Lole Veimau
Californian hooker Lolenisi Veimau played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.
Veimau is a San Diego native. He has played rugby from a young age, representing the San Diego Aztecs Youth Rugby Club. He played club rugby with Old Mission Beach Athletic Club and attended Point Loma Nazarene University. He was signed by the Legion on a homegrown player contract in 2024, where he earned his MLR debut off the bench. When MLR announced the full 2025 roster for the San Diego Legion, Veimau was included, returning for his 2nd season with the Legion.
Tomalati Ma’afu
Tongan back row Tomalati ‘Michael’ Ma’afu played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.
Born in Tonga and raised in Arizona, Ma’afu attended Saguaro High School where he was a First-Team All-Conference and All-Region defensive lineman as a senior, helping Saguaro to a 5th consecutive AIA 4A state title in 2017. Saguaro did not have a rugby program so Ma’afu played with Arcadia High School as a junior, competing on state, regional, and national level teams, having picked up rugby while young in Tonga.
Ma’afu continued his football journey into university at the University of Idaho as a defensive tackle in 2018, before transferring to Carroll College in Montana, where he continued to play football. Ma’afu is no stranger to rugby, having played with Tempe Rugby Club as well as the San Diego Legion Academy, and signed with Anthem RC just before their inaugural season in 2024. He started 5 of his 6 games for Anthem in 2024, completing 55 tackles and running for just shy of 300m gained in possession. On January 21st, 2025, Anthem RC announced their complete 2025 roster which included Tomalati Ma’afu, who returns for a second season in MLR.
Trent Rogers
Ohio front rower Trent Rogers played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the NOLA Gold for his entire MLR career.
A native of Cincinnati, OH, Trent Rogers captained both the rugby and football teams at Anderson HS, before attending Kutztown University and continuing to play rugby. Rogers was named a Collegiate All-American while at Kutztown and declared for the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft following his graduation, where he was selected in the 1st Round (7th Overall) by the NOLA Gold.
Rogers spent the Fall with the NOLA Gold academy side, and played with New Orleans RFC at the start of 2023 before heading to Charlotte to join the USA Hawks development team, and did not appear at MLR level as a result. Still under contract with NOLA, Trent Rogers returned for the Gold for the 2024 season, earning his pro debut and 3 appearances off the bench to help the team qualify for the postseason for the first time in their history. Following the 2024 MLR season, Rogers returned to Ohio and has been playing with Cincinnati RFC at club level.
 AChievements
- 2022 MLR Draftee: 1st Round (7th Overall) – NOLA Gold
Joe Apikotoa
New Zealand born Tongan prop Joe Apikotoa played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.
Born in Wellington, NZ, Apikotoa played rugby from an early age and represented the Wellington Orcas U17s between 2012-2013. He was named U17 Player of the Year and Junior Player of the Year in 2013. That same year he also played Rugby League for the New Zealand Residents U18, and the following year for the Melbourne Storm for a short period. He returned to New Zealand and played with the Wellington Lions in NZ’s Mitre 10 (now the National Provincial Championship) between 2015-2017, and attended New Zealand Development Camps in 2015 & 2016, earning a trial with the New Zealand U20s.
Apikotoa played with the Hurricanes in the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens in 2017, before joining the Hawke’s Bay Magpies for their 2018 season. He got another shot at Super Rugby the following year, appearing in a Pre-Season game for the Hurricanes before making the unorthodox move to Spain to play with Basque Club Ordizia RE in the Spanish Division de Honor de Rugby. As the COVID-19 pandemic halted the world, he again returned to New Zealand to play with Hawke’s Bay and won the Mitre 10 Championship and Ranfurly Shield, the latter of which they successfully defended in 2021. Apikotoa finally earned his Super Rugby debut with the Chiefs in 2021, before representing the Moana Pasifika between 2022-2023, returning to play for Hawke’s Bay again in 2023. on 9th July 2024, the Magpies announced that Apikotoa would return for their 2024 NPC season. Of Tongan heritage, Apikotoa is a fully capped Tongan international having been named to the squad for their 2022 Pacific Nations Cup, and played in 3 games at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Apikotoa joined Anthem RC ahead of their inaugural season in 2024, as one of the few international players on the World Rugby, USA Rugby, and MLR partnership team. He scored 2 tries in 11 appearances (all starts), carrying for over 300m gained and completing over 100 tackles. He also captained the side twice during their challenging first season, and was named to the All-MLR Honorable Mention XV for his efforts in the Anthem front row. On January 21st, 2025, Joe Apikotoa was included on Anthem RC‘s full 2025 roster, confirming his return for a second MLR campaign.
achievements
- 2024 All-MLR Honorable Mention XV
Aiden Kerr
Washington State native Aiden Kerr played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025 season. He represented the Houston SaberCats for his entire MLR career
Kerr’s signing was announced on March 20th, 2024 by the Houston SaberCats, having played for the SaberCats 2 from 2023-24. He joined the ‘Cats on a developmental contract and did not feature for the team in a MLR match, instead training with them and playing with the academy side. On December 17th, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Aiden Kerr for the 2025 MLR season.
