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.

2026 – RD 2: Anthem RC v Chicago Hounds

Following their season opener against the California Legion last week, Anthem RC return to Charlotte for their home opener against the Chicago Hounds. This game marks the first of the season for the Hounds, who had a bye in Round 1.

Anthem RC return to Charlotte to a hero’s welcome after claiming their first victory in franchise history last week against the California Legion, snapping a MLR record 32-game winless streak dating back to the start of the 2024 season. They face a Chicago Hounds team that many have labelled as a favourite for the Shield this year. The Hounds team for this game included 7 players in the starting XV who were earning their Hounds debut, including hooker Theo Fourie who made his MLR debut. In addition, flanker Maclean Jones earned his 50th MLR appearance as a Chicago Hound in this game, becoming the first player to reach a half-century of games for the team.

The Chicago Hounds showed no signs of rust in their first showing of a new campaign, and never trailed in this game scoring 5 tries to Anthem’s 3 to lock up the full 5pts and get their campaign off to a perfect start, taking this one 19-33 on the road. Anthem, perhaps overconfident after their first ever victory last week, return to the drawing board to prep for the Seattle Seawolves next week.

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2026 – RD 2: Seattle Seawolves v Old Glory DC

Following a bye for both teams in Round 1, the Seattle Seawolves host Old Glory DC at Starfire Stadium to kick-off the 2026 Major League Rugby Campaign for both sides.

This match was played under the Friday Night Lights of Starfire Stadium, with both teams looking to get their MLR campaigns off to a good start. Coming into this game, Old Glory DC had not announced their jerseys for the 2026 season at all. The very first look that fans were given of their jerseys were when the players walked out onto the pitch.

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2026 – RD 1: California Legion v Anthem RC

The 2026 Major League Rugby Season kicks off with the California Legion hosting Anthem RC at the Championship Soccer Stadium in Great Park, Orange County.

As well as marking the first game of a critical season for Major League Rugby, this also marks the first game for the California Legion under their new, merged identity. This is the only game of the opening weekend with the remaining 4 teams receiving byes. Anthem RC were the first to reveal their lineup, with 11 players earning their Anthem debuts in the starting 15, including MLR debuts for 2025 draftees Will Sherman (1st Overall) and Campbell Robb (2nd Overall). The Legion revealed their starting 15 shortly after, with kiwi fly-half Coby Miln earning his MLR debut in the 10 shirt.

Luke Carty recorded the first points of the 2026 MLR season off the boot to give Anthem RC an early lead before Cole Semu crossed for the California Legion soon afterwards, recording the first try of the 2026 season and the first in franchise history for the California Legion. Coby Miln pushed the conversion wide giving the Legion a narrow 5-3 lead, which would be the last time that the hosts where ahead. Conner Mooneyham scored the first Anthem try of the season by collecting his own kick for a lovely try, and he would pick up a second before the end of the first half, sandwiching a Campbell Robb effort from close range, the 2025 2nd Overall pick scoring a first pro try on his MLR debut.

Discipline fell apart and things got tense towards the end of the half, with repeat infringements and a scrap putting both sides down players. Gonzalo Bertranou fed Ryan James on the outside to cut the gap to 12-20 to Anthem at the half, but the hosts wouldn’t get any closer than this. The 2nd half saw the scrappiness continue as the game tended to open up. Erich Storti secured the bonus point for the guests in the 56th minute, and Baden Godfrey added another on his MLR debut to balloon the score to 12-34, before the Legion managed to hit back. The Legion had looked very off the mark for the entire game, trying to force the extra pass or offload, often resulting in them coughing up possession. They coughed up 22 turnovers in this game compared to Anthem’s 10, but did manage to claw back a few tries to secure a try BP through Ben Sugars and Ben Houston, but this was Anthem’s day.

