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.

Enrique Quinteros

Paraguayan prop Enrique Quinteros played in Major League Rugby during the 2023 season. He represented the Rugby New York Ironworkers for his entire MLR career.

Quinteros, an AsunciĂ³n native and test capped Paraguayan international, played with San JosĂ© Rugby & Hockey Club and represented the Olimpia Lions (the team that would become Yacare XV) in Super Liga Americana (SLAR, later Super Rugby Americas) between 2020-2022 before heading to Spain to play with Ciencias Sevilla Rugby Club.

Quinteros moved from Spain to the USA in 2023 to play with the Rugby New York Ironworkers for the 2023 MLR season. He earned his MLR debut for the Ironworkers, becoming the first Paraguayan to ever play in Major League Rugby. In early December 2023, just a week after the Toronto Arrows withdrew from the 2024 season, MLR and the Rugby New York Ironworkers announced that they would also no longer compete in 2024. It is unknown if Quinteros had intended to stay in New York, but on 18th January 2024, he was included on the Yacare XV roster for their 2024 Super Rugby Americas campaign, and has played in SRA ever since.

Sebastiano Villani

US-eligible Italian scrum-half Sebastiano Villani played in Major league Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the NOLA Gold for his entire MLR career.

Villani picked up rugby in his hometown of Milan in 2005, and continued to play after moving to the USA, through his time at Greenwich High School where he was named a High-School All-American. Villani attended St. Bonaventure University where he won a Division 1 National Championship with the Bonnies in 2021. He declared for the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected 2nd overall by the NOLA Gold.

Villani played with the Gold academy side through the fall of 2022 and was signed to the MLR side for the 2023 season, were he earned 5 appearances and his first (to date, only) MLR start. Villani returned for the Gold’s best season to date in 2024, earning an additional 4 appearances off the bench as the team finally ended it’s playoff drought. On October 23rd, 2024, the NOLA Gold announced the departure of Villani, and he did not return to MLR in 2025.

Following his departure from the Gold, Villani played for White Plains in 2025 ARP season, and had a stint with Rugby Parma F.C. in Italy that same year.

Achievements
  • MLR Draftee: 2022 – 1st Round (2nd Overall) – NOLA Gold

Sean Paranihi

New Zealand prop Sean Paranihi played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the NOLA Gold for his entire MLR career.

Paranihi’s signing was announced in December 2022, joining from Manawatu in New Zealand’s NPC competition, with whom he has over 30 caps. He is a Maori All Black, having represented them in 2017 & 2019. Paranihi earned 11 caps in his debut MLR season, all of which were starts.

On July 26th 2023, Paranihi was announced as part of the Manawatu squad for the 2023 NPC season. His contract with the Gold runs through 2024, and he returned to MLR for that season, earning another 7 appearances as the Gold finally ended their playoff drought, but fell 21-45 to the Chicago Hounds in the first round. On October 21st, 2024, the NOLA Gold announced the departure of Sean Paranihi. It is unknown if he will return to MLR in 2025.

Achievements: 
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 1
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RamĂ³n Ayarza

Chilean prop RamĂ³n Ayarza played in Major League Rugby during the 2023 season. He represented the Toronto Arrows for his entire MLR career.

Mitch Eadie

English back row Mitch Eadie played in Major League Rugby’s 2023 season, representing the Toronto Arrows.

The signing of a then-30yo Eadie was announced ealy in the MLR offseason in September 2022, joining from the Bristol Bears where Eadie had over 100 appearances with the English Premiership club over 2 stints from 2010-2017, and 2020-2022.

As with many of the Arrows roster in 2023, Eadie missed a number of games during his debut MLR season due to injury but earned 8 MLR caps (7 starts) proving an effective carrier especially off the back of scrums, amassing over 300m gained.

On August 28, 2023, Edinburgh Rugby announced that Eadie had joined the URC club on a short-term deal as coverage during the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. It is unknown if Eadie will return to MLR.

Jale Railala

Fijian lock Jale Railala Vakaloloma (Jale Railala) played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2023, representing the San Diego Legion.

The former Fiji u16 & u20 player joined the Legion late in the 2022 season from his original club in Fiji, Natasiri following a 2 year stint with the Glasgow Warriors in the Pro14 (now the URC) that was marred with injury that kept him off the field for the majority of his time in Scotland. Railala earned 7 MLR caps (5 starts) in his debut MLR season, including an appearance in the Championship Series. The Legion re-signed Railala for their record-breaking 2023 season where they finished with a 15-1 record in the regular season, with Railala appearing in 8 of them (1 start). Railala and the Legion fell ever so short of the MLR Shield, falling 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks in the Championship Final in Chicago.

On July 28, 2023, Jale Railala was the subject of a player spotlight by White Plains RFC in New York, indicating that he was plying his trade there for the MLR offseason. It is unknown if he will return to MLR for the 2024 season.

Achievements:

  • 2023 MLR Runner-Up – San Diego Legion
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2023 – RD 2: New York Ironworkers v Toronto Arrows

The first ever Major League Rugby game held at Memorial Stadium in Mount Vernon. The home opener of the New York Ironworkers as they faced the Toronto Arrows!

The home crowd were treated to an almost entirely one way game, as New York racked up 6 tries and 39 points while the Toronto Arrows manage a single penalty kick. This tied the New York franchise record for Winning Margins, at 36, and is also the heaviest loss in Toronto Arrows franchise history.

This wasn’t the only history made in this game as with his 39th minute penalty kick, Sam Windsor became the first player in MLR history to reach 500pts scored in the competition!

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