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.

2024 Eastern Conference SF 1 – New England Free Jacks v Old Glory DC

Following the International break, the MLR Playoffs get underway with the reigning champion New England Free Jacks (#1) hosting Old Glory DC (#4) at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium for a spot in the Conference Final.

The hosts may have had their 2024 home record in the back of their heads as they entered this one, with 3 of their losses coming at the usually impenetrable Fort Quincy, including one to Old Glory DC early in the season. The Free Jacks however, opened the scoring through a Reece MacDonald score in open play to grab an early 7-0 lead, before Connor Buckley ran a great support line to level things up just minutes later. Jayson Potroz would add a penalty to give New England back the lead before Buckley would strike again to shift the lead over to the Flags, before the two sides traded penalty for try once more, with DC captain Jama Fa’anana-Schultz diving over the ruck to tocuh down for Old Glory’s 3rd of the game and give the visitors a 13-21 lead after Jason Robertson added the two. The two sides settled into a back and forth without shifting the scoreboard, and it looked as though DC would take that lead into the sheds for the half time break, but the Free Jacks had other ideas. A 36th minute try from Jed Melvin cut the gap, before Potroz added another 3 followed by Oscar Lennon scoring his first MLR try with the clock in the red for half-time, to give the hosts a 30-21 lead and shellshock Old Glory DC with 17pts scored in the final 5 or so minutes of the first half.

A high-scoring first half led to a low scoring second, with a real battle for the first 15minutes of the half was finally broken by Connor Buckley’s 3rd try of the game, to cut the gap to 4pts after a missed conversion. With this score, Buckley becomes the first player in MLR history to record a hat trick in a Playoff game! Minutes later, Potroz added another 3pts to extend the lead to 7pts, before a 66th minute penalty to DC where they opted for the posts rather than the corner, taking the score to 33-29 with just under 15minutes to play. These final 15 minutes proved a defensive masterclass from the Free Jacks, pinning DC deep in their own end and giving them no real opportunity to gain ground and get into scoring range. Another nail-biting game in this growing rivalry ends 33-29 in favour of the reigning champion New England Free Jacks.

The Free Jacks advance to the Eastern Conference Final where they will face the winner of NOLA Gold v Chicago Hounds, while DC’s season comes to an end in Quincy once again, and they head to the off-season.

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Greg Cooper

New Zealand coach Greg Cooper coached in Major League Rugby during between 2022-2025. He was head Coach of the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

As a player, Cooper played at Fullback, representing Otago for the Majority of his playing career, along with Hawke’s Bay and Auckland, all in New Zealand’s NPC. He represented the Blues in Super Rugby, and earned a handful of caps for the All Blacks in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He still holds the record for the most points scored for Otago, racking up 1,520pts in his career.

As a coach, Cooper was named Otago Head Coach between 2003-2004, and has coach in New Zealand, France, and Japan where he was instrumental in elevating the Mitsubishi Dynaboars to Japan’s top classification for the first time in club history. Cooper was appointed as Head Coach of the Utah Warriors in July 2022, leading them through 3 MLR campaigns from 2023-2025. He holds a 26-22 record with the Warriors that includes a franchise-best 2025 season where they finished as the top team in the regular season with a 11-5 record, and earned their first playoff victory before falling in the Western Conference Final. Shortly after the end of the Warriors’ 2025 season in June 2025, Cooper and the team announced that he was stepping down as Warriors Head Coach to pursue other opportunities. A few day’s later, Utah Assistant Coach Robbie Abel was named as his successor.

Allan Clarke

Northern Irish ex-player Allan Clarke coached in Major League Rugby between 2021-2026. He was appointed as Director of Rugby (DoR) of the Dallas Jackals in 2020, and moved to the Seattle Seawolves following the Jackals’ decision to defer their MLR entry to 2021, where he served as both Head Coach and DoR.

Capped 8 times for Ireland between 1995-1998, Clarke hails from Dungannon in Northern Ireland. He played with the Northampton Saints in England between 1993-1998, before winning a European Cup with Ulster in 1999. He finished his playing career in 2001 due to injury.

On the coaching side, Clarke has had an excellent career. He returned to the Ulster set up to establish their player pathway before being promoted to Assistant Coach. He joined the IRFU as High Performance Manager, also coaching the Ireland U20s to a U20 Six nations victory in 2010 before returning to an Assistant Coach role at Ulster. In 2017 he headed to Wales to join Ospreys as their Forwards Coach, before being promoted to Head Coach in 2018 where he served until 2020 when he was appointed DoR of the Jackals, then moving to the Seawolves once the Jackals pushed their entry into MLR to 2021. He has served as both Head Coach and Director of Rugby for the Seattle Seawolves since 2021, recording two Runner-Up finished in 2022 & 2024, and an overall record of 44-35-2 in charge through the 2025 season.

Head Coach Record

Overall: 44-2-35
Seattle Seawolves (2021-2025): 44-2-35

achievements

Danny Lee

Former All Black Danny Lee coached in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He served as the Head Coach of the San Diego Legion (2023-2024) and Head Coach of the NOLA Gold (2025).

A native of Hastings in Hawke’s Bay, NZ, Lee began his pro playing career with Hawke’s Bay in the competition that would become the Air New Zealand Cup (now the NPC) in the mid-1990s. He joined the Hurricanes in the Super 12 (now Super Rugby) in 1997 while also playing with the Cwntral Vikings before moving to play with the Chiefs between 1999-2002, while also earning his two caps for the All Blacks in 2002. Lee then moved to the Highlanders between 2003-2005, also representing Otago in the 2nd tier, before returning to Hawke’s Bay between 2006-2008, and playing with the Blues in Super Rugby in 2008.