With a 26-39 victory, Anthem RC record the first victory in franchise history on their 33rd attempt, snapping the longest losing streak in Major League Rugby history! With a bonus point victory, Anthem have already equalled their points total from last season with 5, and currently lead the entire league! They will enjoy their Home Opener against the Chicago Hounds next weekend, while the California Legion will try to regroup before taking on the defending champion New England Free Jacks next week.

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Brendan O’Meara

California native Brendan O’Meara coach in Major League Rugby between 2021-2023, and between 2024-2026. He served as Assistant Coach for the Austin Gilgronis (2022), Utah Warriors (2024-2025), and Anthem RC (2026)

After earning both his Undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Saint Mary’s College in California, Brendan O’Meara began his coaching journey with his alma mater in 2014. He serves as an Assistant Coach for the SMC Gaels from 2014-2021, also serving as an Assistant Coach of the USA U20s side in their preparation for the Junior World Trophy Qualification matches in 2018. In late 2021, O’Meara earned his first coaching role in Major League Rugby as an Assistant Coach for the Austin Gilgronis during their 2022 season where they finished 1st in the Western Conference, also heading the AGs Academy as Head Coach.

Following the disqualification and subsequent withdrawal of the Gilgronis from MLR in 2022, O’Meara headed to Colorado to join the American Raptors as Assistant Coach – Attack & Backs for their Super Rugby Americas season in 2023 before joining the Utah Warriors under Greg Cooper, serving as Attack Coach from 2023-2025. He helped coach the Warriors to a franchise best 11-5 record in 2025, finishing the regular season as the best team in MLR and advancing to the Western Conference Final that year. With the Utah Warriors withdrawing in late 2025 (marking the 3rd team to fold with O’Meara coaching), O’Meara headed to the east coast to join Anthem RC as Assistant Coach – Attack & Backs for their 2026 campaign.

Coby Miln

New Zealand fly-half Coby Miln played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He repsented the California Legion for his entire MLR career.

Miln attended Hamilton Boys’ High School in New Zealand before moving to Australia, joining the Randwick Galloping Greens in the Shute Shield Competition. He earned his pro debut in 2022 after moving to Japan, playing with the Munakata Sanix Blues in Division 3 of the JRLO before returning to Randwick. In 2024, he moved from Randwick to the Warringah Rats and finished as the Shute Shield’s top points scorer with 217pts scored in the 2024 season. Following his performances with Warringah, Miln earned a spot on the Western Force squad for their 2024 tour of South Africa, and was called into the Western Force Super Rugby side in March of 2025 as injury cover, where he earned his Super Rugby debut against the Crusaders in Round 5.

On 7th March, 2026, the California Legion announced the addition of the 26yo fly-half for their inaugural MLR campaign in 2026.

achievements

NARDB Player #1,660

Charlie Walsh

US-Eligible Hong Kong front row Charlie Walsh played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

Born and raised in Clearwater Bay, Hong Kong, Walsh began playing rugby as a hooker at the age of 8. He moved to New Zealand for high school in 2017 to pursue his interest in rugby, attending St. Paul’s Collegiate School. By 2019, Walsh helped St. Paul’s to a New Zealand Central North Island (CNI) First XV Championship, having and had had a sniff with the Waikato U18 side. Following his graduation from St. Pauls, Walsh looked towards the US for college. Although born and raised in Hong Kong, Walsh is the son of two successful American attorneys and is a US-citizen.

Charlie Walsh enrolled at UC-Berkeley and played with the Golden Bears between 2020-2025. Primarily a tighthead prop, he earned 45 starts with the Golden Bears, and captained the team to a 2025 D1A National Collegiate Championship on the back of a 15-1 record. After earning a Graduate Certificate in 2025, Walsh declared for the 2025 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected in the 2nd Round, 11th overall, by the Seattle Seawolves and signed with the team for their 2026 campaign. He was included on the full Seawolves roster when the team announced it on 2nd March, 2026.

achievements

NARDB Player #1,659

Tiai Vavao

Back row Tiai Vavao played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A Seattle native of Samoan heritage, Tiai Vavao grew up in Washington State as a fan of football and wrestling, but in a rugby household. Although familiar with the game that his father had played back in Samoa, Tiai Vavao only started playing the game himself during high school. He excelled and quickly earned a spot on the USA U18s tour to Canada before being contacted about a spot at Central Washington University (CWU) by then-head coach Todd Thornley (now in the California Legion set-up). Vavao enrolled at CWU and played rugby with the Wildcats during his time there while also progressing through the USA age-grade sides, playing with the Falcons, the U20s, and most recently the U23s in 2025.

