Lucas Bur

Argentinian lock Lucas Bur played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2023-2024) and Rugby FC LA (2025).

The Dallas Jackals announced Bur’s signing in early February 2023, shortly before the start of that year’s MLR season. The former Argentina u20 man joined the Texas club from Rugby Rovigo in the Italian 2nd tier. He appeared (and started) in 15 of the Jackals’ 16 regular season games in his debut MLR season, delivering 164 tackles and helping them achieve their first win in club history, a 14-11 victory over the Toronto Arrows.

Lucas Bur was the 1000th player entered into our database, and on 19th October 2023 the Dallas Jackals announced the return of Lucas Bur for the 2024 MLR Season, where he started all 13 of his games that season, completing over 130 tackles as the Jackals qualified for the post-season for the first time in their history. Bur started for the Jackals in their nailbiting Western Conference Final defeat to the Seattle Seawolves.

On September 2nd, 2024, shortly before the Dallas Jackals announced their withdrawal from MLR, the Sitav Rugby Lyons in the Italian domestic league announced the signing of Lucas Bur for their 2024/25 Serie A Elite Campaign. Bur declared for the subsequent dispersal draft following the withdrawal of the Jackals, and was selected 13th overall by Rugby FC LA, who confirmed his signing on December 9th, 2024 alongside fellow Jackal Vaughen Isaacs. Bur started 3 of his 5 appearances for RFCLA in 2025, completing over 50 tackles in an injury-hit season. Following the merging of RFCLA with the San Diego Legion to form the California Legion, coupled with Major League Rugby’s shift towards a bigger focus on domestic players, Lucas Bur returned to Argentina, signing with Super Rugby Americas expansion franchise Capibaras on Chirstmas Eve 2025.

Achievements:

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 10

NARDB Player #1,000

Sam Golla

Texas born, Colorado raised lock/flanker Sam Golla played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2026. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2023-2024) and Anthem RC (2025-2026).

Sam Golla was drafted 1st Overall in the 2022 Major League Rugby Collegiate Draft by the Dallas Jackals. The UCal Berkeley Golden Bear alum featured in all 16 games during his rookie season in 2023, scoring 3 tries and finished 4th in the league on successful tackles made. His debut season impressed many, and he became a clear frontrunner for the MLR’s 2023 Rookie of the Year, which he was rightfully awarded. On May 15th, 2023 (long before the season was over) the Dallas Jackals announced a 3 year contract extension for Golla, locking him in through the 2026 MLR season. He returned to captain the Dallas Jackals in 2024, scoring 3 tries in 10 games (9 starts) during an injury-affected season, but still managed over 100 tackles as the Jackals recorded an MLR-record 9 losing BPs, qualifying for the Playoffs where they faced their #1 seeded Texas rivals, the Houston SaberCats, emerging as 22-34 victors and stunning the top seeded SaberCats before falling to the Seattle Seawolves in the Western Conference Final.

Following his impressive rookie season in 2023, he was included in the USA Eagles’ player pool for their August 2023 tests, where he earned his test debut in a 31-17 victory over Romania in Bucharest. Golla was again included in the USA squad for their July 2024 tests against Romania and Scotland. Unfortunately, Golla picked up an injury on international duty that ruled him out of the MLR playoffs for the Jackals. He was still named to the All-MLR Honorable Mention XV for his performances in 2024, however. He scored another 3 tries in 10 games (9 starts) and completed another 112 tackles to take his career total to 330 tackles in just 2 seasons.

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season, the Dallas Jackals and MLR announced that the team was being sold and would not compete in the 2025 season. In the subsequent dispersal draft, Golla was selected 1st by Anthem RC, who confirmed his signing when they unveiled their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025. He captained the Rising Stars through their 2nd season in MLR, scoring 2 tries and starting all 15 of his appearances, missing just 1 game. Golla put in another 187 tackles to pass 500 career tackles completed (517) in just 3 years in the league. He also passed 1000m gained in possession (1033m). On October 28th, 2025, Anthem RC announced the return of Sam Golla for his 4th MLR campaign in 2026.

Achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 6
  • 2024 All-MLR Honorable Mention XV
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 2
  • 2023 MLR Rookie of the Year
  • 4th in MLR in Tackles: 2023 (218)
  • MLR Draftee: 2022 – 1st overall pick – Dallas Jackals

Karl Keane

Irish born Washington native Karl Keane played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2026. He represented the Seattle Seawolves (2023-2024) and Anthem RC (2025-2026).

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Keane picked up rugby from an early age with Malahide RFC before he moved to Seattle with his family at age 10. He continued to play rugby with the Eastside Lions and Washington Loggers before he attended St. Mary’s College in California, playing for the Gaels while there. Keane has progressed through the USA age grades, playing with the U16, U18, U20, and U23 sides as well as playing with the USA Falcons on their 2022 tour of South America.

He earned 9 MLR caps in his debut MLR season, all of which were from the bench and playing time was limited behind stand-out scrum-half JP Smith. Keane committed to his local MLR side long term, signing a contract to keep him with the Seawolves through the 2025 MLR season, but on July 18th, 2023, Urayasu D-rocks of Japan’s League One D2 announced that they had signed Karl Keane for the upcoming season. The D-rocks season meant that Keane stayed in Japan until May, missing a significant portion of the 2024 MLR season. As a result he did not feature for the Seawolves during their 2024 Runners-Up season. Despite being signed with the Seawolves through 2025, Keane was included in Anthem RC’s squad when they announced their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025. Keane set career highs across the board with Anthem RC in 2025, earning his first 11 MLR starts in 11 appearances, and scoring his first MLR try. He also completed 54 tackles and gained 69m in possession.

On December 9th, Anthem RC announced the return of Karl Keane for his 2nd season with the Rising Stars in 2026.

Jordan Chait

South African Fly-half Jordan Chait played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the Seattle Seawolves (2023) and Rugby FC LA (2024).

A Cape Town native, Chait played Rugby and water polo through high school, and earned a junior provincial contract with the Western Province in 2015. He attended Stellenbosch University between 2017-2019, playing rugby while earning a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Entrepreneurship. He was a part of the team that win the 2019 Varsity Cup. He represented the Tel Aviv Heat during the 2021/22 Rugby Europe Super Cup, and also played for the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks in the Currie Cup Premier Division between 2021-2022.

Chait’s signing was announced by Seattle in January 2023, joining from Israel’s first professional rugby union team, the Tel Aviv Heat. Chait’s deadly accuracy from the tee impressed during his debut MLR season, splitting kicking duties with AJ Alatimu providing a laser-accurate kicking duo for the 2x MLR Champs. Chait earned 8 caps in his debut MLR season, racking up an impressive 77pts in those games (8th in MLR scoring), helping the Seawolves to a 12-4 record in the regular season and making it to the Western Conference Final, falling to the San Diego Legion 32-10.

On July 28th 2023, Chait was featured in a video for the Tel Aviv Heat, strongly implying that he will be spending at least the MLR offseason with the Israeli side. On 5th September 2023, the Seattle Seawolves traded Chait to Rugby ATL in exchange for Ryan Rees. Rugby ATL was under new ownership and would be relocating to Los Angeles and rebranding as Rugby FC LA ahead of the 2024 season. Their new ownership group has some overlap with that of the Tel Aviv Heat, possibly explaining their trade for Chait. In RFCLA‘s debut season, Chait scored 18pts in 2 games (1 start), racking up over 100m gained in possession.

Achievements
  • 8th in MLR Scoring: 2023 (77pts)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 2

Charles Elton

New Zealand back rower Charles Elton played in Major league Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A rugby player from an early age, Elton represented the New Zealand Schools Sevens team while in high school, before attending the University of Otago between 2012-2016. He entered the Otago system following his graduation, spending 5 years playing with Otago B before being named as Northern Otago RFC’s Player of the Year in 2019. The graduated to the Otago Mitre 10 side (now the NPC), playing from 2020-2021 before heading to Australia to play with the Eastern Suburbs in the 2022 Shute Shield competition.

