Position: Number 8

Riekert Hattingh

South African raised USA Eagle Riekert Hattingh played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career, captaining the club throughout his tenure with them.

Hattingh worked his way through the Blue Bulls development system in his native South Africa, progressing through the U16, U19, and U21 sides and represented the Blue Bulls in the 2016 Currie Cup and was included in their Super Rugby Squad that same year. Having made the move to the US in 2015, Hattingh played with the Ohio Aviators in the short-lived PRO Rugby competition, the spiritual predecessor of Major League Rugby.

Hattingh has been a stalwart of MLR since the league’s first season, captaining the Seawolves in every season of Major League Rugby since 2019, leading them to back-to-back Shields in the early years of the competition. He has developed a reputation as a ferocious runner of the ball and solid tackler, and has two standout seasons where he gained over 1,000m AND completed over 200 tackles, putting him in the top 10 of both categories in those seasons, finishing 2nd league-wide for meters gained and 4th in tackles in 2019. Hattingh leads all forward in Meters Gained all-time, and is one of just a handful of players with over 5,000m. He is also one of the most capped played in MLR history with a total of 80 appearances through the 2024 season.

Hattingh also sits 2nd on the all-time Try Scorers list, on 42. He trails only Dylan Fawsitt in this category. He finished T-2nd with Houston’s Dean Muir for MLR try scoring in 2022, with 10, and scored a PB of 12 in 2023 when he finished 3rd in MLR Try Scoring, before unfortunately missing much of the 2024 season through injury. Hattingh was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Seawolves defeated the San Diego Legion and the Dallas Jackals to advance to their 4th MLR Championship Game, where they fell 11-20 to the New England Free Jacks. The Seattle Seawolves confirmed the return of Riekert Hattingh for his 8th season with the team when they revealed their full roster for 2025 on January 14th, 2025. Hattingh added another 14 appearances (all starts once again) for the Seawolves in 2025, adding 139 tackles to reach 950 tackles completed in his 94-game MLR career and passing 5,500m gained with 342m gained and 6 tries scored. Hattingh remained the 2nd highest try scorer in MLR history, adding 6 tries in 2025 to take his career total to 48. On 23rd February, 2026, just over a month before the 2026 season kicked off, the Seattle Seawolves announced the return of club captain Riekert Hattingh for his 9th season with the team.

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 7
  • 2024 MLR Runner-Up: Seattle Seawolves
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6
  • 2023 All-MLR Selection: Honourable Mention XV
  • 3rd in MLR Try Scoring: 2023 (12)
  • 2022 All-MLR Selection: Second XV
  • 2022 MLR Runner-Up: Seattle Seawolves
  • T-8th in MLR Tackling: 2022 (201)
  • T-2nd in MLR Try Scoring: 2022 (10)
  • 1st in MLR Try Scoring: 2020 (5)
  • 9th in MLR Tackling: 2020 (63)
  • 2019 All-MLR Selection: First XV
  • 2019 MLR Champion: Seattle Seawolves
  • 4th in MLR Tackling: 2019 (203)
  • 2nd in MLR Meters Gained: 2019 (1,374m)
  • 2018 All-MLR Selection: First XV
  • 2018 MLR Champion: Seattle Seawolves

Dan Pryor

New Zealand back row Dan Pryor played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2024. He represented the San Diego Legion (2021-2023) and the Miami Sharks (2024).

An Auckland native, Pryor played with Northland in New Zealand’s ITM Cup (later the Mitre 10 Cup, then the NPC) between 2010-2017. He earned his Super Rugby debut in 2011 for the Blues, but would have to wait a few years before he became a Super Rugby regular, when he played with the Highlanders between 2015-2018, and the Sunwolves in Japan in 2019. He stayed in Japan to play with the Munakata Spinx Blues in the Japanese League One between 2018-2021. Dan’s brother Kara Pryor also played in MLR, representing the Rugby New York Ironworkers.

The San Diego Legion initially signed Dan Pryor late in the 2021 season. He earned 2 MLR caps towards the end of the season and re-signed for the 2022 season where he appeared in 14 regular season games for the Legion, starting 12 and scoring his first MLR try. Pryor stayed with the Legion for their record-breaking 2023 season, earning a further 8 caps (6 starts) and scoring 4 tries during their 15-1 regular season. The Legion advanced all the way to the MLR Championship Final, falling to the New England Free Jacks 24-25 in Chicago.

