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.

Robert Mapa

Dual codes utility back Robert Mapa played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

Born in California but raised in Brisbane, Australia, Mapa began playing rugby while at school, and represented a Queensland Red U19 side in 2022 following stand out performances with Brothers in the Hospital Cup. He earned his debut with the Brothers first grade side in 2023, where he was spotted by the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He played rugby league for the U21 side in 2024, scoring twice in his 1 game.

On December 15th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of US-eligible Robert Mapa for the 2025 season.

NARDB Player #1,348

Mauro Rebussone

Argentinian lock Mauro Rebussone played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the Miami Sharks for his entire MLR career.

A native of the Argentinian Capital of Buenos Aires, Rebussone developed with Belgrano Athletic Club, playing in the URBA Top 14 between 2013-2019. He joined the Olympia Lions (now Yacare), Paraguay’s franchise in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR), now Super Rugby Americas (SRA), between 2020-2021, where he was a consistent starter in the second row. Following a season with the Paraguayan team, Rebussone headed to Europe, signing with Colorno in the Italian Top 10 (now the Serie A Elite) for the 2021/22 season. He spent one season in Italy before joining Narbonne in the French Nationale, representing them in the French 3rd tier, the Nationale, between 2022-2024.

On December 13th, 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Mauro Rebussone for their 2025 MLR season.

Achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 1

NARDB Player #1,347

Calvin Liulamaga

Washington State native Calvin Liulamaga played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A native of Auburn, WA, Liulamaga attended Auburn High School where he was named a High School All-American, and played rugby with Ranier Rugby Club before attending Central Washington University (CWU). While at CWU, Liulamaga earned two Collegiate All-American titles as well as a nomination for the Rudy Scholz award, rugby’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Liulamaga declared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected by his local team, the Seattle Seawolves, in the first round, 11th Overall.

On December 11th, 2024, the Seattle Seawolves formally confirmed the signing of Calvin Liulamaga for the 2025 MLR season. Although he Liulamaga did not appear in an MLR game in 2025, he was named as the Seattle Seawolves’ Young Player of the Year in their End of Season Awards. On 16th January, the Seawolves announced the return of Calvin Liulamaga for their 2026 campaign.

achievements

Seattle Seawolves 2025 Young Player of the Year
2024 MLR Draftee: 11th Overall – Seattle Seawolves

NARDB Player #1,345

Matias Jensen

Australian centre Matias Jensen played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

A native of Sydney, Jensen played with the Brumbies U19 squad in 2022, the same year he attended a camp with the Junior Wallabies before joining the Randwick Galloping Green in the Shute shield, earning his debut for the 1st grade side in April 2023, helping Randwick to their first Championship since 2004 alongside fellow Rugby FC LA centre Nick Chan. Primarily a centre, Jensen featured on the wing for the Brumbies in the 2024 Super Rugby pre-season trials.

On December 10th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Matias Jensen for the 2025 MLR season, alongside Randwick teammate Nick Chan.

Achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 1

NARDB Player #1,344

Nick Chan

Australian centre Nick Chan played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025) and the California Legion (2026).

A Sydney native, Chan played as a fly-half through school but moved to the midfield as he grew. He joined the famous Randwick Galloping Green in 2021, the same year he was selected for the Junior Wallabies team, and has played with Randwick in the Shute Shield from 2021-2023, winning the competition in 2023 alongside fellow RFCLA player Matias Jensen. Chan played with the Western Force in the 2022 Super Rugby pre-season, and has been knocking on the door of the NSW Waratahs squad for some time, recently featuring for the team in their victory over the Kubota Spears in Japan.

On December 10th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of 21yo Nick Chan for the 2025 MLR season alongside Randwick teammate Matias Jensen, continuing to build the Australian influence in the RFCLA squad. In his debut season in MLR, Chan started all 12 of his appearances and recorded 121 tackles in total, scoring 3 tries off of just over 400m gained in possession. Chan remained in California for the 2026 campaign, joining the next evolution of professional rugby in California, the Legion. His signing was confirmed by the team on 6th March, 2026.