Following his graduation from CWU, Tiai Vavao declared for the 2025 MLR Collegiate Draft, and was selected in the 1st Round, 3rd Overall, by his hometown team, the Seattle Seawolves. He signed an MLR contract and was included on the Seawolves’ full 2026 roster when the team announced it on 2nd March, 2026.

Achievements

NARDB Player #1,658

Matthias Douglas

US-eligible Italian winger Matthias Douglas played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

Born in Italy, Matthias Douglas developed with Mogliano Veneto in the Italian domestic top tier, the Serie A Élite. In 2021, Douglas was called up to the Italian U18 team while playing with Valipolicella Rugby in the Italian 2nd Tier, Serie A. The following year, Douglas signed with Benetton and continued to develop with the URC side, featuring on the bench for pre-season matches against the likes of Ulster in September 2023. That same year, Douglas was called up to the Italy U20 side for their 2023 U20 Six Nations competition, starting all 3 of his games in that years’ competition, and scoring a try against France. Douglas continued to play with the U20 national team for the July tests, playing a full 80 minutes in a famous victory over the Springboks U20s in June of 2023.

The following year, Douglas returned to Mogliano Veneto and continued to progress through the Italian age-grade sides, playing with the U23s before heading to Australia to join the Wests Bulldogs, playing Premier Grade rugby in Queensland. Prior to making the move to Major League Rugby, Douglas had returned to his native Italy and was playing with Rangers Vicenza back in the Italian Serie A Élite, and on 10th February, 2026, the Seattle Seawolves announced the addition of Matthias Douglas for their 2026 campaign.

NARDB Player #1,657

Matthew Wagner

American coach Matthew Wagner coached in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He served as an Assistant Coach for the Chicago Hounds.

Matthew Wagner is a staple of the rugby scene in and around Chicago. He led the Purdue University 7s program from 2014-2018 and was named as Big 10 7s Coach of the Year in 2015. Following his time with Purdue, Wagner joined the Illinois Women’s College All-Star team as an Assistant, before joining the Chicago Lions in the same role in 2019. Later that same year he took over as Head Coach of the Lions’ 7s program, guiding the team to a 7s National Championship in 2021 and 5th place the following year.

Wagner first joined the Chicago Hounds as Team Manager ahead of their inaugural season in 2023, spending 2 years in the role whilst also serving as the Hounds’ Senior Academy Head Coach. He earned his spot as an Assistant Coach for the Hounds’ MLR squad ahead of their 2026 campaign and was announced by the team on 5th February, 2026.

Oscar Treacy

US-Eligible Australian winger Oscar Treacy played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the California Legion for his entire MLR career.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Oscar Treacy attended Kingswood College where he first picked up rugby. He moved to the US in 2021 when he enrolled at Central Washington University, representing the Wildcats from 2021 until his graduation in 2025. While at CWU, Treacy was selected as part of the USA Falcons Sevens side in both 2023 and 2025, as well as the USA U23s Sevens team for the 2024 Rugbytown Sevens tournament. He was named a 2x CRAA All-American, and to top it off he was named as the 2025 Rudy Scholz Award Winner, recognising the best college rugby player in the USA.

After graduating from CWU in 2025, Treacy declared for the 2025 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected in the 1st Round, 5th overall by the California Legion, marking the team’s first ever draft selection in their new form. On 23rd January 2026, the Legion confirmed that they had signed US-eligible Oscar Treacy to a Major League Rugby contract for their inaugural season in 2026.

Achievements

NARDB Player #1,656