Season: MLR 2026

The 9th season of Major League Rugby saw the merging of the San Diego Legion and Rugby FC LA to form the California Legion, as well as the withdrawal of multiple teams to take the league from 11 sides in 2025, to 6 in 2026.

Tomás Bekerman

Miami-born Argentinian front row Tomás Bekerman played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2026. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2023-2024), the Miami Sharks (2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

A University of Mendoza alum, Bekerman played with Marista Rugby Club between 2006-2021. He then moved to France to play with USAP Espoirs and with the Castres Academy in 2022. In 2019 and 2021 he was on the long list for the Argentina U20 side, and although he was signed with the Jackals for the 2023 season, the then-20yo did not see match time.

US-eligible Bekerman returned for the Jackals in 2024, and saw a significant increase in playing time, earning his MLR debut in Rd 1 and totalled 14 appearances for the Dallas Jackals in 2024, including 2 starts and scoring 5 tries in total to help the Jackals to qualify for the 2024 post-season, where Bekerman came off the bench in both of Dallas’ playoff matches, the only 2 in team history. The Jackals announced that they were withdrawing from MLR shortly after the 2024 season concluded, and Bekerman was selected 12th in the subsequent Dispersal Draft by Anthem RC. On 9th October 2024, Anthem RC traded Bekerman to the Miami Sharks for the 2025 MLR season where he scored 4 tries in 15 games (3 starts) to help the Sharks qualify for the postseason, completing over 50 tackles for the first time in his career. Bekerman came off the bench in the Sharks’ first and only postseason game, before the team withdrew from MLR in the tumultuous 2025/26 offseason.

On 7th January 2026, the Chicago Hounds announced that they had added the domestic-qualified hooker Tomás Bekerman to their roster for 2026.

Marques Fuala’au

Washington native Marques Fuala’au played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Dallas Jackals (2024) the Miami Sharks (2025), and Anthem RC (2026).

A football and rugby player through high school, Marques Fuala’au attended Central Washington University between 2018-2022, captaining the D1A side. He played with the Canyons during the 2023 Collegiate Rugby Shield and attended the USA Rugby Academy in Charlotte (now Anthem RC) in the fall of 2023. Following his graduation from Central Washington University, Fuala’au declared for the 2023 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in the 1st Round, 3rd Overall by the Dallas Jackals, who signed him for the upcoming 2024 MLR season.

Fuala’au appeared in all 16 games for the Dallas Jackals during his rookie year, earning his debut in the Jackals’ Rd 1 match against Rugby FC LA. He started 3 of his 16 appearances, scoring 1 try while completing 81 tackles. Following the announcement that the Dallas Jackals would not compete in the 2025 MLR season, Fuala’au was selected 3rd in the subsequent dispersal draft by the Miami Sharks. The Sharks confirmed the signing of Marques Fuala’au on December 4th, 2024. He enjoyed a solid season with the Miami Sharks in 2025, starting 8 of his 15 appearances and recording consistent numbers to his rookie season in both metres gained and tackles made to help the Sharks to their first ever postseason appearance.

In August 2025 following the conclusion of the MLR season, the Miami Sharks announced their withdrawal from MLR and as a result, Marques Fuala’au became a Free Agent. On December 29th, 2025, Anthem RC announced that they had added Fuala’au to their roster for the 2026 season.

achievements:

Kalisi Moli

Utah native Kalisi Moli played in major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Utah Warriors (2024-2025) and the Seattle Seawolves (2026).

Born in California and raised in Utah, Moli attended Herriman High School where he was a two time High School All-American in rugby and an All-State and all-region in football prior to his graduation in 2015. Following a 2 year mission in Milwaukee with the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, Moli played football as a defensive tackle at Weber State University between 2018-2022.

Moli represented the Bull Moose in the 2023 iteration of the Crossroads Cup, the purpose of which is to identify promising players within Utah, and played with the Warriors Selects academy side in the fall of 2023. He was announced as a member of the Utah Warriors’ MLR squad in November 2023 ahead of the 2024 season, where he appeared in 12 games and started 4. For his efforts in his first MLR season, Moli was named the 2024 Utah Warriors Pathway Player of the Year. Moli returned for the Utah Warriors for a 2nd season in 2025, earning a number of career highs as the Warriors finished as the top team during the regular season. He scored his first MLR try and started 13 of his 16 appearances for the team that year, gaining over 120m for the 2nd season in a row, and more than doubling his career high in tackles from 67 in 2024 to 158 in 2025.

