Noel Reid

Irish fly-half/centre Noel Reid played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the Toronto Arrows for his entire MLR career.

Reid’s signing was announced by the Arrows in October 2022, ahead of the 2023 season. the then-33yo Dubliner joined from English Premiership side London Irish, having previously played with Leicester Tigers, Agen in the French Top 14, and Leinster between 2012-2018, earning over 100 caps in the Pro12/14 (now URC).

Despite missing parts of his debut MLR season with injury, Reid earned 7 appearances (all starts) for the Arrows in 2023, also scoring 1 try. On 25th October 2023, the Toronto Arrows announced the return of Noel Reid for the 2024 MLR season but announced, along with MLR, that they would not compete in the 2024 season at the end of November 2023. Reid stayed in Toronto for 2024, coaching with the Arrows Academy that year alongside Canadian international Jamie Cudmore, and Arrows legend Sam Malcolm.

On 2nd October 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the addition of Noel Reid as their backs coach for the 2025 season. Reid would join up with his former Leinster teammate Dave Kearney, a co-owner of the Hounds. Reid’s NARDB Staff Profile can be found here.

Henry Bell

New Zealand hooker Henry Bell played in Major League Rugby during the 2023 season. He represented the Utah Warriors for his entire MLR career.

Bell joined the Warriors in October 2022 from Otago, whom he has represented in the NPC since 2020 and had a breakout season with them in 2022. He earned 9 MLR caps in his debut season (all starts), racking up 140 tackles and scoring 2 tries.

Otago announced their 2023 NPC roster in July 2023 and Bell was included, and he was also included in the Highlanders squad for their 2024 MLR season alongside former MLR alum Will Tucker. This ruled him out of the 2024 MLR season.

Achievements:

MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 3

Ramiro Herrera

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 Asunción native and test capped Paraguayan international, played with San José 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 18^th 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

Ramón Ayarza

Chilean prop Ramón 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: