Position: Number 8

Dylan Fortune

Californian back row Dylan Fortune played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

A native of San Diego, CA, Fortune attended Cathedral Catholic High School, playing football as a defensive end/tackle while there, also playing rugby with the San Diego Youth Rugby Mustangs. Fortune attended Lindenwood University between 2022-2024, playing with the Lions while there. He was also selected for the USA U20s for the 2023 World Rugby Trophy. Fortune signed with the newly established Anthem RC for the 2024 MLR season, where he earned his pro debut and 7 appearances for the MLR, USA Rugby and World Rugby partnership (all starts), scoring 1 try and completing 54 tackles while running for over 200m gained.

Anthem RC confirmed the return of Dylan Fortune for a second season in Charlotte when they revealed their full 2025 roster on January 21st, 2025.

Albert O’Shannessey

New Zealand back rower Albert O’Shannessey played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented Anthem Rugby Carolina for his entire MLR career.

A Christchurch native, O’Shannessey has rugby in his blood as his maternal grandfather Kevin Meates represented the All Blacks in the early 1950s. He began playing rugby at the age of 5 and played for the First XV while at Christ’s College as well as the Canterbury U18s & Canterbury Māori U21s. While at Christ’s College, O’Shannessey enjoyed a successful rowing career. He was in the top 8 for four years and is a New Zealand National Medalist in the Maadi Cup, in the U17 Eight, the U18 Quad Skulls and the Prestigious Maadi Cup U18 Eight. O’Shannessey moved to the US in 2018 to attend Central Washington University for his undergraduate degree, continuing to study at CWU for his Master’s degree, with which he graduated in 2023. That same year he played with, and captained,  the Canyons at the Collegiate Rugby Shield, the precursor to the MLR Rising Collegiate Draft Combine.

After declaring for the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft, O’Shannessey was selected in the 2nd round, 21st Overall by the Rugby New York Ironworkers. When the Ironworkers withdrew from the 2024 season and Anthem RC came into the league, he was snapped up by the MLR, World Rugby, and USA Rugby partnership team. In his debut MLR season, O’Shannessey scored 2 tries in 12 games (all starts) and completed just shy of 150 tackles.

O’Shannessey became US-eligible in the fall of 2024 and MLR confirmed that he would count as a domestic player for 2025. He has expressed an interest in following the path to representing the Eagles. On January 21st, 2025, Anthem RC revealed the team’s full 2025 roster which included Albert O’Shannessey, who returned for a 2nd season with the Rising Stars, starting 6 of his 10 appearances and recording just shy of 100 tackles, for a career total of 240 tackles in 22 career MLR games (18 starts).

achievements

 

Braemar Murray

US-eligible English born back row Braemar Murray played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented Anthem RC (2024), the Miami Sharks (2025), and the New England Free Jacks (2026).

Raised in the north of England to a Chicagoan mother, Braemar Murray played rugby while attending Sedburgh School, and was a member of both the Newcastle Falcons and Stade Toulousain Academy sides. In 2021 he was selected for an England U18s camp, and a USA U18s camp the following year. Since then Murray has represented the USA U20s during the summer of 2024.

Murray’s MLR journey began when he was signed to the Anthem RC roster for their inaugural season in 2024. He earned 7 appearances, starting 3 times for the US Developmental side. Although he didn’t return to Anthem for the 2025 season, on 5th April 2025, the Miami Sharks announced the signing of Braemar Murray just before their Round 8 clash with the New England Free Jacks. He earned a further 8 appearances for the Miami Sharks, starting twice and completing over 50 tackles for the first time in his career. Braemar Murray became a free agent upon the Miami Sharks’ withdrawal from Major League Rugby in August 2025, and on December 8th, the New England Free Jacks announced his signing for their 2026 title defence.

Huw Taylor

English raised, Welsh qualified lock/back row Huw Taylor played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

Taylor represented England at both U18 & U20 level, winning the Junior World Cup in 2016. He played with the Worcester Warriors in the English Premiership between 2014-2018, before moving to Wales to play with the Dragons in the URC (formerly the PRO14) between 2018-2023. Taylor joins the Seawolves from RGC1404 in North Wales, where he was a player/coach. During the 2024/25 MLR off-season, it is believe that Taylor helped to orchestrate the placement of Seawolves teammate Isaia Lotawa with RGC1404 to help Lotawa gain experience ahead of the 2025 season.