On December 25th, 2023 (Christmas Day), the Miami Sharks announced the signing of then-35yo Dan Pryor for the 2024 MLR season, the first in Sharks history. Pryor earned 12 appearances for the Sharks in their admirable inaugural season, serving as part of the team’s leadership. He recorded a PB of 358m gained, and over 110 tackles completed. Pryor was named to the MLR Team of the Week for Round 5.

achievements

Tevita Tameilau

California native Tevita Tameilau played in Major League Rugby in 2018, and again between 2020-2025. He represented the Utah Warriors (2018) and the San Diego Legion (2020-2025).

Tameilau is a capped USA Eagle and has earned 16 caps for his country since his debut against Canada in the Americas Rugby Championship in 2016. In March 2018 the Utah Warriors announced that they had signed Tameilau for the inaugural MLR season. He appeared in all 8 games for the Warriors (6 starts), scoring 2 tries during the 2018 season, as well as their Semi-final against the Glendale Raptors, a 34-21 loss. Following the MLR season, Tameilau was picked up by the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland on a 2yr deal in the Pro14 (now the URC).

Approaching the 2019 playoffs, the San Diego Legion announced on social media that they had signed Tameilau for the playoffs, but this was seemingly blocked by the league and Tameilau played no part in their 2019 campaign. He was signed by the San Diego Legion ahead of the shortened 2020 season and has represented the Californian club ever since. Tameilau became the 50th player in MLR history to reach 50 total caps in the competition on 6th May, 2023. He has 56 total MLR caps as of the conclusion of the 2023 season, earning 45 starts to date including a high of 15 in the 2022 season, the same season he scored 4 of his 9 MLR tries, also a personal best. As of the conclusion of the 2023 season, Tameilau was the 5th most capped player in Legion history, with 47 appearances (37 starts) for the club including 3 in the Championship Series. He has Captained the Legion 3 times.

On 2nd October 2023, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Tevita Tameilau for the 2024 season as part of a bumper announcement of 7 returnees from their record breaking 2023 squad. Tameilau scored his 10th MLR try in 2024, starting 8 of his 14 games to take his total MLR appearances to 70, with 53 starts. He recorded over 500m gained for the 4th season in a row and passed 3,000m gained in his career which also completing 75 tackles on defence.

On January 16th, 2025, the San Diego Legion announced the return of Tevita Tameilau for their 2025 MLR campaign, his 6th season in San Diego and 7th in MLR. The 35yo played a depth role in the 2025 season, starting 2 of his 8 appearances for the San Diego Legion as they missed the MLR postseason by a single point. On 27th June, 2025, Tameilau and the San Diego Legion announced his retirement. The capped USA Eagle started 55 times in 78 MLR appearances including 69 for the Legion across 6 seasons. Tameilau scored 10 tries in total including a high of 4 in 2022, and completed 483 tackles while running for over 3,100m in possession.

Achievements:

Maciu Koroi

Fijian born US-eligible back row Maciu Koroi played in Major League Rugby between 2022-2024. He appeared in a matchday roster for Rugby ATL in 2020 but did not take the field, and represented the NOLA Gold between 2021-2024, earning his MLR debut in 2022.

Hailing from Suva, Koroi moved to Sacremento, California and attended Sacramento City College from 2014-2015. He is a Life University alum and played rugby with the Running Eagles between 2016-2018. In his final year, he represented the USA U20 and travelled to South America with the USA Falcons in 2019. He is also a member of the USA Sevens player pool.

Through his first 2 seasons in New Orleans, Koroi had earned 25 caps for NOLA Gold including 7 starts, and both of his MLR tries came in the 2023 season. On 6th November 2023, the Gold announced the return of Maciu Koroi for the 2024 MLR season, where he earned another 8 appearances off the bench, scoring 1 try. On October 9th, 2024, the NOLA Gold announced the departure of Koroi, and it is not clear if he will return for the 2025 season.

Osaiasi Tonga’uiha

California native Osaiasi ‘Osi’ Tonga’uiha played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2025. He represented the NOLA Gold for his entire MLR career.

Osi, along with his brother, NOLA Gold stalwart Moni Tonga’uiha, signed for the Gold ahead of the 2020 MLR season. Osi appeared in a pre-season game against Rugby ATL but did not feature in a regular MLR game before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the season after only 5 rounds. When the league returned for the 2021 season, Osi was able to earn his MLR debut from the bench, also representing the Gold Academy and New Orleans RFC. He has played with the NOLA Gold for 5 MLR seasons, earning a total of 9 MLR caps and his first start came in 2022. Through his time with the Gold, he has played with the senior team as well as the Academy side in the ARP.

On 5th January 2024, the NOLA Gold announced the return of Osaiasi Tonga’uiha for the 2024 MLR season, where he earned a career high 9 appearances and completed 36 of his 57 career tackles in MLR. On 8th January 2025, the Gold again announced the return of Osi Tonga’uiha for a 6th MLR season in 2025.