NARDB Player #1,343

Simon-Peter Toleafoa

New Zealand utility back Simon-Peter Toleafoa played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Māngere in Auckland, Toleafoa has Samoan heritage and has represented the Samoan U20s internationally. He played with the Auckland Marist between 2017-2018 and the Ardmore Marist between 2019-2021. In 2022, he joined the Manukau Rovers alongside fellow Māngere native Faletoi Peni, winning back to back Premier Division Championships between 2022-2023. His play with the Manukau Rovers earned him a spot in the Bunnings NPC, and he signed with the Counties Manukau for the 2024 season. Toleafoa scored 4 tries in 11 games for the Steelers, starting 7 times and earning over 600 playing minutes.

On December 9th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of Simon-Peter Toleafoa for the 2025 season, alongside his old teammate, Faletoi Peni.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4

NARDB Player #1,342

Faletoi Peni

New Zealand fly-half/centre Faletoi Peni played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Māngere in Auckland, Peni has Samoan heritage and has represented the Samoa U20 side internationally. He has been named Auckland Club Rugby Player of the Year twice, and won back to back Championships with the Manukau Rovers in the Auckland Premier division in 2022 & 2023, and won for a thrid time with Ponsonby RFC in 2024. His meteoric rise earning him a spot in the Bunnings NPC with the Southland Stags, where he scored 2 tries in 7 games, starting 5 times and playing over 400 minutes.

On December 9th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of Faletoi Peni for the 2025 MLR season, where he played alongside his Manukau Rovers teammate, Simon-Peter Toleafoa.

Achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 8

NARDB Player #1,341

Eddie Fouché

South African utility back Edouard ‘Eddie’ Fouché played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A veteran of South African rugby, Mpumalanga native Fouché came through the Lions system, playing with the Golden Lions in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge between 2016-2019. He graduated to the Golden Lions Currie Cup side for the 2019/20 season before moving to the Pumas, where he played from 2020-2022. He helped the Pumas to win their first ever Currie Cup title in 2022, while also playing a handful of games for the Lions in the URC from 2022-2023. Following his Currie Cup winning season in 2022, Fouché joined the Griquas for the 2022/23 Currie Cup season. It is unclear if Fouché played pro rugby for the 2023/24 season.

On December 9th, 2024, the Seattle Seawolves announced the signing of Eddie Fouché for their 2025 MLR campaign. Fouché will join former Pumas teammates Malembe Mpofu and Njabulo Gumede in the PNW.

NARDB Player #1,340

Mikaea Wynyard

California native Mikaea Wynyard played in Major League Rugby in 2022, and again in 2025. He represented the New England Free Jacks (2022), and Rugby FC LA (2025).

A native of San Jose, Wynyard picked up rugby at the age of 6 with the Silicon Valley Youth Rugby Club, continuing to play through his time at Leigh High School along with volleyball and football as both an offensive and defensive tackle. He also played with the San Francisco Golden Gate high school where he was named a High School All-American and was selected for the North America Four team to face the top teams in Canada at Chula Vista in 2019. In the Fall of 2021, Wynyard was selected for a 9-week high performance pathways camp in Colorado and in December of that year, was signed by the New England Free Jacks as a development player through the 2022 MLR season, although he did not feature for the MLR side.

Following the 2022 season, Wynyard headed across the pond, signing with La Rochelle in the French Top 14 where he was mentored by Australian 2023 Rugby World Cup Captain Will Skelton while playing for the Espoirs side. On 4th December 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Mikaea Wynyard for the 2025 MLR season.

Tim Anstee

Australian back rower Tim Anstee played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Anstee came into his own on the Sevens circuit, representing the national Sevens team at 24 tournaments between 2016-2020, when he switched from sevens to 15s, joining the Western Force for the Super Rugby AU season. Anstee earned 45 Super Rugby appearances for Western Force between 2021-2024, and represented the Australia A side in the Pacific Nations Cup in 2022. Anstee also played with Eastwood in the Shute Shield.

On December 1st, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Tim Anstee on a 2yr contract through the 2026 season. RFCLA DoR Stephen Hoiles previous coached Anstee while he was with the national sevens program in Australia. Anstee had a great 2025 season, scoring 5 tries and starting 15 of his 16 appearances to help RFCLA qualify for the postseason for the first time in club history. He completed over 150 tackles and ran for over 400m gained in possession, and was unlucky to miss out on an All-MLR selection during his debut season in MLR.

Although he signed a 2yr contract with RFCLA through the 2026 season, in May 2025 (while the MLR season was in full swing), the Worcester Warriors announced the addition of Tim Anstee for their 2025/236 Champ rugby campaign. Once LA merged with the San Diego Legion to form the California Legion, Anstee’s contract was voided regardless, however.