Elton joined the Seattle Seawolves ahead of their 2023 MLR season, proving himself as a defensive stalwart. He score 2 tries and started all 17 of the Seawolves games in his debut MLR season, leading the entire league in completed tackles with an incredible 272. Elton returned for the 2024 season with the Seawolves and again led the league in tackles completed through the first half of the season, with 132 in 9 games (all starts) before injury ended his season early. Elton had to watch from the sidelined as the Seattle Seawolves advanced to their 4th ever MLR Championship Game, falling 11-20 to the New England Free Jacks in San Diego. Through his first two seasons in Major League Rugby, Elton has averaged over 200 tackles a season. His return for 2025 was confirmed when the Seawolves confirmed their full roster for the season on January 14th, 2025.

Charles Elton recorded his 2nd 200+ tackle season in 2025, finished T-10th with Houston’s Emmanuel Albert with 206 tackles completed. Elton did this in just 12 games played (all starts) however, averaging just over 17 tackles per game. For his huge defensive efforts, Elton was named as the Seattle Seawolves’ 2025 Forward of the Year.

achievements

  • T-10th in MLR Tackles Made: 2025 (206)
  • Seattle Seawolves 2025 Forward of the Year
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 12
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 10
  • 2024 MLR Runner-Up: Seattle Seawolves
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 8
  • 1st in MLR Tackles Made: 2023 (272)

Sam Matenga

New Zealand front row Sam Matenga played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2024. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

Matenga has represented the Tasman Mako in New Zealand’s NPC competition since 2019 and toured the US with the side in early 2020, facing the Houston SaberCats and, coincidentally, his future side the Seattle Seawolves. His signing was announced in December 2021 ahead of the 2022 MLR season, and his contract with the Seawolves runs through the 2024 season. To date, Matenga has scored 5 tries in his 42 MLR caps, including 36 starts, and he recorded over 100 tackles in the 2023 season alone.

On July 19th, 2023, Matenga was announced as part of the Tasman Mako squad for their 2023 NPC season. With his MLR contract running through 2024, he returned to the Seawolves for the following season, earning 13 appearances (12 starts) and scoring 1 try during the regular season. Matenga once again returned to the NPC’s Tasman Mako for their 2024 season, as announced on 13th July, 2024.

Achievements:

Pono Davis

Hawaii native Pono Davis played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2025. He represented the Houston SaberCats for his entire MLR career.

Davis is a capped USA Eagle, earning his debut as Eagle #576 off the bench against Canada in August 2024. He was a regular starter during the USA’s July tests in 2025.

A crossover athlete from gridiron football, Davis played in the XFL for the Seattle Sea Lions in 2021 before joining the American Raptors crossover program in the fall. He signed with the Houston SaberCats ahead of the 2022 MLR season, and he earned 8 appearances from the bench for the ‘Cats in his rookie season, before returning to the American Raptors in the fall. His performance with the SaberCats earned Davis another contract with Houston for the 2023 season, in which he earned an additional 15 appearances including his first MLR starts. He racked up 175m gained with ball in hand and completed 75 tackles.

On 2nd January 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Pono Davis for his 3rd season in MLR in 2024, where he appeared in all 17 Houston SaberCats games, starting 4 times and completing over 125 tackles as the SaberCats finished as the #1 team in MLR with a 14-2 record, before being stunned by the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinals. On November 21, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Pono Davis for the 2025 MLR season. Davis had a standout 2025 campaign, setting career highs almost across the board. He appeared in 17 games for the Houston SaberCats, starting 16 times (four times more than his previous career high in starts!) to help the SaberCats advance to the postseason for the 4th seaosn in a row, and finally earn their first playoff victory, defeating Rugby FC LA and the Utah Warriors to claim the Western Conference Title, before falling to the New England Free Jacks in the Championship in Rhode Island. Davis passes 150 tackles for the first time in his career with 152, and was named to the All-MLR 1st XV for his performance in 2025.

achievements

  • 2025 All-MLR First XV Selection
  • 2025 Western Conference Champion – Houston SaberCats
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 18

Drew Wild

New Zealand fullback/wing Drew Wild played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented the Houston SaberCats for his entire MLR career.