Upon retiring from playing professional rugby, Lee turned his attention to the coaching side, coaching his former team Hawke’s Bay between 2011-2017 before heading to Japan and coaching the Mie Honda Heat until 2021. Lee signed on as head coach of the San Diego Legion ahead of the 2022 season, heading stateside on New Year’s Eve 2021, later than intended due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. He coached the Legion through 3 MLR seasons, including a MLR-record 15-1 regular season in 2023 where they advanced to the Championship Final, falling in the final few minutes to the New England Free Jacks. Lee held an overall record of 34-14 in the regular season, and a playoff record of 1-3. Following the Legion’s defeat to the Seattle Seawolves in the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals, San Diego announced that they had parted ways with Danny Lee.

On 29th August, 2024, the NOLA Gold announced that they had added Danny Lee as their Head Coach heading into the 2025 season, making him the 3rd coach in league history to have been Head Coach of multiple MLR teams, behind Nate Osborne (NOLA Gold & Old Glory DC) and Sam Harris (Austin Gilgronis & Chicago Hounds).

achievements

Simon Cross

Raised in Scotland but born in Mauritius, ex-player Simon Cross coached in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He served as Head Coach of Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

At club level, Simon Cross developed in the London Wasps system between 2000-2003, captaining their U21 side to victory in the 2003 U21 Premiership Final against Bristol at Twickenham. In 2003 he joined Edinburgh Rugby, captaining the side from 2007-2010 before retiring due to persistent knee injuries. Internationally, Cross represented Scotland U19s in 2000, and turned down the opportunity to play with England U21s in 2002.

Despite being born in Mauritius while his English father served in the British Army, Cross has Scottish heritage and always considered himself Scottish. He was named to several Scotland training squads and was even named on the Scotland bench during the 2004 Six Nations, but never received a test cap for Scotland. Cross did, however, represent the Scotland Sevens team during the 2006/07 World Sevens Series.

Following his retirement as a player in 2010, Cross turned to coaching and was named First Team Coach of the Edinburgh Accies in the Scottish National League D1 from 2010-2012 before coaching in the Scotland U20s setup from 2012-2013, when he joined Premiership side Worcester Warriors as Defence Coach in 2013. Cross coached with Worcester from 2013-2022. Shortly after the end of the MLR season in July 2023, Cross headed Stateside to take up the Head Coach role with Old Glory DC for the 2024 season, a team part-owned by the Scottish RFU at the time. Cross has served as Head Coach for the Flags from 2022-2025, qualifying for the playoffs each year in charge and recording an overall record of 15-2-15 through the 2025 season.

Scott Mathie

South African ex-player Scott Mathie coached in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He served as Head Coach of the New England Free Jacks.

achievements
  • 2023 MLR Champion: New England Free Jacks
  • 2023 MLR Coach of the Year

Rob Webber

English ex-player Rob Webber coached in MLR during the 2024 season. He served as Forwards Coach for the Chicago Hounds, before being promoted to Interim Head Coach for the Hounds’ 2024 Playoff push following the departure of Sam Harris.

Webber is an accomplished player in his own right, having earned over 100 appearances for London Wasps in the English Premiership between 2005-2012, also playing for Bath between 2012-2016 and the Sale Sharks from 2016-2020. He won the Premiership with Wasps in 2008 and earned over 300 Premiership appearances in total. Webber is a capped England international, having earned 16 test caps.

His coaching career began as Forwards Coach for the Jersey Reds in the English Championship in 2021, before 2 seasons as the Reds’ Head Coach. When Jersey collapsed in 2023, Webber joined the Chicago Hounds as Forwards Coach for their 2024 season. He was promoted to Interim Head Coach following the departure of HC Sam Harris late in the season, and oversaw the Hounds’ first MLR Playoff run in 2024. At Age 37 that season, Webber was younger than some players in the league.

On June 24th 2024, English Premiership side Saracens announced that Webber would be joining the club as Assistant Forwards & Transition Coach for their 2024/25 season, ruling out the possibility of the Hounds removing the ‘Interim’ tag from his title with them.

Sam Harris

New Zealand born, Australian former player Sam Harris coached in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025. He served as Head Coach of the Austin Gilgronis (2020-2022) and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024) before being let go towards the end of the 2024 season. Harris then joined Rugby FC LA as Attack Coach for their 2025 season.

Harris began his pro playing career with the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby in 2001. He represented the Tahs from 2001-2008, sandwiching a stint in the NRL between 2003-2006 when he played with the Manly Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers. Following his time with the Waratahs, Harris moved to Japan to play with the Honda Heat for their 2008/9 season, before returning to Australia to play with the Western Force in 2010.

Following his retirement, Harris turned to coaching. He began his career on the sidelined with the Warringah Rats in 2011 before accepting an Assistant role at his former team, the Honda heat in Japan. Harris spent 7 years as an Assistant in Japan between the Heat and Ricoh Black Rams, before accepting his first Head Coach position with the Austin Gilgronis ahead of the 2021 season. Harris held a strong 21-0-11 record with the AGs, and looked the favourite to lift the Shield in 2022 before they were disqualified and subsequently folded during the ‘Gilly-Gate’ fiasco. With Austin folding, Harris accepted a role as Head Coach of the Chicago Hounds expansion side for 2023, leading the Hounds through their inaugural season and the majority of the 2024 season before being let go in June. Harris held a record of 8-1-20 as Head Coach of the Hounds for a career record of 29-1-31 as a MLR Head Coach.

On October 10th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the addition of Harris as Attack Coach for their 2025 MLR season.