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.

2025 – RD 1: NOLA Gold v Anthem RC

The NOLA Gold, fresh off their first playoff appearance in 2024, start their 2025 campaign by playing host to Anthem RC, who look to improve on their 0-16 record from their first season.

The home team came out flying, securing the Try Bonus Point after just over 30 minutes, before settling into the game. A new look Anthem RC side didn’t give up, eventually claiming a pair of tries themselves, but the Gold never really looked back after their lightning quick start. A final score of 35-14 to the hosts get the NOLA Gold’s 2025 season off to a flying start. For an Anthem side that had 15 ARC debutants, there was promising spells but they were blown away.

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2025 – RD 1: Miami Sharks v Old Glory DC

The 2025 Major League Rugby season kicks off with the Miami Sharks hosting Old Glory DC in an Eastern Conference clash. The Sharks will be looking to make a push for the post-season in 2025, while the Flags will look to finally get the better of their Eastern rivals, the Free Jacks.

The visitors got off to a dream start, with two Axel Muller tries in the opening 20 minutes. Jason Robertson put both conversions wide, but the flags still had a 0-10 lead early. Whether it was the visitors taking a breath, or the home side waking up, the Sharks began to pull the momentum back towards them, and tries from Ma’ake Muti and Tomas Cubilla, along a pair from Mauro Rebussone, gave the Miami Sharks a 29-10 lead deep into the second half, but Old Glory DC weren’t done yet. Replacement hooker KoiKoi Nelligan got DC moving again, and Robertson made up for his early errors off the tee with a lovely linebreak to score and convert his own try  in the 76th minute, before a dramatic finish.

Old Glory DC had a penalty in the dying stages of the game, and kicked for touch. The lineout was stolen by Miami and with the clock in the red all the Sharks needed to do was find touch…but the kick was charged down, and DC reclaimed possession! With a hail mary, Robertson launched a crossfield kick for Axel Muller, who got on the end of it after it was mishandled by the Sharks defender. Muller completed his hat trick to tie the score at 29-29 with the conversion to come. Robertson got the early season jitters out of the way, and made no mistakes to give Old Glory a memorable victory at the death, kicking off the 2025 season with a wonderful game, although the Sharks will be disappointed to have blown that opportunity at home.

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Cameron Gerlach

US-Eligible New Zealander Cameron Gerlach played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025), Anthem RC (2025), and the New England Free Jacks (2026).

Gerlach earned 2 MLR appearances for RFCLA, starting his MLR debut in Rd 1, before being traded to Anthem RC on 7th March 2025 along with salary cap space in exchange for a 2025 international player slot. Following this trade, Gerlach earned 7 further appearances for the Rising Stars, ending the 2025 season with 7 starts in 9 games along with nearly 250m gained in possession.

Gerlach was not signed to any MLR roster ahead of the start of the 2026 season, but appeared on the New England Free Jacks’ Availability Report ahead of Rd 6, suggesting that the defending champs had signed him for the rest of the campaign.

NARDB Player #1,386

Patrick Beattie

Californian prop Patrick Beattie played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025) and Old Glory DC (2026).

A native of Santa Monica, CA, Beattie began playing rugby locally with Santa Monica Rugby Club. He attended Long Beach State University between 2019-2024, where he was named a Collegiate All-American in 2024. While at Long Beach State, Beattie toured with the California Grizzlies in 2023, and also played with Tauranga Sports Club and Poneke RFC in New Zealand (2019-2021) as well as Billericay RFC in England (2022). He toured with the California Grizzlies to Chile in 2023, and declared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft.

In the 2024 MLR Draft, Beattie was selected in the 3rd Round, 26th Overall, by Rugby FC LA. When RFCLA announced their full 2025 Roster on February 6th, Beattie was included on their ‘Extended’ squad. Beattie spent the 2025 season with Rugby FC LA but did not appear at MLR level for the team. He played club rugby with Santa Monica RC before heading across the country to play with Old Blue RFC in the ARP. On 14th December 2025, Old Glory DC announced that they had added Patrick Beattie to their roster for the 2026 MLR season.

achievements
  • 2024 MLR Draftee: 26th Overall (3rd Rd) – Rugby FC LA

NARDB Player #1,385

Omer Levinson

Israeli scrum-half Omer Levinson played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

Levinson began playing rugby at the age of 12 with Kibbutz Yizreel Rugby Club in northern Israel, and continues to play there, captaining the club to the Israeli men’s club championship in 2023. Levinson plays for the Tel Aviv Heat, where he started the 2023 Rugby Europe Super Cup final against Black Lion, which the Heat lost. Levinson is capped for the Israeli national team at both sevens and XV level.

In early 2024, Levinson headed to Australia to play in the Shute Shield, spending the pre-season with Maccabi NSW Rugby Club before joining the Eastern Suburbs. On February 6th, 2025, Rugby FC LA included Omer Levinson in their ‘Extended’ squad for the 2025 MLR season. Given the overlap that the RFCLA ownership group has with the Tel Aviv Heat, this is likely how Levinson became connected with RFCLA and MLR.

NARDB Player #1,384

Maliu Niuafe

US-born New Zealander Maliu Niuafe played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025) and the New England Free Jacks (2026).

