Marcelo Torrealba

Chilean scrum-half Marcelo Torrealba played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2021. He represented the Austin Elite/Gilgronis for his entire MLR career.

Torrealba began playing rugby at a very young age at The Grange School in Santiago. He spent 2012-2014 playing rugby at Southland High School in New Zealand, before returning to his native Chile to join the Chile’s Sevens team. He earned his Sevens debut with Chile in December 2014, and represented Los Condores at a number of Sevens tournaments between 2014-2018.

Torrealba attended the World Rugby Combine in Glendale in 2019, earning him a contract with the Austin Elite for the 2019 MLR Season. He made 12 appearances (6 starts) for the Elite in his debut MLR season, scoring 1 try as Austin struggled, recording a 0-16 regular season. Torrealba returned for 2020, starting 4 games for the rebranded Austin Gilgronis and scoring 28pts before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He finished as the league’s 10th highest scorer at the point the season was cancelled. In his 3 years with Austin, Torrealba scored 33pts in 21 games (11 starts).

Following the 2021 season, Torrealba returned to Chile to play with Selknam in SLAR (Now Super Rugby Americas), and earned his international debut for Chile in 2021. He has played with Selknam since 2022, and represented Chile at the 2023 Rugby Word Cup in France.

achievements
  • 10th in League Scoring: 2020 (28pts)

LaRome White

Kentucky native LaRome White played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the Seattle Seawolves (2018, 2026), the Austin Gilgronis (2019-2022), the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024), and the Houston SaberCats (2024-2025).

White was introduced to rugby in 2010 and played throughout his time at the University of Kentucky between 2012-2015, starting at centre and moving to the front row in his 2nd year. Following his graduation, he attended the Sharks academy in 2016 under legendary Springboks front row (and fellow MLR-er) Tendai Mtawarira. White attended the AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American Identification camp Chula Vista Elite Training Center at the start of 2017, before signing with the Seattle Seawolves ahead of MLR’s inaugural season in 2018.

White earned 3 appearances from the bench for the Seawolves, helping them advance to the 2018 Championship Final, defeating the Glendale Raptors 19-23 to lift the first ever MLR Shield. Following the league’s debut season, White signed with the Austin Elite (later the Gilgronis) and remained with the team for 4 seasons, through dramatic changes that saw the AGs really dominate during the 2022 season, before being disqualified (along with their sister team, the LA Giltinis)  for alleged salary cap violations. Both LA & Austin folded in the off-season. White earned a total of 35 MLR caps with Austin between 2019-2022, scoring 3 of his 4 tries to date with the club. In the subsequent Expansion/Dispersal Draft, LaRome White was selected 25th overall by the Chicago Hounds, and signed a multi-year contract with the expansion side ahead of their inaugural season in 2023. In the 2023 season, LaRome White earned a career high 14 appearances (6 starts) including his 50th MLR appearance.

The Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of LaRome White on 3rd January 2024, ahead of that year’s MLR season. On 8th March 2024, 2 rounds into the 2024 season, the Chicago Hounds traded White to the Houston SaberCats in exchange for 2024 Cap Considerations (unknown). earned 13 appearances for the SaberCats in his first season in Houston, helping the team to a league-best 14-2 regular season record. He came off the bench in the Western Conference Semifinal as the SaberCats were stunned by the Dallas Jackals. White returned to the SaberCats for a 2nd season in 2025, earning 11 additional appearances and passing 300 career tackles with 45 on the season to help the SaberCats advance to the 2025 Championship Final, where they fell to the New England Free Jacks.

With the Houston SaberCats’ surprise withdrawal from MLR during the 2025/26 offseason, LaRome White returned to his first MLR club, the Seattle Seawolves. He was announced by the team he lifted the 2018 Shield with on 6th February, 2026.

achievement

Josh Larsen

Canadian born, New Zealand raised lock Josh Larsen played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2025. He represented the Austin Elite (2019) and the New England Free Jacks (2020-2025).

Born in British Columbia but raised in New Zealand with his brother and fellow MLR-er Travis Larsen, Josh began playing rugby at 6 years old, attending Mount Albert Grammar School and graduating from the University of Otago in 2015 with a degree in Commerce. While at University in 2014, he represented the Canada U20 side in the Junior World Trophy, and joined the Northland system in 2016 following his graduation. He represented the Northland Mitre 10 Cup team (now the NPC) in 2017, finishing as runners-up. That same year Larsen earned his debut for the Canada senior team against the Maori All Blacks, and played in the RWC Repechage tournament as Canada fought for a spot at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, which they earned. Larsen returned to New Zealand to play with Otago in the NPC before representing his birth country at the 2019 RWC in Japan. Through 2024 he has 21 caps for Canada.