Taylor scored 2 tries in 14 appearances (13 starts) during his first season in MLR, gaining over 400m in possession and completing 192 tackles, finishing 4th in MLR Tackling as the Seawolves qualified for the playoffs and defeated the San Diego Legion and the Dallas Jackals en route to their 4th MLR final in 7 seasons, where they fell 11-20 to the New England Free Jacks. On January 14th, 2025, Huw Taylor was included on the full roster for the Seattle Seawolves’ 2025 campaign. Taylor recorded over 100 tackles once again in 2025, completing 111 tackles in his 11 appearances for the Seawolves, starting 7 times. This took his career total to 303 tackles completed in just 25 games (20 starts), averaging 12.1 tackles per game during his time in MLR, scoring 3 tries and gaining just shy of 500m in possession.

Following the 2025 season, Huw Taylor headed to Australia to play with the Hunter Wildfires in the Shute Shield competition and with Major League Rugby’s crackdown on foreign players ahead of the 2026 season, Taylor did not return for a 3rd season in North America, instead returning to the UK to join Plymouth Albion RFC in National League 1, the English 3rd tier.

achievements

Aminae Amiatu-Tanoi

Alaska native Brendan ‘Aminae’ Amiatu-Tanoi played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented the San Diego Legion for his entire MLR career.

Amiatu-Tanoi graduated from West Anchorage High School in 2022, having played varsity football as a defensive tackle and defensive end. He moved to California following his graduation and was selected for a USA U18 tour of Europe having played with the Legion junior academy. He attended a USA High performance camp late in 2022 and toured with the USA Hawks to South America.

Amiatu-Tanoi was signed to the San Diego senior side for the 2023 season but did not see game time. He represented the Utah Selects academy side in the fall of 2023 before returning to San Diego for the 2024 MLR season, where he was named in the matchday 23 for the Legion’s Round 1 clash with the Seattle Seawolves. Amiatu-Tanoi earned 4 MLR appearances for the Legion in 2024, all off the bench. He’ll be looking for his first career start in 2025, having been announced as returning by the San Diego Legion on November 25th, 2024.

 

Sam Tuifua

New Zealand back row Sam Tuifua played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2024) and the Houston SaberCats (2025).

Tuitua has played professional rugby since the age of 20, representing the Counties Manukau in NZ’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) between 2022-2023.

On 19th January 2024, the Dallas Jackals announced the signing of then-22yo Sam Tuifua for their 2024 MLR season, where he scored 6 tries in 10 games (all starts) and set a new Dallas Jackals single-season record with 957m gained with ball in hand. The Jackals qualified for the MLR playoffs in 2024 and stunned the Houston SaberCats (the best team in the regular season) in the Conference Semifinals before falling to the Seattle Seawolves in the final minutes of the Western Conference Final, a game in which Tuifua was set to start but was injured in warm up.

For his excellent performance in 2024, Tuifua was named as the Dallas Jackals Player of the Year and was selected as part of the All-MLR Second XV. Following the Dallas Jackals’ withdrawal from MLR in September 2024, Tuifua declared for the dispersal draft and was selected 8th by the Houston SaberCats. The ‘Cats then confirmed this on November 11th, 2024 when they announced the signing of Sam Tuifua for the 2025 MLR season.

In his 2nd season in MLR, Tuifua scored 3 tries and started 10 of his career high 11 appearances for the Houston SaberCats in the regular season. He gained over 500m in possession and was in the Top 10 league wide for most of the first half of the season. He earned four Team of the Week selections as a key part of the SaberCats side that finished 2nd in the Western Conference. On June 13th 2025, before Houston’s playoff campaign began, French Pro D2 side Stade Montois announced the signing of Sam Tuifua through 2027, ruling him out of a return to MLR in 2026.

Achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 7
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 2
  • 2024 All-MLR Second XV
  • 2024 Dallas Jackals Player of the Year
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 17
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 9
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 5

Conall Boomer

Irish back rower Conall Boomer played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the Chicago Hounds for his entire MLR career.

Boomer played in Australia for the Western Force U20 side in 2015, before attending Ulster University between 2016-2020. While there, he represented the Ireland U19s and Ireland U20s at the World Rugby U20s Championships in Manchester. He played his club rugby with Ballynahinch RFC for 3 years until 2019. Boomer spent 3 seasons with Terenure RFC in D1A of the All-Ireland League prior to his move stateside, finishing as AIL Champions in 2023 alongside fellow 2024 Hound, Caolan Dooley.

