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.

2022 – Eastern Conference Final: New England Free Jacks v Rugby New York

The New England Free Jacks host Rugby New York at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in the first Championship Series game in Free Jacks history, the Eastern Conference Final!

Finishing as #1 in the Eastern Conference, New England had the luxury of a bye last week, where they would’ve watched Rugby New York comfortably dispatch 2021 Runners-Up Rugby ATL on the road in the Eastern Eliminator to earn their spot in the Conference Finals. The winner of this match would become the Eastern Conference Champion and move on to face the Seattle Seawolves for the MLR Shield.

New York were put on the back foot almost immediately thanks to a Free Jacks lineout steal that was sent out wide. Jesse Parete hit a great angle to break the New York line, and a lovely inside pass from Le Roux Malan put Beaudein Waaka through a gap to score. Waaka converted his own score to give the hosts an early lead. Waaka‘s boot would extend the lead to 10-0 just over 10 minutes later after the Free Jacks won a penalty in kick range following a number of New York forays into Free Jacks territory. New York got on the board shortly after, as Jack Heighton gathered a chip through and released Andrew Coe, who was stopped just short. After recycling the ball it was sent out wide to Benjamin Bonasso to finish in the corner. Jason Emery converted. Waaka & Emery slotted another penalty each before the half, taking the score to 13-10 to the hosts at the break after Wian Conradie held up a New York attack that made it across the line but not down.

The home side extended their least early in the 2nd half again through the boot of Waaka after New York were penalised for going offside. This would be the final Free Jacks score of the afternoon as the sides then went end-to-end with both sides winning breakdown turnovers to diffuse dangerous situations. Ellis popped a short ball to release Andrew Coe who managed to offload to Nehe Milner-Skudder to dart in for the try. Fresh on the field, Sam Windsor nailed the conversion to give the visitors their first lead of the game heading into the final 10 minutes. A few minutes later, Reegan O’Gorman was handed a yellow card for a shoulder charge following a New York break, and the guests took their chance. After a few phases a cut-out pass found Andrew Coe in space and this time the Canadian would finish himself. Windsor nailed the 2pts again to give New York a 16-24 lead, and the Free Jacks were unable to respond.

The Free Jacks, the #1 team in MLR this season, are left wondering about what could have been, and start planning for 2023. Rugby New York become the Eastern Conference Champions and move on to the Championship Final against the Seattle Seawolves to fight for the MLR Shield.

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2022 – Western Conference Final: Houston SaberCats v Seattle Seawolves

The Houston SaberCats host the Seattle Seawolves at AVEVA Stadium for the ‘Cats first ever Championship Series game, the Western Conference Final!

The SaberCats found themselves catapulted into the #1 spot in the Western Conference following the controversial disqualification of the Austin Gilgronis and LA Giltinis, #1 & #2 in the west respectively. They were able to sit back and watch as the Seawolves comfortably defeated the San Diego Legion in the Western Eliminator last week.

The home side got off to a fast start, with Davy Coetzer flyhacking a loose pass through and was able to finish effectively unopposed. He converted his own score to give the ‘Cats an early lead. The Seawolves got on the board through the boot of AJ Alatimu before an enormous penalty kick from Gerrie Labuschagne easily cleared the posts over 50m away. Undoubtedly spectacular, this would be the final score for the hosts in the first frame. 3 tries from the Seawolves in the latter 30 minutes of the first half carried the guests to a 10-25 lead.

The SaberCats started the second half similar to the first, with Labuschagne scoring quickly following an offensive lineout. Roughly 5 minutes later, Labushagne cut through the Seawolves line and drew the last defender before passing to Christian Dyer, who won’t get many easier finishes. These two quick tries put the hosts right back in it, now trailing 22-25. Unfortunately for Houston, fighting their way back into the game may have taken a toll, as the momentum began to swing back to Seattle at the 50 minute mark. Mzamo Majola finished a score from close range following a stolen lineout and great footwork from Ross Neal & Dan Kriel, before Neal scored one of his own minutes later, followed by Duncan Matthews scoring his 2nd minutes later again. Alatimu converted all three and it seemed that the three scores in 6 minutes broke the Houston spirit. Dyer would grab his 2nd for the ‘Cats in the 75th minute, but this was nothing more than a consolation try as the Seawolves emerged victorious by a score of 27-46.

With both Duncan Matthews and Christian Dyer scoring a brace in this game, it became the first playoff game in MLR history to feature multiple players scoring multiple tries!