Born in Sacramento, CA and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Niuafe represented Auckland at U19 level in 2022 before representing New Zealand at U20 level in 2023. He played in the Auckland NPC Contenders squad for the 2024 season and the Moana Pasifika wider squad in late 2024, before joining Rugby FC LA in February 2025.

RFCLA‘s signing of Maliu Niuafe was announced when they revealed their full 2025 roster on February 6th, 2025. He started 12 of his 15 appearances for RFCLA in 2025, completing over 100 tackles to help the team qualify for their first postseason appearance, falling in the Western Conference Semifinal to the Houston SaberCats. He headed back to New Zealand following the MLR season, and represented Auckland in the NPC before being called up to the USA National team squad for their Pacific Nations Cup Campaign, earning his debut as Eagle #596 in the USA’s victory over Samoa that clinched the Eagles a spot at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Following Rugby FC LA’s merger with San Diego Legion to create the California Legion, Maliu Niuafe became a free agent. On 8th December, the New England Free Jacks announced the addition of the 22yo prop for the 2026 Major League Rugby campaign.

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 14

NARDB Player #1,383

Emanuel Lai

Connecticut scrum-half Emanuel Lai played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Old Greenwich, CT, Lai began playing rugby with Old Greenwich Riverside Community Center (OGRCC) when he was young. He attended Santa Clara University in California, continuing to pay rugby while there and touring with the California Grizzlies to Argentina in 2022 and Chile in 2023. Lai was one of 50 College Players invited to MLR Rising ahead of the 2024 Collegiate Draft. MLR Rising was an invitational combine to expose top college players to MLR teams ahead of the Draft. Lai was selected with the final pick of the 2024 Draft, 36th overall, by the New England Free Jacks.

Lai impressed with the Free Jacks during December Camp and pre-season, and on February 5th, 2025, 10 days before the start of the 2025 MLR season, the Free Jacks announced that they had signed Emanuel Lai on a short-term contract. Lai appeared in his first matchday 23 for their Round 12 clash with the Houston SaberCats on May 4th, earning his MLR debut. Following the 2025 MLR season, Lai headed to Hong Kong and on 26th January 2026, he signed with Valley RFC in the HKRU Premiership.

achievements

NARDB Player #1,382

Rufus McLean

US-born Scottish winger Rufus McLean played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2025) and the Seattle Seawolves (2026).

Boston-born Rufus McLean played rugby while at Merchiston Castle School and also played with Watsonian FC in the Scottish Super 6 competition. He entered the Glasgow Warriors system and earned his URC debut at the age of 20 in the 2020/21 season. McLean has represented Scotland at U18 & U20 levels, and scored a pair of tries on his test debut for Scotland against Tonga in October 2021. He continued to represented the Glasgow Warriors until early 2023, when his contract was terminated after McLean was convicted of abusing his girlfriend over a period of two years. He was issued a 10-year non-harassment order and sentenced to 120 hours of community service.

In January 2024, the American Raptors announced the signing of Rufus McLean for the 2024 Super Rugby Americas season, where he was named the Raptors’ Player of the Year. Following the news that the Raptors would not play Pro rugby in 2025, McLean signed with the Houston SaberCats on January 23rd, 2025 for the 2025 season. McLean scored 4 tries and started all 15 of his appearanced for the SaberCats in 2025, gaining 673m in possession to help Houston qualify for the postseason for the 4th season in a row with a 10-6 record, where they earned the first playoff victories in team history. McLean started all of Houston’s playoff games in 2025 as they defeated Rugby FC LA and the Utah Warriors to claim the Western Conference Title, before falling to the New England Free Jacks in the 2025 Championship game in Rhode Island. McLean was an All-MLR Honorable Mention for his 2025 season.

Having been born in Boston, rufus McLean was controversially included in the USA Eagles squad for their July tests. He became US-eligible on July 16th, 2025 and earned his test debut as Eagle #595 on July 19th in a 5-40 defeat against England in Washington DC. Following the surprise withdrawal of the Houston SaberCats from Major League Rugby in the 2025/26 off-season, Rufus McLean became a free agent and on 26th December 2025, the Seattle Seawolves announced that they had added him for their 2026 campaign.

achievements

NARDB Player #1,381

Rhys Mitchell

South African lock Rhys Mitchell played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Richards Bay in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, Rhys Mitchell attended Westville Boys High School between 2019-2024, playing rugby throughout. On August 8th, 2024, IPM Rugby announced that 19yo Rhys Mitchell had signed with Anthem RC for the 2025 MLR season. On January 21st, 2025, this was confirmed when Anthem RC revealed their full roster for 2025, including Mitchell.

NARDB Player #1,380

Quinton Tindel

Californian prop Quinton Tindel played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of San Diego, CA, Tindel attended university at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he was named a Collegiate All-American twice and was chosen to tour South America with the California Grizzlies in 2022. The year before that, Tindel had attended the Western Province International Rugby Institute in South Africa, aiming to up his game.

On 30th August 2024, the College Rugby Association of America announced that Quinton Tindel had signed with Anthem RC on a Homegrown Player Contract. This was confirmed when Anthem RC revealed their complete 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025

NARDB Player #1,379