South African prop Franco van den Berg played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2024. He represented the Utah Warriors (2019-2024) and Rugby FC LA (2025).

Prior to MLR, van den Berg was a member of the Blue Bulls system in South Africa, playing with the U19 & U21 sides, and played with the Springboks at the 2016 World Rugby Under-20s Championship and played with the U20s again in 2017. Van den Berg’s initial move stateside was announced by the Utah Warriors in January 2019, ahead of that year’s MLR season. He appeared in all 16 games of the Warriors’ 2019 Campaign, starting 15 times and scoring 2 tries in an impressive debut season in North America, and was a regular in the Utah lineup during his time there, earning 66 caps (49 starts) through the 2023 season, his 6th in Major League Rugby. He has earned a total of 6 Team of the Week selections across his career.

On 21st November 2023, the Utah Warriors announced the return of Franco van den Berg for the 2024 MLR season where he added 5 starts in 11 appearances for the Warriors, passing 1,500 career meters, and 400 tackles completed during a tough season for Utah. Early in the off-season, the Utah Warriors announced the departure of 17 players from the team, including Franco van den Berg. However on March 14th, 2025, van den Berg appeared in the matchday 23 for Rugby FC LA’s Round 4 clash with the Seattle Seawolves. Although his signing was not announced, van den Berg represented RFCLA for the 2025 season.

Achievements:

• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 3
• MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 5
• MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 2
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 11
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 6
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Round 2