The SaberCats’ 2022 ends here, while the Seawolves advance to their 3rd Championship Final in 5 years, and will face the winner of the Eastern Eliminator between the New England Free Jacks and Rugby New York.

 

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2022 – Western Eliminator: Seattle Seawolves v San Diego Legion

The Seattle Seawolves host the San Diego Legion at Starfire Stadium in the 2022 Western Eliminator. The surprise fixture is a result of both the LA Giltinis and Austin Gilgronis disqualification from the 2022 season, bumping the Seawolves and the Legion into playoff spots.

The Legion got off to a dream start, with scrum-half Nate Augspurger charging down a Seattle clearance and, after a Legion scrum, slipped between two defenders for the opening try which was easily converted by Joe Pietersen. The Seawolves struck back quickly, with 2 AJ Alatimu penalties sandwiching a Sam Matenga try from a rolling maul, also converted by Alatimu. The reeling Legion had more back news after they lost a lineout on their own throw, resulting in a Duncan Matthews try in the corner. Alatimu added the 2 and the score was suddenly 7-20 to the hosts. The final score of the first half came just before the half-hour mark, a Ma’a Nonu break almost put Michael Smith in for a score, but was held just short. Tevita Tameilau finally powered over and Pietersen added the 2 to bring the Legion within 6, and the score remained 14-20 into the break.

The Seawolves struck first in the second half through the boot of Alatimu once again, shortly before Riekert Hattingh was handed a yellow card for a high tackle to put Seattle down to 14 for 10 minutes. The Legion lineout failed however, giving away possession and allowing Seattle to clear, followed about 5 minutes later by another 3pts from Alatimu. The real nail in the coffin came from an up & under kicked and recovered by Duncan Matthews. Alatimu almost finished it himself but came up just short, allowing the forwards to finish it themselves for a 7pt try through a driving maul credited to Travis Larsen. The Seawolves didn’t take their foot off the gas, with Ross Neal crossing for their 4th of the game. Alatimu was accurate as ever to take the score to 40-14, all but over. The Legion claimed a consolation try a few minutes from the final whistle, but their season would end here.

Seattle will progress to the Western Conference Final to face the surprise #1 seed in the West, the Houston SaberCats.

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2022 – Eastern Eliminator: Rugby ATL v Rugby New York

Rugby ATL hosted the Eastern Eliminator at Silverbacks Park, facing Rugby New York for a spot in the Eastern Conference Final against the New England Free Jacks.

Rugby ATL flanker Connor Cook was handed a yellow card in just the 2nd minute, for a deliberate knock-on following an early break by Waisake Naholo. This put the RATLers on the back foot almost immediately, and they soon conceded a penalty that was converted by Jason Emery. The first half saw no tries, with Kurt Coleman and Jason Emery having a kick-off, with the visitors taking a 6-9 lead into the sheds.

Rugby New York brought on 2 USA Eagles at half-time in the form of Nate Brakeley and Nick Civetta that immediately bore fruit. A rolling maul from an attacking lineout was brought down illegally by ATL and while they escaped without a yellow card, the ref awarded NY with a penalty try to take the score to 6-16. The hosts seemed to stabilise following this, and started applying the pressure. Nick Civetta was handed a yellow card for NY repeat infringement but still the RATLers couldn’t find pay dirt, and settled for the 3pts which was followed up by another penalty a few minutes later to take the score to 12-16 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The guests struck back with their patented driving maul from an attacking lineout, finished by Dylan Fawsitt and converted by Emery to take the score to 12-23 with just over 5 minutes remaining. The deadly accurate Emery added another penalty kick with a minute to go, before Coleman scored and converted a consolation try to make the final score 19-26 to the guests.

The 2021 Runners-up finish their season here, while Rugby New York moves on to face the Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Final, held at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.

 

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2022 – RD 18: LA Giltinis v Seattle Seawolves

The final game of the 2022 regular season saw the Seattle Seawolves travel down the west coast to face the LA Giltinis at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

With the disqualification of the Austin Gilgronis the day before this game, the Giltinis moved into the #1 spot in the Western Conference and a bye to the Conference Final, which they would host. With a strong win in this game, LA could have potentially hosted the Championship Final (should they make it). However, an injury-stricken Seawolves side produced a shock victory over the men from Los Angeles, with a 27-35 bonus point win. As a result, the New England Free Jacks finish first overall, and will host the Championship final should they make it that far.