Following the late withdrawal of the Utah Warriors from Major League Rugby in the 2025/26 offseason, Kalisi Moli became a free agent and on 20th January 2026, the Seattle Seawolves announced that they had signed the Utah native for the 2026 season.

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.

Chicago Hounds – All

A list of all players who have represented the Chicago Hounds. This list includes active Chicago Hounds players.

The stats only include numbers earned with the Hounds. For totals please refer to individual player pages or the ‘All Players’ List.

Anthem RC – Active

A list of current, active Anthem RC players and their stats for the current season.

This list can be used to identify team leaders in various categories

Miami Sharks – Active

A list of current, active Miami Sharks players and their stats for the current season.

This list can be used to find franchise leaders for this season in various categories.

Canadian MLR Players – All Time

A list of all the Canadian players to have ever played in Major League Rugby, as well as their all-time stats.

This list can be used to find the top Canadian players in various categories.

André Warner

South African scrum-half André Warner played in Major League Rugby between 2024-2026. He represented the Houston SaberCats (2024-25) and the Seattle Seawolves (2026).

Cape Town native Warner played rugby through his time at Tyderberg high School, before playing for the Western Province U18 in the 2011 Craven Week and the U21s in the Provincial Championship in 2012 after which he played for the Blue Bulls U21 until 2014. Warner attended the University of Pretoria between 2013-2016, playing with the Tuks in the Varsity Cup. While playing with the UP Tuks he was also a member of the Blue Bulls system, playing in that system between 2015-2019 for the Currie Cup and Super Rugby sides, with a gap for the 2018/19 season where he played in France for Stade Français. Warner moved to the Lions between 2020-2023, playing in both the Currie Cup and URC before moving back to France to play with Agen in the Pro D2 for the 2023/24 season.

On 14th January 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the signing of the then-30yo Warner for their 2024 MLR campaign, where he led the ‘Cats with 8 tries scored (T-9th in MLR) in 15 games (all starts) as Houston finished as the best team in the regular season with a record of 14-2, before being stunned by the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinal. For his performances in 2024, Warner was named to the All-MLR First XV, the only SaberCats player to be featured in the First XV that season. On November 12th, 2024, the Houston Sabercats announced the return of Andre Warner for the 2025 season, where he followed up a very good 2024 season with a solid 2nd year in MLR. Warner scored 4 tries in 12 games (11 starts) to help the SaberCats to their first playoff victory and advancing to the 2025 Championship Game, a 28-22 defeat which Warner started. With the Houston SaberCats’ surprise withdrawal from MLR in the 2025/26 offseason, Warner became a Free Agent and on 2nd January 2026, the Seattle Seawolves announced that they had added him to their roster for 2026.

Warner started all 11 of the Seattle Seawolves’ games during the 2026 season, primarily at scrum-half but also filling in at fly-half for a number of games due to injuries in the Seawolves squad. He started all 10 regular season games, scoring 4 tries on just under 250m gained in possession and contributed 7 assists and 11 defenders beaten to help Seattle finish with a 6-4 record, good enough to earn a home Semifinal as the 2nd placed team. In the playoffs they faced the California Legion, who they had defeated the week before, but on this occasion they fell 34-43 at home, ending their 2026 campaign in which Warner was a stand out. For his efforts, he was named as the Seattle Seawolves’ Players’ Player and Coaches’ Player of the Year.

Following the 2026 MLR season Andre Warner returned to his native South Africa and although no announcement was made, on 10th September he was listed as the starting scrum-half for the DHL Stormers of the URC in a pre-season game against the Bulls. A few weeks later on 22nd September, the Stormers announced that Warner had joined the club on a 6-month loan until February 2027 as part of the partnership between the URC side and the Seawolves. This suggests that Warner will return for Seattle in 2027.

achievements

  • 2026 Seattle Seawolves Players’ Player of the Year
  • 2026 Seattle Seawolves Coaches’ Player of the Year
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 8
  • 2025 MLR Runner-Up: Houston SaberCats
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 7
  • 2024 All-MLR First XV: Houston SaberCats
  • T-9th in MLR Try Scoring: 2024 (8)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 3

Anthem RC

background & History

Anthem Rugby Carolina were founded in early 2024 and announced on January 19th, 2024, six weeks before the start of the 2024 MLR season, their first. The team came to be thanks to a partnership between Major League Rugby, USA Rugby, and World Rugby, the goal of which was to expand upon the USA Hawks Development Pathway and have a professional team made up of US talent to compete year in, year out at the highest level of rugby in North America. The long term goal of this team is to provide a clear pathway to the USA Eagles national team ahead of the Rugby World Cups in 2027 and, more importantly, 2031 on home soil.

