m)

Single Season

Top Scorer: Sam Windsor (160) – 2019
Top Try Scorer: Gideon van Wyk (11) – 2023
Top Tackler: Johan Momsen (196) – 2025
Top Meter Eater: Paula Balekana (1,232m) – 2021

Historical Performance

2018: 1-0-7 (-40) – 11pts: 7th
2019: 6-0-10 (-151) – 30pts: 7th
2020: 1-0-4 (-17) – 6pts: 6th in Western Conference
2021: 2-0-14 (-276) – 13pts: 6th in Western Conference
2022: 9-0-7 (+15) – 48pts: 3rd in Western Conference (Western Conference Finalist)
2023: 10-0-6 (+71) – 53pts: 3rd in Western Conference (Western Conference Eliminator)
2024: 14-0-2 (+131) – 67pts: 1st in Western Conference (Western Conference Semifinal)
2025: 10-0-6 (+93) – 54pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Runners-Up)

Overall Regular Season Record: 53-0-56
Overall Championship Series Record: 2-4
Championship Series Appearances: 4 (2022-2023, 2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 8
Longest Streak: 6 Games
First Possession: 2024 – Rd 10
Last Possession: 2025 – Rd 15
Successful Challenges: 2
Failed Challenges: 7
Challenge Success Rate: 22.22%
Successful Defences: 6
Failed Defences: 2
Defence Success Rate: 75.00%

Head Coach & Captain

Head Coach
  • Justin Fitzpatrick (2017-2019)
  • Paul Emerick (2019)
  • Paul Healy (2020-2021)
  • Pote Human (2022-2025)
Captain

logo & Jersey

2017-2024

Like most teams in MLR, the SaberCats logo has barely changed since their founding in 2017. The logo depicts the yellow head of a SaberCat in profile, with the mouth open, forming a black rugby ball in the negative space. The SaberCats have played in black and yellow for their entire history. They play in black with yellow accents at home, and the reverse for away. In recent years the SaberCats have leant into the ‘big cat’ brand with some striking tiger-print jerseys.

In early November 2024, the SaberCats announced a subtle re-design of their wordmark logo. The team changed from bright yellow to ‘Regal Gold’ and appeared to make the new gold watermark their primary logo. The side-by-side wordmarks are shown below. While a warmer yellow (gold) is a good look, the change is so minor that people wondered why it was changed at all, saying that they would not have noticed the change if it wasn’t announced. There were even comments on the unveiling of the new look logo from people wondering what the announcement could be, not realising that they were looking at a new logo. The decision to make such a minor change looks even stranger when you remember that since the Dallas Jackals withdrew from MLR in 2024, the closest team to the SaberCats is the NOLA Gold, who already use royal (regal) imagery in their logos.

SaberCats Wordmark 2018-2024
SaberCats Wordmark 2024-

Venue

Shortly after the Houston SaberCats were founded in 2017, Houston City Council agreed to fund $3.2m towards a roughly $15.25m purpose-built rugby stadium to be completed in 2019. While this new stadium was under construction, the SaberCats played their home games out of Dyer Stadium for 2018, a 6,000 seater rugby/football/soccer/track arena that forms part of the Delmar-Tusa Sports Complex. The SaberCats had hoped to move into their new stadium ahead of their first home game, but due to construction delays the team had to play out of Constellation Field, a 7,500 seater baseball stadium where the Houston SaberCats played their exhibition season prior to the 2018 season.

Their new Stadium, a 4,000 seater grass pitch named AVEVA Stadium (thanks to a 3yr deal with software & tech company AVEVA) opened in April 2019 and has been the home of the Houston SaberCats ever since, making them the first (and so far, only) MLR team to own their own venue. Following the 3yr naming deal with AVEVA, the stadium became known as SaberCats Stadium in 2022.

SaberCats Stadium