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.

Michael Manson

New Zealand winger Michael Manson played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season, representing the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

Manson was a Top 3 sprinter in New Zealand at u18 level, recording a time of 10.8 seconds for the 100m. His signing was announced by the Utah Warriors on 24th October 2023, joining from the Southland Stags in NZ’s NPC competition, whom he represented since 2022 having previously played with Otago.

His debut season in North America was hampered by a short suspension and injury, but he still had a huge effect on the field for the Utah Warriors. He was the first MLR player of the 2024 season to pass the 1,000m gained milestone which he achieved in only 8 games, and scored 4 tries in Utah’s high-scoring 50-46 victory over the Dallas Jackals, becoming just the 4th player in MLR history to score 4+ tries in a game. Manson finished his debut MLR season as MLR’s Top Try Scorer (14) and Top Meter Eater (1,491m) during the regular season, and finished as Joint-top Try Scorer and 3rd in Metres Gained (just 1m behind Seattle’s Divan Rossouw…) despite only playing 12 games. For his outstanding performance in 2024, he was named as the Utah Warriors Back of the Year and was selected for the All-MLR First XV.

On 26th June 2024, the Southland Stags announced that Manson would return for their 2024 NPC campaign following the conclusion of the MLR season.

achievements:

  • 2024 All-MLR First XV
  • T-1st in MLR Try Scoring: 2024 (14)
  • 3rd in MLR Meters Gained: 2024 (1,491m)
  • 2024 Utah Warriors Back of the Year
  • 4+ Try Game: 2024 – RD 17 (4)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 17
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 16
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6

George Merrick

English lock George Merrick played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Chicago Hounds for his entire MLR career.

Former England U20 player George Merrick represented Harlequins between 2013-2019, earning over 100 appearances with the English Premiership side. He moved to Top 14 club Clermont for the 2019/20 season, before moving back to the Premiership, signing with the Worcester Warriors before moving to the Newcastle Falcons between 2021-2023. He joins the Hounds from Chinnor RFC after representing Carcassonne in the French Pro D2. His signing was announced by the Hounds on 24th October 2023, and he earned 15 appearances (12 starts) for Chicago in 2024, helping them to qualify for the post-season for the first time in team history. He gained just shy of 200m gained in possession and completed 94 tackles in his debut season in North America.

On January 9th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of George Merrick for the 2025 season, his 2nd in the league.

 

Darcy Breen

Australian prop Darcy Breen played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.

A former Wallabies U20 player, Breen has played with Sydney University in Australia’s Shute Shield competition between 2019-2023, also earning 9 caps with the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby. Breen joined the San Diego Legion from Sydney University, and his signing was announced on 19th October 2023 ahead of the 2024 MLR season.

Breen appeared in all but 1 of the Legion’s games in 2024, earning 16 appearances (7 starts) for the Legion and racking up just shy of 300m gained as the Legion qualified for the post-season with a solid 11-5 record. Breen came off the bench during the Legion’s only playoff game of 2024, a 30-28 defeat to their rivals, the Seattle Seawolves. On 3rd November 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Darcy Breen for the 2025 MLR season. In his sophomore MLR year, Breen doubled his starts from 7 to starting all 14 of his games, as well as doubling his tackle total from 2024 to 145 in 2025. For his efforts, Darcy Breen was given the 2025 Legionnaire Award in the San Diego Legion’s end of year awards and was an All-MLR Honorable Mention.

achievements

  • 2025 All-MLR Honorable Mention
  • 2025 San Diego Legion Legionnaire Award
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 17
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 2
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 12
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 5

Tommaso Boni

US-eligible Italian centre Tommaso Boni played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

A native of Mestre in Italy, Boni earned 11 caps for the Italian national team between 2016-18 before reaching out to the USA Eagles, with whom he is eligible for his US-born grandfather. He was selected in the USA squad for their November tour of Spain, where he earned his debut for the USA as Eagle #557. He has 9 caps with the US National Team to date. Boni’s move to Major League Rugby was announced by Old Glory DC on 19th October 2023, who he joined from Italian club Zebre in the URC. In his debut season in North America, Boni completed 99 tackles and ran for 780m gained in 13 games (all starts), he also started Old Glory’s nailbiting Eastern Conference Semifinal clash against the New England Free Jacks.

On December 24th, 2024, Old Glory DC announced the return of Tommaso Boni for his second MLR season in 2025, where he started 3 of his 7 appearances to help the Flags return to the postseason for the 3rd year in a row, where they fell to the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Following the MLR season on September 12th, 2025, Old Glory DC announced the departure of Boni from the team. On January 28th 2026, Tommaso Boni’s agency ISC announced that the dual-capped international was returning to Italy on a short term deal with Mogliano Rugby in the Italian Serie A Élite.

RFCLA

Rugby FC LA

Background & HIstory

Rugby Football Club Los Angeles (Rugby FC LA or RFCLA for short) came to be when a new ownership group bought the Rugby ATL franchise, announcing that the team would relocate to Los Angeles for the 2024 MLR season. Due to the significant change that the franchise went through between Rugby ATL and LA, this site treats the two teams as separate entities. This franchise is no relation to the previous LA franchise, the Giltinis.

Between August and December of 2023, fans would hear nothing about the club apart from the odd rumour, or spark of activity on the MLR trade wire. The ownership group of the LA franchise has some overlap with the Tel Aviv Heat who compete in the Rugby Europe Super Cup, which explains why there is a significant number of Heat players on the LA roster during their inaugural season. A number of Rugby ATL players moved with the franchise to LA for their inaugural season where they finished at the bottom of the Western Conference with a record of 5-1-10. Although they finished 6th in the West, they finished on the exact same number of points as fellow 2024 expansion side the Miami Sharks, 32, and only 3pts behind the Utah Warriors on 35. If nothing else, RFCLA were a competitive team in their first MLR season which for an expansion team, is a good result. Following their 2024 season, RFCLA announced that the contact of Head Coach Steve Brett (who had followed the team from Atlanta) ‘would not be renewed’ beyond the 2024 season.

For RFCLA’s sophomore season in 2025, they went with a remarkably Giltinis inspired look. The team brought in ex-Giltinis Shield-winning Head Coach Stephen Hoiles as both Head Coach and Director of Rugby, and ex-Giltinis Captain Dave Dennis as Assistant Coach. RFCLA also made some huge splashes in the player market, signing veteran Pumas scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou and veteran Super Rugby Fly-half Christian Leali’ifano, who has been test capped by both Australia and Samoa. RFCLA also shook things up with huge moves within MLR, bringing 2021 & 2022 MLR Back of the Year Billy Meakes back to Los Angeles, and signing reigning MLR Player of the Year Reece MacDonald from the New England Free Jacks. These signings, along with a supporting cast from the famous Randwick club in Australia (Hoiles’ former club as both a player and coach), ensured RFCLA took a huge step forward in the 2025 season. LA recorded victories over the Chicago Hounds and 2025 Runners-up the Houston SaberCats during the regular season, finishing 3rd in the Western Conference with a 8-1-7 record and 51pts, earning a spot in the postseason for the first time in team history. They faced the Houston SaberCats in the Western Conference Semifinal and, despite putting in a valiant effort, fell 27-21, ending a solid second season for RFCLA.

In July 2025, following the MLR season, rumours began to circulate that Rugby FC LA would be merging with their California rivals, the San Diego Legion, for the 2026 season. On July 29th, 2025, this was confirmed true as the news was relayed to players and staff for both teams, and the following day on 30th July 2025, RFCLA, the San Diego Legion, and MLR announced that the two California clubs had merged to form the California Legion for the 2026 MLR Season. For the purposes of this site, and given the changes to the organisation from top to bottom. The California Legion is treated as a separate franchise to both Rugby FC LA, and the San Diego Legion. You can find the California Legion team page here.

