San Diego, California native Nathan ‘Nate’ Sylvia played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented his local MLR team, the San Diego Legion (2018-2025), and the New England Free Jacks (2026).

Nate Sylvia was playing for the San Francisco Golden Gate in the Pacific Rugby Premiership prior to joining the Legion ahead of MLR’s inaugural season in 2018. He appeared in 6 of the Legion’s 9 games that season (4 starts), scoring 2 tries. Sylvia was the Legion’s most capped player, earning 90 MLR caps for the California club through 8 seasons with the club (34 starts), scoring 4 tries including 2 in the Legion’s record breaking 2023 season that saw them advance to the playoffs after a league-record 15-1 regular season, only falling 24-25 in the Championship Final to the New England Free Jacks.

On 10th October 2023, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Nate Sylvia for the 2024 MLR season, along with 3 other members of their 2023 squad. Sylvia took a step back in 2024 but so did the Legion as a whole. He added 8 further appearances (2 starts), and was announced as returning for his 8th season with San Diego on 1st November 2024, he was the first returnee announced by the club. In his 8th season with San Diego, Sylvia earned another 14 appearances (1 start) to take his career total to 90 MLR games, and completed over 50 tackles to take his career total over the 600 mark, a feat only achieved by 5 props through the 2025 season. Following news in July 2025 that the San Diego Legion would merge with Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion, Nate Sylvia explored the open market and on 19th November, the New England Free Jacks announced his signing for the 2026 season, Sylvia’s first season not representing his hometown team.

Achievements:

• MLR Runner-Up: 2023 (San Diego Legion)
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 13
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Round 5
• MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Round 13
• MLR Runner-Up: 2019 (San Diego Legion)
• MLR Team of the Week: 2018 – Round 8