Along with his brother, Larsen signed with the Austin Elite ahead of the 2019 MLR season. He scored 2 tries in 13 games (all starts) for Austin and completed 179 tackles in his debut MLR season. He then joined the New England Free Jacks expansion side as Free Jack #1, and has been Club Captain of the side for 5 seasons through 2025. Larsen has earned 48 appearances for the Free Jacks (44 starts) and scored 4 tries. He has completed 557 tackles for the club including a high of 231 in 2022 when he finished 5th league-wide. Injury sidelined him for much of 2023 as the Free Jacks advanced to the MLR Championship Final and defeated the San Diego Legion 24-25 in Chicago to earn their first Championship Victory. Injury affected his 2024 season as well but he still managed 14 appearances and 9 starts as New England qualified for the post-season as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the 3rd season in a row. Larsen came off the bench for all 3 of the Free Jacks’ 2024 playoff games including the 2024 Championship Final, a 11-20 victory over the Seattle Seawolves in San Diego to secure back-to-back Shields.

On October 16, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the return of Club Captain Josh Larsen for the 2025 MLR season where he played a depth role in the Free Jacks’ successful threepeat campaign. He earned another 14 appearances for New England, starting just once but still recording 65 tackles to take his career total to over 800 in his 78 MLR appearances from 2019-2025. On 12th November 2025, the New England Free Jacks announced their staff for the 2026 campaign, confirming that Josh Larsen had retired as a player and had joined Ryan Martin’s coaching team as an Assistant (defence). His NARDB Staff Profile can be found here.

achievements

Tiaan Erasmus

South African hooker/flanker Tiaan Erasmus played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2024. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2019-2020), the Houston SaberCats (2021, 2024), and Rugby ATL (2022-2023).

An age-grade player in the Cheetahs system in South Africa, Erasmus moved from Bloemfontein to Texas in 2019 to play with Austin. He spent his first 2 MLR seasons with the AGs, earning a combined 20 MLR caps and appearing in all but 1 of the Gilgronis’ games in that period before the 2020 season was cancelled as a result of COVID. He moved across the state in July 2020 when he signed with the Houston SaberCats ahead of MLR’s return to play in 2021, and earned a further 9 caps (6 starts) for the Cats before moving to Rugby ATL between 2022-2023.

Over his first 5 seasons in North America, Erasmus earned a total of 44 MLR Caps (25 starts) across 3 teams, scoring 10 tries total including a high of 4 on two occasions including in the shortened 2020 season, where he was T-2nd in the league with 4 tries in 5 games. Following news of a change in ownership of Rugby ATL, and their subsequent decision to relocate the team to Los Angeles, Tiaan Erasmus returned to Houston, who announced the signing of the then-27yo on 13th November 2023, ahead of the 2024 season.

Achievements:

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 18
  • T-2nd in League Try Scoring: 2020 (4)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Round 4

Travis Larsen

New Zealand/Canadian Lock Travis Larsen played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2024. He is a MLR journeyman, having represented the Austin Elite (later the Gilgronis, 2019), Old Glory DC (2020), San Diego Legion (2021) Seattle Seawolves (2021-22), and the Toronto Arrows (2023-24) through his 6 seasons in North American professional rugby.

Appearing for Austin in his debut MLR season alongside brother Josh, Larsen appeared in 15 of their 16 games in 2019, earning 13 starts and scoring his first MLR try. He moved to the US capital to represent Old Glory DC in their inaugural MLR season, appearing in all 5 games of the 2020 season before it was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Travis Larsen signed with the San Diego Legion ahead of the 2021 season and earned 8 appearances (1 start) scoring 1 try for the California club before being traded to the Seattle Seawolves mid-way through the season. He stayed with the Seawolves through the 2022 season, helping them to an MLR Championship Final appearance where they fell to Rugby New York (now Rugby New York Ironworkers) 30-15.

On 15th September 2022, Travis Larsen was traded from the Seawolves to the Toronto Arrows in exchange for 2023 Salary Cap Considerations (unknown). He earned 10 further caps (9 starts) in his first season with the Canadian franchise, racking up over 500m gained and delivering 106 successful tackles. His performance with the Arrows led to his international debut for Canada in their September 2023 tests against Tonga.

As of the conclusion of the 2023 MLR season, Larsen has earned 55 MLR caps (35 starts) for 5 different MLR teams, scoring 3 tries. On 10th October 2023, the Toronto Arrows announced the return of Travis Larsen for the 2024 MLR season.

Achievements: