Sam Walsh

Boston born, Hong Kong raised fullback/fly-half Sam walsh played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Rugby FC LA (2024), and the Chicago Hounds (2025).

Born in Massachusetts, Walsh and his family moved to Hong Kong when he was an infant. He attended King George V School there before attending Scots College in New Zealand, where he played rugby both for the school and for Clearwater Bay. Walsh attended UC-Berkeley between 2018-2022, playing rugby with the California Golden Bears. Upon his graduation, Walsh joined the USA Men’s 7s program and earned his World Sevens Series debut in Hong Kong in November 2022, alongside Hounds teammate Noah Brown.

In December 2023, Sam Walsh signed with Rugby FC LA ahead of their inaugural MLR season in 2024. He earned 8 appearances and 2 starts for RFCLA in his debut season, recording 135m gained. Following the 2024 season, Walsh played with the Chicago Hounds academy that fall and clearly impressed, as on December 11th, 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the signing of Sam Walsh for the 2025 MLR season.

Semi Kunatani

Fijian back row Semi Kunatani played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2024-2025) and Old Glory DC (2026).

Born in Nadi, Fiji, Kunatani grew up playing Rugby Sevens and won the Bayleys Fiji Coral Coast Sevens in 2013 before making his debut with the Fiji national sevens side in Dubai that same year. He had a standout World Rugby Sevens series in 2014/15, scoring 37 tries and being named to the Dream Team at 4 different tournaments. In total he played 94 games for Fiji Sevens across 17 tournaments, scoring 54 World Sevens Series tries, and represented Fiji at the Olympics in Rio de Janiero where they captured their country’s first ever Olympic Medal, a Gold. For this, Kunatani and the rest of the team were made Officers of the Order of Fiji (OF).

Following his sevens success Kunatani turned his attention to the 15s game. He signed with Stade Toulousain in the French Top 14, playing in 29 games between 2015-2018 before a stint in the English Premiership with Harlequins. Following 11 games for Quins between 2018-2020, he returned to the Pro 14 with Castres as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. between 2022-2023 he played with the Tel Aviv Heat in the Rugby Europe Super Cup.

Kunatani’s links with the Heat may have allowed him to land a spot on the Rugby FC LA roster for their inaugural MLR season in 2024. The RFCLA ownership group shares some overlap with the ownership of the Heat, explaining why they had a healthy Heat contingent on the west coast in their early years including Niall Saunders and Jurie van Vuuren. In his debut season in North America, Kunatani scored 10 tries in 15 games (11 starts), and gained more ground than any other forward that season with 1,126m, finishing 6th league-wide. Because of his standout performance, he was named as RFCLA’s Player’s Player of the Year for 2024, as well as the All-MLR First XV team.

On December 11th, 2024, Rugby FC LA confirmed the signing of Semi Kunatani for the 2025 season where he unsurprisingly took a step back from his spectacular 2024 campaign. He scored an 11th career MLR try and started 4 of his 11 appearances for Rugby FC LA in 2025, still gaining over 300m in possession and recording 70 tackles completed to push his career total to 231. Following the merger of RFCLA with the San Diego Legion to form the California Legion, Semi Kunatani looked elsewhere and signed with Old Glory DC, who announced the signing of Christmas Eve 2025 ahead of the 2026 season.

achievements

2024 All-MLR First XV: Rugby FC LA
6th in MLR Meters Gained: 2024 (1,126m)
T-5th in MLR Try Scoring: 2024 (10)
Rugby FC LA Player’s Player of the Year: 2024
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 14
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 13
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 12

Max Katjijeko

Michael Amiras

Liam Antrobus

Theo Vukasinovic

Alessandro Heaney

US-eligible front row Alessandro Heaney played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented Rugby FC LA (2024-2025) and Anthem RC (2026).

Born to an Italian mother and an Irish American father who was born in Boston, world-traveller Alessandro Heaney was raised in the UK & Ireland. He attended Wellington College in Berkshire, UK (very close to where the owner of this site is from!), representing the school at the Natwest Cup U15s and the U18 Champions Cup. Following this he headed to Ireland and attended the University of Cork between 2020-2023, majoring in Astrophysics and playing for the University of Cork Constitution in the All-Ireland League. During his time there he was also included in the extended squad for the Ireland U20 side.

Heaney signed with Rugby FC LA in December 2023, ahead of their inaugural season in 2024 where he earned his MLR debut and 4 appearances for RFCLA off the bench. On December 12th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the return of Alessandro Heaney for 2025. With LA’s pack hit heavily with injury in 2025, Heaney stepped up. He appeared in 15 games during his sophomore season compared to 4 in year before, and earned his first 12 MLR starts, completing well over 100 tackles and gaining 111m in possession, helping Rugby FC LA to qualify for the postseason for the first time in team history. Following news of RFCLA merging with the San Diego Legion to form the California Legion, Heaney signed a short-term deal with the Cornish Pirates in the English Championship for the remainder of 2025, where he played alongside fellow MLR alum Tomiwa Agbongbon. On December 19th, 2025, Alessandro Heaney’s return to Major League Rugby was confirmed when Anthem RC announced that they had signed him for their 2026 campaign.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 14
MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13

Bruce Kauika-Petersen

Dane Zander

Australian prop Dane Zander played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Rugby FC LA for his entire MLR career.

Playing rugby through high school, Zander joined the Northern Suburbs Colts side and progressed to their Shute Shield premier side. Zander also played with Brisbane City in the Australian National Rugby Championship from 2018-2019. Zander earned his Super Rugby debut with the Queensland Reds, where he played between 2019-2023 and earned just shy of 50 Super Rugby appearances.

Zander signed with Rugby FC LA ahead of their first season since relocating from Atlanta and rebranding under a new ownership group. He appeared in all 16 games of RFCLA’s competitive 2024 season, starting 12 times and completing just under 100 tackles while running for just over 200m gained as a prop. He was named to the MLR Team of the Week for Rounds 6 & 11 for his performance in 2024. On December 12th, 2024, Rugby FC LA announced the return of Dane Zander for their sophomore season in 2025.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 12
MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6

Rick Rose

Ohio native Rick Rose played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Miami Sharks (2024-2025), and Old Glory DC (2026).

6’7″ Rose helped Saint Ignatius to the Ohio 1B Rugby Championship and the 1A Championship during his time there between 2015-2019, and captained the Celtic Elite from 2017-2019. He then attended St. Bonaventure University between 2019-2023, captaining the side in his junior & senior years. He played with the Canyons at the 2023 Collegiate Rugby Shield and on the back of his performance there and his solid resume, Rose was drafted 1st overall in the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft by the Miami Sharks expansion side.

Rose was named to the bench for the Sharks‘ first ever Matchday 23 against the Chicago Hounds and appeared in every single game during the Sharks’ inaugural season in MLR, starting 12 times and completing over 115 tackles in his rookie season. On 30th October 2024, the Miami Sharks announced the return of Rick Rose for their 2025 MLR campaign. His sophomore season was affected by injury, but Rose still managed to earn 9 appearances for the Sharks, starting twice and earning a Team of the Week selection in Round 11 to help them to their first ever playoff appearance.

Following the 2025 season, the Miami Sharks announced their withdrawal from MLR and as a result, Rose moved on from the team. On 5th November 2025, Old Glory DC announced the signing of Rick Rose for the 2026 MLR Campaign.