The Chicago Hounds announced the signing of Conall Boomer on 28th December 2023, ahead of the 2024 MLR season. In his debut MLR season, Boomer scored 2 tries in 11 games (8 starts) and racked up just shy of 400m gained as the Hounds qualified for the MLR playoffs for the first time in team history. The Chicago Hounds defeated the NOLA Gold on the road before falling to the eventual Champions, the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Final. Boomer started at number 8 for the Hounds in both playoff games in 2024. On January 9th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of Conall Boomer for his 2nd season with the team in 2025.

achievements

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 3

Jonah Mau’u

Australian-born NZ raised back row Jonah Mau’u played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025. He represented the NOLA Gold for his entire MLR career.

Son of a Samoan father and Croatian mother, Mau’u began his professional career with Northland in New Zealand’s NPC in 2021, and has represented them since. He also represented the Moana Pasifika in the 2023 Super Rugby Season. His move stateside was announced by the NOLA Gold on 29th November 2023 on a 2yr contract that will keep him with the Gold through 2025. He scored 6 tries in 12 games (all starts) and gained over 800m with ball in hand, also completing over 130 tackles in defence. For his efforts in 2024 he was named as the NOLA Gold Forward of the Year for 2024.

On January 8th, 2025, the NOLA Gold confirmed the return of Jonah Mau’u along with six other returning back row players for 2025. In his sophomore season, Mau’u set career highs with 8 tries and 181 tackles completed in a leadership role for the NOLA Gold in a disappointing season for the club where they missed out on the postseason despite Mau’u’s efforts. He was the only NOLA Gold player to be named in the 2025 All-MLR teams, when he was an Honorable Mention. Following the season he was included in the Samoa squad for their July tests.

In August 2025, the NOLA Gold announced that they would be withdrawing from Major League Rugby and would not participate in the 2026 season. With the League down to 6 teams and as an international player, Jonah Mau’u sought opportunities overseas. On 2nd December 2025, Nissa Rugby (formerly Stade Niçois) announced the signing of Mau’u for their 2025/26 season in the French Nationale.

achievements

 

Nick Brown

Australian back row Nick Brown was supposed to play in Major League Rugby during the 2024 season. He was initially signed to represent the Toronto Arrows alongside his brother, Jordan Brown (formerly of Rugby ATL).

Part of the Gordon rugby system in his youth, Brown made his debut for Gordon 1st grade Shute Shield when he was 18 years old before representing the Southern Districts in between 2019-2020. He then headed to England to attend Leeds Beckett University, where he played rugby with his brother and another would-be Arrows teammate, Adrian Wadden. Nick Brown returned to Australia as an injury cover in the finals for Manly Rugby Club in the Shute Shield 2023.

Outside of rugby, Nick was the winner in the Australian Realty Series FBoy Island Australia, a 10-episode series on Binge in May 2023, and was set to join the Arrows along with his new partner from the Series, Molly O’Halloran, who is an Occupational Therapist. This made him the 2nd reality TV star to sign with an MLR team, following Houston’s Gerrie Labuschagne. The Toronto Arrows announced the signing of Nick Brown on 20th November 2023. He was the last signing the Arrows made public before they announced that they could not compete in the 2024 season on 28th November, 2023. Brown’s future in MLR is unknown.

 

Logan Weidner

Canadian-born, US eligible back-row/lock Logan Weidner played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2025 . He represented Old Glory DC (2024-2025), and Anthem RC on loan in 2024..

Born and raised in North Vancouver, BC, Weidner represented Canada at U18 & U20 levels, but is eligible for the USA through his Iowa-born father, and represented the Eagles at U20 level. His entry into MLR was announced by Old Glory DC on 16th November 2023, leading many to speculate that he has committed to representing the USA over Canada at test level.

Due to the sudden establishment of Anthem RC six weeks prior to the start of the 2024 season, Weidner was loaned to the MLR, USA Rugby, and World Rugby partnership team. He earned 12 appearances for Anthem, starting twice and completing over 80 tackles. On December 21st, 2024, Old Glory DC confirmed the end of his loan to Anthem, and his return to the Flags for the 2025 season. Weidner scored his first MLR try for the Flags in 2025, starting 1 of his 7 appearances that season.

On 6th March, 2026, Weidner was included in Romania’s starting lineup against Georgia in the Regby Europe Championship, for whom he is eligible through family heritage.