Records & Record Holders

all time

Top Scorer: Christian Leali’ifano (95pts)
Top Try Scorer: Jason Damm (14)
Top Playoff Scorer: Christian Leali’ifano (6pts)
Top Tackler: Jason Damm (371)
Top Meter Eater: Andrew Coe (1,639m)
Most Capped Player: Tas Smith (32)
Most Starts: Jason Damm (29)

single season

Top Scorer: Christian Leali’ifano (95pts)
Top Try Scorer: Semi Kunatani (10)
Top Tackler: Jason Damm (199)
Top Meter Eater: Semi Kunatani (1,126m)

historical performance

2024: 5-1-10 (-106) – 32pts: 6th in Western Conference
2025: 8-1-7 (+4) – 51pts: 3rd in Western Conference (Conference Semifinalist)

Overall Regular Season Record: 13-2-17
Overall Championship Series Record: 0-1
Championship Series Appearances: 1 (2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 0
Longest Streak: N/A
First Possession: N/A
Last Possession: N/A
Successful Challenges: 2
Failed Challenges: 0
Challenge Success Rate: 0.00%
Successful Defences: 0
Failed Defences: 0
Defence Success Rate: 0.00%

head coach & captain

head coach
captain

Logo & Jersey

2024-25

The name, logo, and venue were unveiled on 21st December 2023, and were not received particularly well by the MLR fanbase. While the colours went down well and the acorn outline was something new, fans could not understand how an acorn represented LA or Southern California, and found the ‘L’ and the ‘A’ to make up an unfortunate shape within the acorn outline. RFCLA CEO Pete Sickle stated on Episode 3 of TRN’s Rugby Rundown show that the oak tree had been present in LA long before people, and was a symbol of strength, stability, solidity, & nurture. Sickle also stated that the font chosen was reminiscent of early Hollywood ‘art deco’ style, while the larger A was a tribute to the Rugby ATL franchise that was the foundation of the club. The name of Rugby Football Club Los Angeles was chosen as a more ‘classic’ team name reminiscent of clubs throughout the world, as well as at the professional level in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, MLR fans thought this name was clunky and lazy, especially after having waited so long to hear any news at all about the team.

RFCLA’s inaugural jerseys instill the sand and beaches of LA, with subtle wave designs throughout. The jerseys are primarily dark blue (home) and light blue (away), with yellow accents similar to the logo. While some fans thought this was also rather dull, it fits in very well with Los Angeles.

Venue

During their inaugural MLR season in 2024, RFCLA played at Dignity Health Sports Park, the 27,000 seat home of MLS franchise LAFC. The stadium had hosted 1 MLR game prior to 2024, a San Diego Legion game against the Utah Warriors in April 2021. It also hosted 3 USA Eagles test matches between 2013-14, and is a planned venue for the 2028 Olympic Rugby Sevens tournaments. For their 2nd season in 2025, RFCLA relocated from Dignity Health Sports Park to the UCLA campus, playing most of their home games out of Wallis Annenberg Stadium, a 2,145 seat soccer stadium.

Wallis Annenberg Stadium at UCLA

 

Brandon Harvey

North Carolina native Brandon Harvey played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the San Diego Legion (2024-2025) and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

Harvey’s signing was announced by the San Diego Legion on 17th October 2023, whom he joined from Cardiff Met University in Wales, where he had been studying since 2021. He was selected as part of the USA U20 team in 2022 and played in the Netherlands. Harvey earned his MLR debut in 2024, starting 3 times and earning 5 appearances in his debut season, and running for over 100m gained in possession.

On 5th November 2024, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Harvey for the 2025 MLR season where he earned a career high 4 starts in 4 games, contributing 22m gained and 39 tackles completed, another career high. Following the 2025 MLR season, Brandon Harvey was included in the USA squad for their Fall internationals, and earned his test debut as Eagle #598 against Georgia in Batumi. After the merging of the San Diego Legion with Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion, Harvey signed a 2-year deal with the Chicago Hounds which was announced by the team on December 19th, 2025.

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5

Manuel Covella

Argentinian centre Manuel ‘Manu’ Covella played in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season. He represented the Dallas Jackals during his debut season in North America.

