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.

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2023 – RD 15: New England Free Jacks v Toronto Arrows

The Toronto Arrows travel to Quincy to face the New England Free Jacks in a top-versus-bottom Eastern Conference match up.

The last time these sides met, the visiting Free Jacks ran up the largest score by a team in league history, scoring 12 tries en-route to a 5-80 victory in Toronto. On this occasion, the Arrows performed better, but were still little competition for the Eastern Conference leaders.

With a 9-try, 57-20 victory, the Free Jacks secured the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, guaranteeing them a bye to the Conference Finals. The Toronto Arrows, on the other hand, were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs following this loss. A playoff race which, unfortunately for Arrows fans, realistically ended many weeks ago.

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Jason Tidwell

Texas Native Jason Tidwell played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2026. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2023-2024), Anthem RC (2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

Tidwell began playing with Alliance Rugby at the age of 10, and founded the Gorilla Rugby invitational side that competes at a number of Sevens tournaments across the US. Tidwell has a gorilla tattoo on his left thigh. He attended Texas A&M University, captaining the rugby team while there and was drafted in the 3rd round, 36th overall, by the Dallas Jackals in the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft.

Tidwell earned limited game time in 2022, earning 3 appearances off the bench as the Jackals began to turn things around after a dreadful inaugural season. Tidwell’s sophomore season was a standout however, earning a further 16 appearances and starting 7 times, scoring 3 tries and racking up over 600m gained. One of Tidwell’s tries came in the Dallas Jackals‘ first ever MLR Playoff game, as they stunned the 14-2 Houston SaberCats by a score of 22-34 in the Western Conference Semifinal, advancing to the Western Conference Final against the Seattle Seawolves, where they fell 25-28.

For his efforts in his 2nd MLR season, Tidwell was named as the Dallas Jackals Most Improved Player for 2024. Following the withdrawal of the Dallas Jackals from MLR shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season, Jason Tidwell declared for the subsequent dispersal draft and was selected 9th by Anthem RC. His signing was confirmed on 21st January, 2025 when Anthem RC unveiled their complete roster for the 2025 MLR season. Tidwell started all 10 of his games for Anthem RC in 2025, scoring another 3 tries and gaining over 300m in possession for the Rising Stars. Having made the most of limited game time early in his pro career and earning a regular starting spot with Anthem RC, Jason Tidwell headed northwest and signed with the Chicago Hounds ahead of their 2026 MLR campaign.

achievements

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Tinashe Muchena

US-eligible Zimbabwean back row Tinashe Muchena played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025, representing the Houston SaberCats (2022, 2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024).

Muchena became the first Zimbabwean ever selected in the MLR Collegiate draft when he was picked 15th overall by the Houston SaberCats in the 2021 Draft. The 2021 Rudy Scholtz Award nominee was not considered US-eligible during the 2022 MLR season and with international slots a commodity in MLR, he played with Houston‘s academy team Rugby HTX. The Lindenwood product signed with the Chicago Hounds expansion side in February 2023 and earned 5 MLR caps during the 2023 season, earning 2 starts and a Team of the Week selection in Round 17.

On October 30th 2023, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Tinashe Muchena for the 2024 MLR season where he earned an additional 2 MLR appearances including 1 start. On March 11th, 2025, 4 rounds into the 2025 MLR season, the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of Tinashe Muchena for the remainder of the 2025 season, returning full circle to the team that drafted him. In his second stint with the ‘Cats, Muchena earned a 4th career MLR start and 4 further appearances to take his career total to 11 in 3 seasons. He also completed 27 tackles to help the SaberCats secure a post-season spot, eventually advancing to the 2025 MLR Championship game, where they fell to the New England Free Jacks.

Achievements:

2023 – RD 14: Rugby ATL v Dallas Jackals

The Dallas Jackals travel to Georgia to face Rugby ATL at Silverbacks Park in what was the very first meeting between the two sides during Round 14 of the 2023 season.

Emerging as 19-27 victors, this game marks the 2nd win in club history for the Dallas Jackals and the first win in the road! As this was the first meeting between Dallas and Rugby ATL, it also marks the very first time that Dallas has a winning record over an opponent, now leading 1-0 over ATL.

For Rugby ATL, this seriously damaged their hopes for a playoff berth in 2023, as they sat 5th in the East following this loss.

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