Ben Houston

Australian back-rower Ben Houston played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025) and the California Legion (2026).

A Sydney native, Houston comes from a rugby family with his father and uncle both involved in the game. Houston began playing with the Randwick Galloping Green in 2019, and played with them through the 2022 Shute Shield season until he was given the opportunity to train with the Wests Tigers in 2023. This ultimately led nowhere so Houston returned to Randwick and Captained the side to the 2023 Shute Shield, the club’s first championship since 2004.

On December 17th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Ben Houston for their sophomore season in 2025, re-joining his former Randwick coach Stephen Hoiles in California. Houston enjoyed an excellent debut season in MLR, starting all 14 of his appearances and scoring 8 tries for RFCLA on over 625m gained, and completed an impressive 160 tackles in total. Ben Houston scored one of his 8 tries in their love playoff appearance during the 2025 Western Conference Semifinal. With RFCLA merging with San Diego to form the California Legion for the 2026 season, Houston returned to Randwick during the 2025/26 MLR offseason but returned to California for the 2026 season, and was announced by the Legion on 5th February, 2026.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 5

NARDB Player #1,351

Marcos Eliçagaray

Argentinian fullback Marcos Eliçagaray played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the Miami Sharks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Buenos Aires, Eliçagaray plays his club rugby with the Club Universitario de Buenos Aires (CUBA) in the Argentinian league, the URBA Top 12. He’s played with CUBA since 2018 in a league that sees a lot of Argentinian MLR-ers during the off-season. In 2023 Eliçagaray was included in an Argentina U23 squad to play in the Super Rugby Americas Future tournament in November 2023. From that, He earned a spot on the Pampas squad for the 2024 SRA season, where they finished as Runners-up.

On December 16th, 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Marcos Eliçagaray for their 2025 season.

NARDB Player #1,350

Michael Scott

Scottish prop Michael Scott played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2025) and the California Legion (2026).

Michael Scott is a product of the Glasgow Warriors pathway system, having come through their academy and played with the Ayrshire Bulls in the Scottish Super 6 competition between 2021-2022. In 2023 he headed to Australia and joined the Northern Suburbs in the Australian Shute Shield competition, and he was called up to the NSW Waratahs as injury cover in 2024, earning his Super Rugby debut in Round 14 against the Moana Pasifika.

On December 16th, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of Michael Scott for the 2025 MLR season. In his debut season in North America, Scott appeared in 18 of the SaberCats’ 19 appearances including all three of their playoff games as the SaberCats defeated Rugby FC LA and the Utah Warriors as they advanced to the MLR Championship Game, falling to the New England Free Jacks in Rhode Island. Scott earned 3 starts and completed over 75 tackles mainly as a reserve. Following the surprise withdrawal of the Houston SaberCats from MLR during the 2025/26 offseason, Michael Scott headed to the west coast, and signed with the California Legion ahead of their inaugural season in 2026. He was announced by the team on 25th February, 2026.

Achievements

2025 MLR Runner-Up: Houston SaberCats

NARDB Player #1,349

Robert Mapa

Dual codes utility back Robert Mapa played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

Born in California but raised in Brisbane, Australia, Mapa began playing rugby while at school, and represented a Queensland Red U19 side in 2022 following stand out performances with Brothers in the Hospital Cup. He earned his debut with the Brothers first grade side in 2023, where he was spotted by the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He played rugby league for the U21 side in 2024, scoring twice in his 1 game.

On December 15th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of US-eligible Robert Mapa for the 2025 season.

NARDB Player #1,348

Mauro Rebussone

Argentinian lock Mauro Rebussone played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the Miami Sharks for his entire MLR career.

A native of the Argentinian Capital of Buenos Aires, Rebussone developed with Belgrano Athletic Club, playing in the URBA Top 14 between 2013-2019. He joined the Olympia Lions (now Yacare), Paraguay’s franchise in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR), now Super Rugby Americas (SRA), between 2020-2021, where he was a consistent starter in the second row. Following a season with the Paraguayan team, Rebussone headed to Europe, signing with Colorno in the Italian Top 10 (now the Serie A Elite) for the 2021/22 season. He spent one season in Italy before joining Narbonne in the French Nationale, representing them in the French 3rd tier, the Nationale, between 2022-2024.

On December 13th, 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Mauro Rebussone for their 2025 MLR season.

Achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 1

NARDB Player #1,347

Calvin Liulamaga

Washington State native Calvin Liulamaga played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A native of Auburn, WA, Liulamaga attended Auburn High School where he was named a High School All-American, and played rugby with Ranier Rugby Club before attending Central Washington University (CWU). While at CWU, Liulamaga earned two Collegiate All-American titles as well as a nomination for the Rudy Scholz award, rugby’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Liulamaga declared for the 2024 MLR Collegiate Draft and was selected by his local team, the Seattle Seawolves, in the first round, 11th Overall.

On December 11th, 2024, the Seattle Seawolves formally confirmed the signing of Calvin Liulamaga for the 2025 MLR season. Although he Liulamaga did not appear in an MLR game in 2025, he was named as the Seattle Seawolves’ Young Player of the Year in their End of Season Awards. On 16th January, the Seawolves announced the return of Calvin Liulamaga for their 2026 campaign.

achievements

Seattle Seawolves 2025 Young Player of the Year
2024 MLR Draftee: 11th Overall – Seattle Seawolves

NARDB Player #1,345

Matias Jensen

Australian centre Matias Jensen played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

A native of Sydney, Jensen played with the Brumbies U19 squad in 2022, the same year he attended a camp with the Junior Wallabies before joining the Randwick Galloping Green in the Shute shield, earning his debut for the 1st grade side in April 2023, helping Randwick to their first Championship since 2004 alongside fellow Rugby FC LA centre Nick Chan. Primarily a centre, Jensen featured on the wing for the Brumbies in the 2024 Super Rugby pre-season trials.

On December 10th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of Matias Jensen for the 2025 MLR season, alongside Randwick teammate Nick Chan.

Achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 1

NARDB Player #1,344

Nick Chan

Australian centre Nick Chan played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2025) and the California Legion (2026).

A Sydney native, Chan played as a fly-half through school but moved to the midfield as he grew. He joined the famous Randwick Galloping Green in 2021, the same year he was selected for the Junior Wallabies team, and has played with Randwick in the Shute Shield from 2021-2023, winning the competition in 2023 alongside fellow RFCLA player Matias Jensen. Chan played with the Western Force in the 2022 Super Rugby pre-season, and has been knocking on the door of the NSW Waratahs squad for some time, recently featuring for the team in their victory over the Kubota Spears in Japan.

On December 10th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the signing of 21yo Nick Chan for the 2025 MLR season alongside Randwick teammate Matias Jensen, continuing to build the Australian influence in the RFCLA squad. In his debut season in MLR, Chan started all 12 of his appearances and recorded 121 tackles in total, scoring 3 tries off of just over 400m gained in possession. Chan remained in California for the 2026 campaign, joining the next evolution of professional rugby in California, the Legion. His signing was confirmed by the team on 6th March, 2026.

NARDB Player #1,343

Simon-Peter Toleafoa

New Zealand utility back Simon-Peter Toleafoa played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Māngere in Auckland, Toleafoa has Samoan heritage and has represented the Samoan U20s internationally. He played with the Auckland Marist between 2017-2018 and the Ardmore Marist between 2019-2021. In 2022, he joined the Manukau Rovers alongside fellow Māngere native Faletoi Peni, winning back to back Premier Division Championships between 2022-2023. His play with the Manukau Rovers earned him a spot in the Bunnings NPC, and he signed with the Counties Manukau for the 2024 season. Toleafoa scored 4 tries in 11 games for the Steelers, starting 7 times and earning over 600 playing minutes.

On December 9th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of Simon-Peter Toleafoa for the 2025 season, alongside his old teammate, Faletoi Peni.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4

NARDB Player #1,342

Faletoi Peni

New Zealand fly-half/centre Faletoi Peni played in Major League Rugby during the 2025 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Māngere in Auckland, Peni has Samoan heritage and has represented the Samoa U20 side internationally. He has been named Auckland Club Rugby Player of the Year twice, and won back to back Championships with the Manukau Rovers in the Auckland Premier division in 2022 & 2023, and won for a thrid time with Ponsonby RFC in 2024. His meteoric rise earning him a spot in the Bunnings NPC with the Southland Stags, where he scored 2 tries in 7 games, starting 5 times and playing over 400 minutes.

On December 9th, 2024, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of Faletoi Peni for the 2025 MLR season, where he played alongside his Manukau Rovers teammate, Simon-Peter Toleafoa.