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.

Micheal Etete

English Lock/Flanker Micheal Etete played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season. He represented the Miami Sharks for his entire MLR career.

Etete represented Berkshire in England at county level in his youth, and attended the University of Reading between 2017-2020, before moving to Leeds Beckett University and playing in BUCS, as well as representing the Leeds Tykes and Reading Rams in the English National One. Etete signed with Bath for the 2022/23 Premiership season, before moving to Australia to play with Randwick in NSW’s Shute Shield competition.

On 21st December 2023, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Micheal Etete for their inaugural MLR season in 2024.

Bart Vermeulen

Dutch-born Belgian prop Bart Vermeulen played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026 season. He represented the NOLA Gold (2024-2025) and Old Glory DC (2026).

Bart Vermeulen represented the Belgium U18s against Japan, Canada, and Spain in 2017, the same year he moved to Ireland to study at Trinity College, where he studied between 2017-2021. During his time in Ireland, Vermeulen represented Trinity in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League and also played with the Connacht Academy while at the University of Galway between 2021-2022. Following his Masters’ Degree in Galway, He moved to the USA and trained with Old Glory DC during the 2023 season before playing with the NOLA Gold Academy in the ARP in the fall. He clearly impressed at the Gold Academy, as on 20th December 2023, the Gold announced that they had signed Vermeulen to an MLR contract for the 2024 season.

Having earned his MLR debut during the 2024 season, he began be the 2nd Belgian born player to play in Major League Rugby, following Jeremy Lenaerts. Vermeulen earned 5 MLR appeared in total for the Gold in 2024, and was confirmed as returning for 2025 by the NOLA Gold on December 17th, 2024. Vermeulen enjoyed a productive season in 2025, even though the Gold took a step backwards. He earned his first pro start, starting 4 of his 12 appearances and completing 63 tackles, all of which are career highs. Following the news in August 2025 that the NOLA Gold were withdrawing from Major League Rugby, Bart Vermeulen explored the market as a free agent and on 21st November 2025, Old Glory DC announced that they had signed him for the 2026 season.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 12

Sam Hill

English centre Sam Hill played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Houston SaberCats for his entire MLR career.

Hill has represented England at U16, U18, and U20 levels, including the U20 World Cup and U20 Six Nations. An Exeter native, Hill represented the Chiefs (his hometown team) in the English Premiership 150 times, winning both a Premiership title and a Champions Cup. He then moved to the Sale Sharks ahead of the 2020/21 season and earned another 40 Premiership appearances. He also represented Blackheath RFC in the English lower divisions during the fall of 2023, before the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of Sam Hill on 19th December, 2023 ahead of the 2024 MLR season.

In his debut MLR season, Hill scored 1 try in 8 games (all starts) for the SaberCats, recording 324m gained in possession and 69 tackles as Houston finished the regular season with a 14-2 record, the best in the league that season. Hill did not feature in the playoffs for the SaberCats, as they suffered a shock defeat to Texas rivals the Dallas Jackals. On November 14th, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Sam Hill for a second MLR season in 2025. That year, he bettered his 2024 total with 9 starts in as many games, and recorded over 50 tackles for the second successive season, also running for 76m gained in possession for an even 400m in his MLR career. Sam Hill started all 3 of the SaberCats’ playoff games in 2025, helping them earn their first ever playoff victory in the Western Conference Semifinal, and advance all the way to the 2025 Championship game where they fell to the New England Free Jacks.

Following the unexpected news in September 2025 that the Houston SaberCats were withdrawing from Major League Rugby, Sam Hill announced an end to his professional playing career on Instagram on 19th November, 2025.

Achievements

2025 Western Conference Champion: Houston SaberCats

Michael Hand

US-born Irish winger Michael Hand played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Miami Sharks on loan from the Chicago Hounds in 2024, the Hounds themselves (2025), and the Seattle Seawolves (2026).

