Irish prop Jamie Dever played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2021. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2018-2019), the San Diego Legion (2020), and Old Glory DC (2021).
A native of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland, Jamie Dever came up through the Connacht system, which he first joined in 2012. He represented Ireland at U16, U18, U19, and U20 levels as well as playing with Westport RFC in the All-Ireland League. Dever earned his Pro12 (now the URC) debut for Connacht in 2014, earning 5 appearances in the 2014/15 campaign. His time with Connacht was significantly impacted by a number of injuries that forced him to the sidelines for almost 3 years and, after a year playing with Buccaneers RFC in Athlone, he moved from Ireland to England to join Cambridge RFC in 2017 in the English third tier, National League 1.
After a year with Cambridge, Jamie Dever headed stateside to join the Houston SaberCats ahead of MLR’s inaugural season in 2018. He earned his MLR debut in Houston’s final game of the season, a 31-27 loss to the Utah Warriors. Dever returned for a second season with the SaberCats in 2019 and enjoyed a far larger role than in his first. He appeared in 15 of Houston’s 16 games that season, starting 8 times and scoring a pair of tries on almost 400m gained in possession (as a prop) as well as over 100 tackles made on defence. Following the 2019 campaign, Dever moved from Houston to the west coast, signing with the San Diego Legion for the 2020 season. He appeared in 3 of the Legion’s first 5 games in 2020, starting once and helping the team record a 5-0 start before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season early.
Once Major League Rugby returned in 2021, Jamie Dever had signed for Old Glory DC and was a regular starter in the Flags front row. He started all 14 of his appearances for DC, gaining over 235m in possession and recording 91 tackles completed to pass 200 in his MLR career. Through his 4 years in Major League Rugby, Jamie Dever started 24 of his 33 appearances, completing over 200 tackles and gaining over 700m with ball in hand, scoring a pair of tries. Following the 2021 season Dever returned across the pond, signing with Premiership side London Irish for their 2021/22 season. He earned his debut for the Exiles against Bristol Bears on 30th October, 2021.