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.

Chase Schor-Haskin

Florida native Chase Schor-Haskin played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2025. He represented the NOLA Gold (2022), Rugby ATL (2023), and the Miami Sharks (2024-2025).

Schor-Haskin played both Rugby Sevens and Fifteens through his time at Life University between 2017-2021, and was drafted in the first round, 6th overall, by Rugby United New York in the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft. On 7th October 2021, Rugby United New York traded Schor-Haskin, along with their 2nd Rd Draft pick in 2022, 26th overall (NOLA Traded this pick to Old Glory DC, along with their 1st Rd pick (3rd overall, used to select Cali Martinez) in exchange for the 2nd overall pick in 2022, used to select Sebastiano Villani) in exchange for NOLA’s 3rd Rd pick in 2022 (used to select Bill Whiteside) and an International Player Slot for 2022.

Schor-Haskin earned his MLR debut for the NOLA Gold but only appeared in the 1 game. He instead focused on his Sevens career with the USA National team, earning 2 tournament appearances in 2022. Schor-Haskin started the 2023 MLR season still under contract with the NOLA Gold, but was traded to Rugby ATL on 22nd March 2023 in exchange for 2023 Salary Cap Considerations (unknown). He continued to play for the USA Sevens team and did not appear during the 2023 MLR season. On 21st September 2023, Schor-Haskin was traded for a third time, from Rugby ATL to the Miami Sharks expansion side in exchange for 2024 Salary Cap Considerations, and on 3rd January 2024 the Sharks confirmed the signing of the Florida native for their inaugural season in 2024.

In his debut season with the Sharks, Schor-Haskin earned 10 appearances off the bench as the Sharks put in a competitive inaugural season. On December 2nd, 2024, the Miami Sharks confirmed the return of Chase Schor-Haskin for the 2025 season. That year, Schor-Haskin added another 7 appearances to his resume as well as his first MLR start after 4 seasons, as well as his first MLR try for the Sharks. As of the conclusion of the 2025 campaign Chase Schor-Haskin has 1 start in 18 appearances, 1 try, 100m gained in possession and 49 tackles completed. With the Miami Sharks’ withdrawal from the league in August 2025, Schor-Haskin became a free agent and it remains to be seen if he will be back for 2026.

achievements

Dominick Iacovino

California wing/fullback Dom Iacovino played in Major League Rugby in 2022, and again in 2024. He represented the San Diego Legion (2022) and Anthem RC (2024).

An Oceanside, CA native, Dom Iacovino played at college level during his time at Grand Canyon University and upon graduating, declared for the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in teh 3rd Round, 31st Overall by the San Diego Legion. He earned 2 MLR caps off of the bench in his debut season for the Legion, before representing the Loggerheads in the 2022 Premier Rugby 7s competition. Later that year, Iacovino toured Uruguay with the USA Falcons.

In January of 2023, the American Raptors (formerly the Glendale/Colorado Raptors of MLR) announced the signing of Dom Iacovino ahead of their inaugural Super Rugby Americas season, but he returned to MLR for the 2024 season, this time signing with Anthem RC. That year, he earned his first MLR start, and was named in the starting XV for 2 of his 3 appearances for Anthem, gaining 76m and scoring his first MLR try.

achievements

Nico Gilli

California native Nico Gilli played in Major League Rugby during the 2022 season, representing the San Diego Legion.

Gilli is from Southern California, an alum of San Diego State University. He earned his first and (to date) only MLR cap as a replacement in the Legion’s opening game of their 2022 campaign, a 31-29 victory over the Utah Warriors.

Matt Moulds

New Zealand hooker Matt Moulds played in Major League Rugby during the 2022 season, representing the San Diego Legion.

Moulds’ signing was announced in January 2022, the then-30yo joining from Gloucester in the English Premiership following a few years with Worcester Warriors. Moulds scored 2 tries in his 8 MLR caps (5 starts) for the Legion in their 2022 campaign.

Moulds did not re-sign with the Legion for the 2023 season, instead returning to his long-time NPC team, Northland.

Achievements:

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Week 2

Thomas Reyes

Arizonan prop Thomas Reyes briefly represented the San Diego Legion in the 2022 MLR season.

A US Navy vet, Reyes began playing rugby in Italy around 2015. He was added to the Legion roster for their 2022 season opener against the Utah Warriors after regular prop Nathan Sylvia was a late scratch. Reyes entered the match late in the game to earn his first MLR cap in a 31-29 Legion win.

George Sharpe

US-Eligible English hooker George Sharpe played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2023. He represented the NOLA Gold for his entire MLR career.

Born and raised in Nottinghamshire, England, Sharpe moved to North Carolina for high school. He attended Arkansas State University, graduating in his draft year of 2021. He was selected in the 1st Round of the 2021 MLR Collegiate Draft, 11th overall by the NOLA Gold.