Born in Connecticut, Hand grew up in Ireland and was an All-Ireland Champion Medalist for three consecutive years in the 4×100 relay, while also playing rugby. He attended UC Cork between 2019-2023 and spent some time at Baylor University in Utah as an exchange student. Upon graduation, Hand played for Cork Constitution in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League.

On 19th December 2023, the Chicago Hounds announced the signing of Michael Hand ahead of the 2024 MLR season. On 18th April 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced that they had loaned Hand to the Miami Sharks on a 4-week deal, that became the length of the season. Hand earned 8 MLR appearances for the Sharks, starting 6 times and scoring 3 tries before returning to the Hounds. On October 21st, 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Michael Hand for the 2025 MLR season where he added a 4th MLR try and started all 5 of his appearances with the Hounds that year and earned his first MLR Team of the Week selection following his performance in Round 3. Hand gained a career high 310m in possession that season to pass 500m gained in his 13 game MLR career over 2 seasons.

On 12th February 2026, the Seattle Seawolves announced that they had added Michael Hand to their squad for the 2026 campaign, marking Hand’s 3rd in the competition.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 3

Karl Hunger

Canadian Lock Karl Hunger played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season. He represented the Dallas Jackals for his entire MLR career.

Hunger played club rugby with his local club in Quebec, Beaconsfield RFC, and captained the McGill University side from 2018 through to his graduation. He played with Rugby Canada’s Development Academy, the Pacific Pride, between 2022-2023 and represented the Atlantic Selects (now the Atlantic Privateers) at the 2023 Coast-to-Coast Cup. The Dallas Jackals announced the signing of Karl Hunger on 19th December 2023, ahead of the 2024 MLR season.

On 16th May 2024, the Vancouver Highlanders announced the signing of Karl Hunger for their 2024 campaign. Although a part of the Jackals squad for the first half of 2024, he did not appear in an MLR match.

Gabriel Mahu’inga

Utah Native Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Mahu’inga played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 MLR season. He represented the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

The Herriman, UT native grew up playing club rugby with Herriman Rugby Club while also wrestling and playing football at Herriman High School where he was named a High School All-American in 2017. He attended the Eagles Impact Rugby Academy (EIRA) in 2015 & 2016. Mahu’inga enrolled at Brigham Young University and continued his rugby journey during his time there, where he was named a D1A Collegiate All-American in 2022, representing the USA U23s that same year.

Upon his graduation, Mahu’inga declared for the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in the 1st Round, 11th Overall by the NOLA Gold. On 13th December 2023, the NOLA Gold traded Mahu’inga to the Utah Warriors (Mahu’inga’s hometown team) in exchange for the 6th overall pick in the 2023 Dispersal Draft for NY & Toronto Players (used to select Nate Augspurger who was subsequently traded to the Chicago Hounds). He did not sign with the Warriors however, and on 11th January 2024, Mahu’inga was included on the American Raptors roster for their 2024 Super Rugby Americas season.

Achievements

2023 MLR Draftee: 1st Round (11th Overall) – NOLA Gold

Nick Duffy

Australian scrum-half Nick Duffy played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.

Duffy played his club rugby with the Northern Suburbs in Australia’s Shute Shield competition between 2017-2023, earning over 100 appearances with the first team. He also represented the Sydney Rays in the National Rugby Championship in 2018 and 2019.

Duffy’s signing was announced by the San Diego Legion on 14th December 2023, ahead of the 2024 MLR season.

Drake Davis

Louisiana native Drake Davis played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2024-2025) and the Seattle Seawolves (2026).

Crossover athlete Drake Davis played gridiron football as a wide receiver for Louisiana State University between 2016-2017 and was a 4-star recruit in Rivals, ESPN Scout, and 247 Sports, but turned to rugby following a fall from grace. He played with SaberCats 2 during their 2023 season, earning a full MLR contract with Houston ahead of the 2024 season. His signing was announced by the SaberCats on 14th December 2023. Davis earned two appearances off the bench for the ‘Cats as they finished with the best record in MLR in 2024, 14-2.