Tonga Kofe
Oregon native Semise Tonga Kofe played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Utah Warriors (2024-2025) and the California Legion (2026).
A crossover athlete, Kofe played football as a Defensive Linesman, winning a PIL Championship 2013 when he was named Defensive Player of the Year. That same year he won the Oregon State Wrestling Championship and did so again in 2014. Kofe played with the Oregon U20 Rugby side for 4 years, earning MVP honours. He attended Portland State University and continued to play football.
Kofe began playing with the Utah Selects in the fall of 2023, and was called up to the Warriors MLR squad in February 2024 just ahead of the start of the season. Kofe is listed at 315lbs which makes him one of the heaviest players in Major League Rugby history. He earned 6 MLR appearances for the Warriors from the bench in 2024, and was named the Warriors’ Newcomer of the Year at the team’s end of season awards. On January 2nd, 2025, the Utah Warriors announced the return of Tonga Kofe for his 2nd MLR season in 2025. His return for the Warriors was the first player announcement of 2025. He had a breakout year in his sophomore season, starting 14 of his 16 appearances for the MLR-leading Utah Warriors and scoring 2 tries en-route to the Western Conference Final, where they fell to the Houston SaberCats. Kofe proved a formidable scrummager and recorded over 100 tackles completed, earning 3 MLR Team of the Week Selections. He was also named to the All-MLR Second XV for his performances.
Tonga Kofe was rewarded for his excellent 2025 season with an inclusion in the USA Eagles squad for their July 2025 tests, and he earned his debut as Eagle #587 when he started for the USA in a 36-17 victory over Belgium on July 5th. Kofe was again included in the USA squad for the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup campaign, and on 16th August 2025, the Leicester Tigers of England’s Prem rugby announced the signing of Tonga Kofe for the 2025/26 season. After this stint in the UK with Leicester, Kofe returned to the US for the 2026 MLR season but with the Utah Warriors having withdrawn from the competition, he signed with the California Legion who boasted a decent number of ex-Warriors in their squad.
achievements
- 2025 All-MLR Second XV Selection
- MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
- MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
- MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4
- 2024 Utah Warriors Newcomer of the Year
Sione Latu
Utah native Sione Latu Jr. played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Anthem RC (2024) and the Utah Warriors (2025).
Latu played both football and rugby through high school, playing as both an offensive and defencive linesman on the gridiron, and a back rower on the rugby pitch. A Herriman local, Latu progressed through the Utah Warriors pathway system, playing at the Crossroads Cup and representing the USA Hawks U23 side. When Anthem was cobbled together for the 2024 MLR season, Sione Latu was one of the players to benefit. He earned 8 appearances (3 starts) during Anthem’s 0-16 inaugural season where the team got more competitive as the season went.
On October 28th, 2024, the Utah Warriors announced the signing of Latu ahead of the 2025 MLR season. It’s unclear if he signed as a free agent, or was acquired via trade with Anthem RC.
Julian Roberts
Hawaii native Julian Roberts played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026 . He represented the NOLA Gold (2024-2025) and Anthem RC (2026).
Born in Hawaii, Roberts attended high school in Kentucky before joining Life University in 2018, playing with their impressive rugby program during his time with the Running Eagles. Upon his graduation, Roberts declared for the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft and was drafted in the 1st Round, 6th overall by the NOLA Gold who signed him ahead of the 2024 campaign. In his rookie MLR season, Roberts scored 2 tries in 11 games (4 starts) and gained over 350m with ball in hand as the Gold qualified for the playoffs for the first time in club history, eventually falling 21-45 to the Chicago Hounds. For his efforts, Roberts was named as the NOLA Gold Rookie of the Year for 2024.
On January 4th, 2025, the NOLA Gold announced the return of Julian Roberts for his sophomore season in 2025 where he was a standout. He started all 10 of his games for the Gold, scoring 4 tries and more than doubling his metres gained total from 353m in 2024 to 740m in 2025. Roberts even double his tackle total from 18 to 36 as a winger. Following the withdrawal of the NOLA Gold from MLR in August 2025, Julian Roberts became a free agent and on 1st December 2025, Anthem RC announced that they had signed him for their 2026 campaign.