Covella represented Los Pumitas at u19 level, as well as Los Pumas Sevens. Covella joined from the Club Gimnasia y Esgrima de Rosario (GER) in Argentina’s URBA Top 12 competition, with the Dallas Jackals announcing the signing on 17th October 2023 ahead of the 2024 MLR season.

Zurabi Zhvania

Georgian prop/hooker Zurabi Zhvania played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Chicago Hounds for his entire MLR career.

Prior to his joining MLR, Zhvania played with Wasps in the English Premiership, earning 21 starts and 35 appearanced before the club fell into administration. He then moved to Grenoble in the French Pro D2 between 2021-2023. His signing for the 2024 MLR season was announced by the Chicago Hounds on 16th October 2023. In his debut season in North America, Zhvania scored 2 tries in 5 games (4 starts) for the Hounds before suffering an injury that ruled him out for a huge chunk of the 2024 MLR season.

On January 9th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of Zurabi Zhvania for a second season with the team in 2025.

 

Perry Humphreys

English wing/fullback Perry Humphreys played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2027. He represented Old Glory DC for his entire MLR career.

Prior to joining the Flags in the US Capital, Humphreys was a regular in the Worcester Warriors lineup in the English Premiership. He earned over 100 caps with the Warriors between 2014-2022, when the team went into liquidation. Humphreys’ signing was announced by Old Glory DC on 12th October 2023, ahead of the 2024 MLR season.

In his debut MLR season, Humphreys scored 2 tries in 11 games (all starts), gaining over 500m in possession, earning a Team of the Week selection in Round 18 and helping Old Glory DC return to the MLR Post-season for the 2nd year in a row. Humphreys started their Eastern Conference Semifinals clash with the New England Free Jacks, gaining 45m as the Flags ran the Free Jacks close, but fell 29-33 to the eventual Champions. On December 15th, 2024, Old Glory DC confirmed the return of Perry Humphreys for the 2025 season.

On April 29th, 2025, just over half way through the 2025 MLR season, Old Glory DC announced that they had extended Perry Humphreys, keeping him with the Flags through the 2027 MLR season. In 2025 he recorded a career high 594m gained and scored 6 tries in only 12 games to help the Flags qualify for the post-season for the 3rd season in a row. Despite MLR’s shift towards a more domestic focus, Old Glory DC announced the return of Perry Humphreys for the 2026 campaign on 26th November, 2025.

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4
  • MLR Player of the Week: 2025 – Rd 12
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 12
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 18

Kirby Myhill

Welsh hooker Kirby Myhill played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Miami Sharks (2024-2025) and Old Glory DC (2026).

Born in Burry Port in Wales, Myhill attended the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Lampeter. In his youth he played with his local club, Burry Port RFC, before entering the Scarlets system and playing with their U18 side. At senior level he represented Llanelli RFC in the Welsh premier division, as well as the Scarlets in the Pro14 (now the URC) over 60 times between 2010-2016. He then moved to Cardiff RFC between 2017-2023, earning just shy of 100 Pro14/URC caps between 2017-2023.

Myhill played with the Wales U16 & U20 sides, and is a fully capped Welsh international, earning his debut in October 2021 against the All Blacks as #1,172.

The Miami Sharks released a ‘soft’ announcement of Myhill’s signing on 13th October 2023, along with the signing of fellow welshman Rob Evans. He joined from Cardiff RFC in the United Rugby Championship (URC). Myhill ran for over 200m gained and completed 34 tackles in his 7 games (6 starts) during the Sharks’ respectable MLR season. On November 18th, 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the return of Kirby Myhill for his 2nd season with the team in 2025. In his 2nd season with the Sharks, Myhill recorded over 100 tackles made in 15 games (10 starts), scoring 4 tries on over 100m gained, including a try in the Sharks’ first (and only) postseason appearance in the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the New England Free Jacks.

Following the withdrawal of the Miami Sharks from MLR during the 2025/26 offseason, Kirby Myhill became a free agent and on 20th January, 2026, Old Glory DC announced that they had added the Welsh international to their roster for the 2026 MLR season.