Ross Neal

English centre Ross Neal played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2022. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

Born in Buckinghamshire, Neal began playing rugby with Beaconsfield RFC and played throughout his time at Royal Grammar School and joined the London Irish pathway system, playing with the U18s in 2014. He progressed through the London Irish system and earned 6 appearances with the senior side between 2014-2017 while also playing with local side Esher in the National League. He would go on loan to Championship Side London Scottish before a permanent move in the 2017/18 season where he would score 8 tries in 22 games. Following his time in the Championship, Neal would return to the Premiership with London Wasps and earn 13 appearances during the 2018/19 Premiership and Heineken Cup campaigns.

Neal headed across the pond in 2020, joining the Seattle Seawolves and impressing in pre-season before a broken thumb ended his seasons after just 1 game. The season itself would only last 5 games before the COVID-19 pandemic would shut it down. Neal would sign a short-term deal and return to London Irish while MLR was on pause, and returned to Seattle for the 2021 season where he was named Vice-Captain. In his 3 seasons with Seattle, Neal would score 15 tries in 29 games (25 starts) and rack up over 1,500m gained in possession including a high of 974m in 2021 when he finished 6th in MLR in this category. He appeared in a PB of 16 games during the 2022 season when the Seawolves advanced to the Championship Final following a dramatic playoffs, falling to Rugby New York 30-15 in New York.

In October of 2022, Neal announced his retirement from professional rugby at the age of only 26 following a number of concussions, and turned his focus to conservation.

achievements

David Busby

Northern Irish utility back Dave Busby played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A native of Portadown in County Armagh, Busby attended Portadown College before Queen’s University in Belfast. He entered the Ulster Rugby system in 2011 and played with the U20s before heading to Australia to play with Brother’s Rugby Club which has produced a number of MLR-ers over the years. Busby returned to Northern Ireland after a year and played with Ireland in the U20 Six Nations in 2013. He earned his full Ulster debut in February 2017 against Zebre in the Pro14 (now the URC), scoring a try for the province. He played a handful of games for Ulster between 2017-2019, and represented Ballynahinch in the AIL D1B, helping the team win promotion during the 2018/19 season.

Busby signed with the Seattle Seawolves ahead of the 2020 MLR season, appearing in all 5 games and starting 4 before the season was cancelled after 5 rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season, Busby picked up an injury in the pre-season that ruled him out of the entire 2021 MLR campaign. He has represented the Seattle Seawolves since 2020, earning 10 starts and 17 MLR appearances in his career to date and finishing as an MLR runner up twice (2022 & 2024). The Seattle Seawolves included Dave Busby on their full 2025 roster when it was announced on January 14th, 2025, confirming his return for a 6th season with the team.

achievements