Davis returned for a second season with the Houston SaberCats in 2025, recording career highs across the board and earning his first MLR Team of the Week selection in the final week of the regular season, thanks in part to a superb solo try (his first in MLR) against Anthem RC. In total that year, he scored 3 tries in 10 appearances and gained almost 450m to help the SaberCats advance to the MLR Championship Game where they fell to the New England Free Jacks. Davis was named to the Houston starting XV for the final, scoring one of the SaberCats’ 3 tries.

Following the dramatic contraction of MLR between 2025 & 2026, Drake Davis found himself without a professional team at the start of the 2026 season. However, with former Houston SaberCats teammate Rufus McLean leaving the Seattle Seawolves (with whom he was signed) before playing a game there for an opportunity in France, the Seawolves acquired Davis for the 2026 season ahead of Round 5.

achievements

2025 MLR Runner-Up: Houston SaberCats
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 17

Santiago Videla

Chilean utility back Santiago Videla played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Miami Sharks (2024-2025) and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

Videla is a capped Chilean international, having represented the U20 side in 2017-2018, and he earned his test debut for his country in 2017 against Kenya. He represented Chile at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and is Chile’s all-time leading points scorer at XVs level. He has also represented his country at Sevens level in the HSBC Sevens Series. At Club level, Videla represented Selknam, Chile’s representatives in Super Rugby Americas (formerly SLAR) between 2019-2023.

On 14th December 2023, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Santiago Videla for the 2024 MLR season, where he split kicking duties with Felipe Etcheverry, finishing 1pt ahead of Etcheverry on 74pts, 10th in MLR scoring in 2024 as the Sharks enjoyed a respectable inaugural season, just missing out on the playoffs but boasting victories over the NOLA Gold and the reigning champions, the New England Free Jacks. On October 18th 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the return of Santiago Videla for the 2025 MLR season and on April 27th, during Round 11 of that season he became the first Miami Sharks player to pass 100pts scored for the team. He totalled 46pts in his 11 games (all starts) in 2025, helping the Miami Sharks earn their first and only playoff appearance and taking his points total for the Sharks, and in MLR, to 120pts in 23 games. Videla also recorded over 550m gained for the 2nd consecutive season, and sits on 1,150m gained in his MLR career.

Following the announcement in August 2025 that the Miami Sharks were withdrawing from Major League Rugby, Santiago Videla became the first International player to be signed for the 2026 season, when Rugbypass announced that Videla had signed with the Chicago Hounds on October 22nd, 2025. The Chicago Hounds confirmed his addition for their 2026 campaign a few days later.

achievements

10th in MLR Scoring: 2024 (74pts)
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 11

James Scott

English lock James Scott played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Chicago Hounds (2024-2025) and Anthem RC (2026).

Scott was a long-time member of the Worcester Warriors system, starting with the U15 side and progressing to the senior academy in 2017. He made his debut for the senior English Premiership side in 2018, against Stade Francais in the Challenge Cup. He represented the Warriors from 2018-2021 when he was loaned to the Glasgow Warriors in the URC for a 6 week stint. Scott represented the Jersey Reds during their 2022/23 Championship campaign, finishing as champions under Chicago Hounds coach Rob Webber.

The Chicago Hounds announced the signing of James Scott on 13th December 2023, ahead of the 2024 MLR season where he appeared in 17 games (all starts) and scored 4 tries as the Hounds qualified for the MLR Playoffs for the first time in team history, defeating the NOLA Gold before falling to the eventual Champions the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Final. Scott completed over 150 tackles in 2024 and earned an All-MLR Second XV selection for his performance. On January 9th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of James Scott for a second MLR season in 2025. For the 2nd season in a row, Scott started in all 17 of his appearances for the Hounds in 2025, scoring a 5th career MLR try and recording his first 200+ tackle season with 209 completed, finishing 9th League-wide as the Chicago Hounds advanced to the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the New England Free Jacks once again, by a single point. Scott was named to the All-MLR Second XV for his performance in 2025, the second season in a row.

On the morning of 17th December 2025, Anthem RC announced that they had added James Scott to their roster for the 2026 season, his 3rd in Major League Rugby.