Wild’s signing was announced by the ‘Cats in early January 2023. He joined from the Manawatu Turbos of the NPC in New Zealand, with whom he has played since 2019 and came through their academy system. In his debut season in MLR, Wild scored 2 tries in 13 games (all starts) and racked up just over 700m gained. On 20th June 2023, Manawatu announced that Drew Wild was returning for the 2023 & 2024 NPC seasons but returned for the SaberCats’ 2024 campaign, scoring another 3 tries in 9 games as the ‘Cats topped the league during the regular season, but were stunned by the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinal.

On 23rd June 2024, Manawatu confirmed Wild’s return for the 2024 NPC season, before the Houston SaberCats confirmed that Drew Wild would return to MLR for the 2025 campaign.

Achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 14
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 5

Rob Cobb

New Zealand prop Rob Cobb played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2024. He represented the Houston SaberCats for his entire MLR career.

A native of Auckland, Cobb represented the New Zealand U20s between 2018-2019, and played with Waikato in the National Rugby Championship (previously the Mitre 10 Cup) between 2019-2022. He made his Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs during the 2018/19 season and was a member of the wider Chiefs squad throughout his time with Waikato.

Cobb moved to the USA ahead of the 2023 MLR season, having signed with the Houston SaberCats. Cobb earned 14 appearances during the regular season (all starts) as the ‘Cats earned a post-season berth, and Cobb started in their Western Eliminator match against the Seattle Seawolves.

Following the 2023 season, Cobb returned to New Zealand to play in the NPC with Northland, and on 17th January 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Rob Cobb for their 2024 MLR Campaign.

On 19th February, before the 2024 MLR season had even began, Northland announced that Cobb would be returning for their 2024 NPC season following the end of the MLR season.

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 4

Will Hooley

English born American Fly-half Will Hooley played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2023. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.

Born in Cambridge, England, Hooley played youth rugby with Cambridge RFC before entering the Northampton Saints system out of school. He played with the Saints in the English Premiership, the Challenge Cup, and the Anglo-Welsh Cup between 2012-2015, winning the Premiership with Saints in 2014 before moving to the Exeter Chiefs from 2015-2017, with the Chiefs winning the Premiership in 2017. Hooley moved to the Championship between 2017-2020, playing with the Bedford Blues before returning to the Premiership with Saracens for the 2020/21 season.

At international level, Hooley represented the England U20s at the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship which they won, before earning his USA debut (whom he is qualified to represent through his American grandmother) against an Argentina XV side on February 3rd 2018 during the Americas Rugby Championship. He earned his full test debut for the Eagles the following week against Canada and earned 20 caps for the USA including representing the Eagles at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. His final test match was against New Zealand on 23rd October 2023.

Hooley entered MLR by joining the San Diego Legion ahead of their 2022 MLR campaign. An injury hampered Hooley’s 2022 season but he returned for 2023 as part of a formidable Legion side that set an MLR record of 74pts in a season, with a 15-1 record and Hooley scoring 89pts, finishing 6th in MLR scoring but falling at the final hurdle, 24-25 to the New England Free Jacks at the MLR Championship Final in Chicago. In total, Hooley scored 123pts in 29 games (21 starts) across two seasons in MLR, both with San Diego.

On 13th June 2023, Hooley announced that he would be retiring from playing professionally at the end of the 2023 MLR season, and has since entered the world of commentary with MLR, also hosting The Rugby Rundown on The Rugby Network with fellow British-American and former Northampton Saints teammate Alex Corbisiero, who is also a part of the San Diego Legion coaching staff.

achievements
  • 2023 MLR Runner-Up: San Diego Legion
  • 6th in MLR Scoring: 2023 (89pts)