AustraliaUS-Eligible Australian prop Jake Turnbull played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2024, playing in every one of the League’s first 7 seasons. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2018-2019), Old Glory DC (2020), the Austin Gilgronis (2021-2022), the Seattle Seawolves (2023) and Anthem RC (2024).
Sydney native Turnbull attended Waverly College between 2006-2011 where he played rugby throughout, before representing the Eastern Suburbs in the Australian Shute Shield competition between 2012-2017. Turnbull had moved to Denver, Colorado in 2015, playing for the Pre-MLR Glendale Raptors in the Pacific Rugby Championship before returning to the Easts in NSW. He represented the Denver Stampede during the short-lived PRO Rugby competition, the first Professional rugby league in the USA and the spiritual predecessor to MLR.
Turnbull returned to Australia in 2017 and attended the Australian College of Physical Education earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Business, Sport and Exercise. In the fall of 2017 Turnbull signed with the Houston SaberCats as both a player and an Academy and Youth Development Coach. He represented the SaberCats for the first 2 seasons on Major League Rugby, earning 5 starts in 20 appearances and scoring his first MLR try. Even after suffering a broken foot prior to the 2018 season, Turnbull earned his first MLR Team of the Week Selection in Round 3 of the inaugural season.
Turnbull left the SaberCats and represented Old Glory DC for their inaugural MLR season in 2020, earning 3 starts in 5 appearances before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season after only 5 rounds. Following the cancellation, Turnbull returned to Australia and the Shute Shield once more, this time representing Randwick. He returned to the USA with MLR for the 2021 season, now representing the Austin Gilgronis whom he played with for 2 seasons, earning 26 appearances and 13 starts for the AGs, scoring 5 tries. On 28th May 2022, Turnbull became the 18th player in MLR history to reach 50 caps in the competition. Prior to the 2022 Championship Series, the #1 seeded Austin Gilgronis, along with their sister team the LA Giltinis, were disqualified from the 2022 season for alleged breaches of the salary cap. Both clubs folded following the season and in the subsequent Expansion/Dispersal draft, Turnbull was selected 29th overall by the Seattle Seawolves, with whom he signed for the 2023 season.
Turnbull, now on his 4th MLR team, appeared in all 18 of the Seawolves’ games during 2023. He earned 6 starts in his 16 appearances during the regular season, scoring 3 tries and appeared in both Championship Series games off the bench as the Seawolves advanced to the Western Conference Final where they fell to the San Diego Legion. Following the 2023 season, Turnbull earned his test debut with the USA Eagles in the September internationals (serving as RWC warm-ups for qualified teams) and the La Vila Cup in Spain, which the USA won.
Through his first 6 seasons in MLR, Jake Turnbull has started 27 of his 69 MLR caps and has scored 9 tries in total. On 15th January 2024, the Seattle Seawolves traded Turnbull to Anthem RC, an expansion side for the 2024 season, in exchange for 2024 Salary Cap Considerations (Unknown). Jake Turnbull was the first player named in Anthem RC history and captained them through their inaugural season, scoring 2 tries in 14 appearances (13 starts) and completing over 150 tackles, quite high for a prop. Anthem RC put together admirable performances in their first seaosn despite their 0-16 record, and Turnbull was named as their 2024 Forward of the Year.
achievements
- Anthem RC Forward of the Year: 2024
- MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 16
- MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 5
- MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 16
- 50 MLR Caps – 18th Player in League History
- MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 17
- MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 1
- MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 4
- MLR Team of the Week: 2018 – Rd 3