Two days after this game on June 7th, 2023, after the regular season had concluded, Major League Rugby announced that the LA Giltinis were disqualified from the 2022 season for a ‘violation of league rules’ similar to the case of the Austin Gilgronis just days before. Both Austin and LA were owned by Australian fitness tycoon Adam Gilchrist (hence the ‘Gil’ names), leading many to speculate that there was a link. With LA now disqualified, the Houston SaberCats become the #1 seed in the West and will host the Western Conference Final against the winner of the Western Eliminator between Seattle and the San Diego Legion, who find themselves catapulted into the post-season.

Following the disqualification, the Giltinis franchise was put up for sale with Gilchrist looking to leave the rugby business in North America. In late October 2022, the league announced that no buyer had been found for either the Giltinis and Gilgronis and that neither team would compete in the 2023 season, effectively folding both franchises. This would be the last game in Giltinis club history.

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2022 – RD 18: Toronto Arrows v Old Glory DC

Old Glory DC travel north of the border to face the Toronto Arrows at York Lions Stadium during the final round of the 2022 regular season.

With both teams already eliminated from playoff contention, the dead rubber match provided a chance for each team to finish their 2022 season on a high, and it was Old Glory who took that chance, scoring 8 tries in a hard fought 35-50 win, their 3rd of the season and first ever over the Arrows.

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2022 – RD 18: Dallas Jackals v Utah Warriors

The Dallas Jackals host the Utah Warriors at Choctaw Stadium, the final game of the Jackals’ inaugural MLR season.

The hosts put up a great fight in the first half, leading 5-0 at the half hour mark, and only trailing 5-7 at half time and into the last half hour. Beyond the 50 minute mark, the Warriors took over. Danny Christensen scored another 2 tries to add to his 1 from the first half, scoring the 1st hattrick of his MLR career, and the 3rd hattrick in Utah Warriors club history! The Utah Warriors completed only 60 tackles in the entire game, the lowest tackles completed by a team in a single team in MLR history.

This defeat means that the Jackals finish their miserable inaugural season with a record of 0-16, the 2nd winless season in MLR history following the Austin Gilgronis in 2019.

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2022 – RD 18: Houston SaberCats v Austin Gilgronis

The Houston SaberCats host state rivals the Austin Gilgronis for a turbulent game at SaberCats Stadium during the final round of the 2022 regular season.

The Gilgronis had a bombshell drop just hours before this game, as Major League Rugby announced that the Austin Gilgronis had been disqualified from the 2022 MLR season for ‘a violation of league rules’. As a result, a number of Gilgronis players pulled out of the Austin lineup in an apparent response to MLR’s decision to disqualify the AGs. With the San Diego Legion on a bye, the Houston SaberCats were likely aware that they had all but secured a playoff spot.

Some of the frustrations may have added to the intra-state rivalry, with 3 cards being doled out at once including 2 reds (one per team). The Gilgronis did walk away with a bonus point victory in a 14-29 win in what is now the AGs final game of the 2022 season. The Gilgronis’ disqualification lifts their sister team the LA Giltinis into the #1 spot in the Western Conference, moving the Seattle Seawolves into a playoff slot.

This game would turn out to be the final game in the history of the Austin Elite/Herd/Gilgronis as the club was put up for sale following the disqualification, and were unable to find a buyer. The team effectively folded in October of 2022.

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2022 – RD 18: New England Free Jacks v Rugby New York

The New England Free Jacks suffer their first home defeat of 2022, falling to Rugby New York at Veterans Memorial Stadium in the final round of the regular season.

With the Free Jacks already securing the #1 spot in the Eastern Conference, and Rugby ATL already securing a bonus point win, New York’s 14-21 victory had no effect on the standings but will provide a confidence boost heading into the post season.

All points were scored in the first half, with Beaudein Waaka‘s conversion of Terrell Peita‘s try on the stroke of half time being the final score.

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2022 – RD 18: Rugby ATL v NOLA Gold

The NOLA Gold travel to Georgia to face Rugby ATL at Silverbacks Park during the final Round of the 2022 regular season.

Despite already securing a playoff spot and the #1 spot in the Eastern Conference already secured by the New England Free Jacks, Rugby ATL still had something to play for in the form of securing home field advantage for the Eliminator Round.

The RATLers were made to work for their 45-19 win as they trailed 14-19 at the break thanks to 3 NOLA tries. Unfortunately for the Gold, ATL came out for the second half with a vengeance, scoring 31 unanswered points to pull away and ultimately secure a bonus point victory.

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