Sharpe earned 5 Caps (1 starts) in his debut MLR season, splitting his time between the ‘big club’ and the NOLA Gold academy team. He earned a contract extension with the Gold for 2023 but did not feature at MLR level. That same year he was named as the head coach of New Orleans Rugby Club.

Achievements:
  • 2022 NOLA Gold Rookie of the Year
  • MLR Draftee: 2021 – 1st Round (11th Overall) – NOLA Gold

Manuel Ardao

Uruguayan back row forward Manuel Ardao played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Miami Sharks for their inaugural MLR season in 2024, and for his entire MLR career.

A capped international with Uruguay, Ardao is a veteran of 2 Rugby World Cups with Los Teros, representing them in both 2019 and most recently in 2023, where he was a standout. Ardao won 6 turnovers for Uruguay in their World Cup game against Italy, equalling a RWC record. He is a Uruguay regular, representing them in their 2025 July tests.

A then-24yo Manuel Ardao’s signing was announced by the Miami Sharks on 20th August 2023, 1 day before he was announced as a part of the Uruguay squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. Ardao was the 7th player in Sharks history to be announced, and would join the Florida team from Peñarol in the Super Rugby Americas competition, where the Uruguayan club had just won their 2nd title in a row. Ardao had an excellent 2024 season, scoring 5 tries in 12 games (all starts) for the Sharks, completing over 115 tackles and gaining over 550m from the back row as the Miami Sharks recorded an admirable inaugural season that included a victory over the reigning champion New England Free Jacks.

On November 9th, 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the return of Manu Ardao for the 2025 MLR season, where he continued to be a standout. He scored another 5 tries and started 13 of his 14 appearances for the Sharks (both career highs). He helped the Miami Sharks to their first ever postseason appearance in 2025, facing the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Ardao was dynamic in possession, gaining 500m while also completing over 150 tackles on defence and was a menace at the breakdown, leading the league in turnovers won with 27. He was named to the All-MLR 1st XV for his performance in 2025.

Following the withdrawal of the Miami Sharks from Major League Rugby during the 2025/26 offseason, Manu Ardao returned to Uruguay and Super Rugby Americas Champions Peñarol for their 2026 title defence.

Achievements:

  • 2025 All-MLR First XV Selection
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
  • MLR Player of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 2
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 4

All-Time MLR Standings

This table shows the All-Time MLR standings across all seasons, from the inaugural 2018 campaign through to today.

This table includes both active and former MLR teams, 19 in total. Obviously, the teams that have featured in more MLR campaigns have a distinct advantage here, but as time goes on we are seeing more of a mix between the years. The San Diego Legion are in the lead despite never lifting the shield (2x runners-up though!), although with their merging with Rugby FC LA to create a new franchise, the California Legion, the Seattle Seawolves now have a great opportunity to pass the Legion in 2026.

2022 Overall MLR Standings

Major League Rugby’s 2022 season marked the inaugural season for the Dallas Jackals. This is the only MLR season to date to have 3 teams from the same state (Dallas, in addition to the Austin Gilgronis and Houston SaberCats).

2022 was the first season since 2019 to have an odd number of teams (13), and as such, the regular season structure was altered slightly. Each team would still play each other team within their conference both home and away, but their out-of-conference games would be reduced to stick with a 16 game regular season. The Championship Series structure remained the same, with the #2 & #3 seeds from each conference facing each other in the Eliminator Round, with the victor advancing to face the #1 seed in the Conference Finals. The Conference Champions would then face off in the Championship Final.

Arguably the most controversial season to date, 2022 saw both Adam Gilchrist-owned teams (Austin Gilgronis and LA Giltinis) disqualified shortly before the Championship Series for which both sides had qualified.  As a result, #4 & #5 seeds in the Western Conference saw themselves qualifying for the post season. This included the Houston SaberCats, marking their first playoff appearance since they joined MLR in the inaugural 2018 season.

2021 Overall MLR Standings

Major League Rugby’s 2021 season saw the addition of the star-studded LA Giltinis side. The Dallas Jackals were also planning to enter the league for this season, but lingering effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic meant that the Jackals had to defer their entry to the 2022 season.

2021 saw the same regular season structure as was planned for the shortened 2020 season, with each team facing each other team within their conference both home and away, and each team outside their conference either home or away to create a 16 game regular season. The regular season was followed by a 3-week Championship Series, starting with the Eliminator round which pitted the #2 & #3 seeds from each conference against each other, the victor advancing to face the #1 seed in the Conference Finals. The Conference Finals saw teams fighting for a place in the Championship Final, contested by the champions of each conference.