Position: Number 8

Connor Cook

Colorado native Connor Cook played in Major League Rugby from 2018-2022. He represented the Colorado/Glendale Raptors from 2018-2020, and Rugby ATL from 2021-2022.

Cook was the 23rd player in MLR history to reach 50 caps in the competition, doing so on 11th June, 2022. Cook finished with exactly 50 caps in MLR, 33 of which were starts and scored 6 tries in this time. 4 of these tries came in 2022 for Rugby ATL.

In the 2022 season, Cook made 144 tackles with a success rate of 83.24%.

On 7th July 2022, Cook announced the end of his rugby career via an instagram post.

MLR Honours:

2018 MLR Runner-up – Colorado/Glendale Raptors

Sam Figg

Luke White

US-eligible Australian Luke White played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the Glendale (later Colorado) Raptors (2018-2020), the LA Giltinis (2021-2022), and the Chicago Hounds (2023-2026).

White hails from Sydney, where his rugby journey started at Saint Ignatius College, Riverview, a leading rugby school in Australia. He joined the Manly Marlins for the 2010/11 Shute Shield before attending the Australian College of Physical Education between 2012-2015, before moving to the United States and settling in Glendale, Colorado. White joined the Raptors that year, playing there until joining the Denver Stampede for the short-lived PRO Rugby competition (the spiritual predecessor to MLR) before returning to the Raptors. He proved to be a versatile forward, able to play in all 3 rows of the pack. White represented the Raptors during the early years of Major League Rugby, appearing in all 10 games during the league’s inaugural season which saw the Raptors advance to the Championship Final only to fall to the Seattle Seawolves 19-23. In 2019 White recorded over 1,200m gained and finished 6th in the league. He earned a total of 31 MLR caps for the Raptors through 3 seasons, including the truncated 2020 season where he started all 5 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this, the Raptors withdrew from MLR and would eventually join the South American Super Rugby Americas as the American Raptors.

Following the withdrawal of the Raptors and the return of MLR, White signed with the Australian-heavy LA Giltinis for their inaugural season in 2021. He earned 7 appearances for the Giltinis, starting 5 and scoring 1 try as LA advanced to White’s 2nd Championship Final, this time finishing on the winning side as the Giltinis defeated Rugby ATL 31-17 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. White returned with the Giltinis in 2022, doubling his appearances to 14 with 11 starts in the regular season before the LA Giltinis (along with their sister team, the Austin Gilgronis) were disqualified from the season due to alleged salary cap breaches. Both teams subsequently folded in the 2022 offseason. In the subsequent Expansion/Dispersal draft, White was selected 14th overall by the Chicago Hounds expansion side, and signed a multi-year contract ahead of their inaugural season in 2023. For the Hounds, White tied his career high in tries scored (3), doing so in 12 appearances (all starts) while racking up 680m gained with ball in hand and delivering over 100 successful tackles. Following a strong season with the Hounds, Luke White earned his test debut as USA Eagle #561 in August 2023, and has earned 5 test caps to date.

The Hounds confirmed the return of Luke White for the 2024 season on January 3rd, 2024 where he scored another try in 15 games (10 starts) as the Hounds qualified for the MLR post-season, but White did not feature. Through his first 7 seasons in MLR, Luke White earned 80 MLR caps (64 starts), scoring 9 tries. He was the 13th player in MLR history to reach 50 caps in the competition, on 8th May, 2022. White earned his first test caps for the USA following the 2023 MLR season, playing No. 8 during the USA’s RWC qualifying campaign, as well as the La Vila cup in Spain in the fall.

On October 16th, 2024, the Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of Luke White for the 2025 MLR season, along with Bryce Campbell and Noah Brown. White appeared in all 18 games for the Chicago Hounds during the 2025 season, scoring his 10th MLR try and taking his career total to 98 MLR appearances (66 starts). He recorded 98 tackles to take his career total to just under 750, and sits on 3,904m gained in possession. With the Chicago Hounds announcing the return of Luke White for his 9th season in 2026, he is almost guaranteed to pass 4000m gained as well as earn his 100th Major League Rugby appearance.

achievements

MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 16
MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 1
13th Player in MLR History to Reach 50 Caps
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 16
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 11
MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 9
MLR Champion: 2021 (LA Giltinis)
MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 2
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 15
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 9
MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 6
MLR Runner-Up: 2018 (Glendale Raptors)
MLR Team of the Week: 2018 – Rd 9

Ronan Murphy

California native Ronan Murphy played in Major League Rugby during the 2022 season, and again between 2024-2026. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2022), the Houston SaberCats (2024-2025), and the California Legion (2026).

A former USA U20 player and Rudy Scholz Award nominee, Murphy joined the Austin Gilgronis organisation after playing at Trinity College in Dublin. He earned 3 MLR caps (all starts) with the AGs in 2022 before the team was disqualified from the 2022 MLR season and ceased operations shortly after the season’s conclusion. Murphy signed with the American Raptors crossover team during their Fall season, and toured with the USA Falcons to Uruguay. He stayed with the Raptors for their inaugural season in Super Rugby Americas in 2023, earning a number of SRA Team of the Week selections.

On 5th October 2023, the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of Ronan Murphy for the 2024 MLR season, where he appeared in all 17 SaberCats games, starting 15 of them and scoring 6 tries, as well as gaining over 400m in possession and finishing T-8th in MLR Tackling, with 172 completed. The SaberCats finished as the top MLR team during the regular season with a record of 14-2, but were stunned by the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinal, falling 22-34 to their Texas rivals. On November 15th, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Ronan Murphy for their 2025 campaign where he scored a 7th MLR try and started 2 of his 6 games in an injury-affected season, helping the Houston SaberCats to a 14-2 regular season record, and finishing the year as a MLR Runner-up with the ‘Cats.

With the surprise withdrawal of the Houston SaberCats from MLR during the 2025/26 off-season, Murphy returned to his native California to sign with the California Legion ahead of their inaugural season in 2026. The team announced the addition of Ronan Murphy on 9th February, 2026.