The introduction of Anthem RC brought the number of teams competing in the 2024 season back to 12 (following the withdrawal of the Toronto Arrows and Rugby New York Ironworkers) and allowed the league to move back to a 2 conference system. MLR had released the 2024 schedule in mid December 2023, and had to re-launch a schedule on January 19th to accommodate Anthem’s introduction. Their inaugural season in MLR was tough. Due to having only a few weeks prep time before the 2024 season kicked-off, Anthem’s roster was made up of depth players from other teams. They recorded the 3rd winless season in MLR history that year, picking up 7pts total with a points difference of -353. Their sophomore year looked promising in the build up to the season. Acquisitions like Mitch Wilson and Toby Fricker from the Free Jacks, as well as Sam Golla and Makeen Alikhan from the folding Dallas Jackals excited fans and Anthem RC looked like they would pick up a win or two in the 2025 season. They started strong and picked up 5pts relatively quickly, culminating in a 45-46 defeat to the Houston SaberCats in Round 6. Unfortunately, this loss seemed to shatter their confidence, and they would not record any more points in the standings for the rest of the season. Anthem recorded their 2nd winless season in a row and set a new record for the longest losing streak in MLR history. Not an encouraging sign for a team that is meant to be developing the next generation of USA Eagles. Head Coach Alama Ieremia stepped back for the final few weeks of the season to focus on his work with the national team and was replaced by ex-Jackals boss Agustin Cavalieri.

There was some questions raised regarding the International Player Spots for Anthem RC during the 2025 season. The other 10 teams in the league were permitted to trade down to a minimum of 8 international slots per matchday 23 on the season, while Anthem was initially permitted to trade down to 7. With fans having received no clarification from MLR, Anthem ended up trading away seven of their 10 international slots, leaving them with 3 per matchday 23 for the 2025 season. No clarification from the League was ever released.

Anthem RC survived the league contraction from 2025 to 2026 and went into the 2026 campaign with their strongest roster to date, and Agustin Cavalieri in charge full time. Their mission for the season was simple: Earn their first victory. They wasted no time in doing this, overcoming the California Legion in their first game of the season to snap a MLR-record 32-game losing streak. The Rising Stars followed this up with a second victory over the Seattle Seawolves a few weeks later, holding a 2-1 record with things looking bright. Unfortunately, this was the high point of their season. Anthem RC then went on a 7-game losing streak to finish with a 2-8 record but were still competing for a playoff spot into the final weekend. They seemed to fall back into a lot of the patterns from the previous two years however and while competitive at times, games in the latter half of the season were often a foregone conclusion. Finishing their 3rd year with a best ever record, the 7-game losing streak still left a bitter taste in fans’ mouths as recency bias played it’s part.

With the 3yr commitment from World Rugby ending with the 2026 season along with their funding, Anthem RC’s time in MLR came to an end with an all-time record of 2-40. NARDB understands that Anthem RC players and staff were released shortly after the end of the 2026 season and in August 2026, the team was removed from the MLR website. MLR Co-President Alex Magleby has mentioned an interest in having a team continue in North Carolina, but it is unclear what form that team will take, if any.

records & Record Holders

All Time:

Top Scorer: Luke Carty (59pts)
Top Try Scorer: Te Rangatira Waitokia, Conner Mooneyham (7)
Most Appearances: Dan Hanson (31)
Most Starts: Junior Gafa (25)
Top Tackler: Sam Golla (267)
Top Meter Eater: Junior Gafa (1,501m)

Single Season:

Top Scorer: Luke Carty (59pts) – 2026
Top Try Scorer: Te Rangatira Waitokia (7) – 2024
Top Tackler: Sam Golla (187) – 2025
Top Meter Eater: Te Rangatira Waitokia (1,246m) – 2024

Historical Performance

2024: 0-16 (-353) – 7pts: 6th in Eastern Conference
2025: 0-16 (-288) – 5pts: 6th in Eastern Conference
2026: 2-8 (-132) – 13pts: 6th

Overall Regular Season Record: 2-0-40
Overall Championship Series Record: N/A
Championship Series Appearances: 0

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 0
Longest Streak: N/A
First Possession: N/A
Last Possession: N/A
Successful Challenges: 0
Failed Challenges: 5
Challenge Success Rate: 0.00%
Successful Defences: 0
Failed Defences: 0
Defence Success Rate: 0.00%

Head coach & captain

Head Coach:
Captain:

logo

2024-

The style of Anthem RC’s ‘A’ logo is intended as a nod to the military history of the city, and the star is an homage to that. The cross of the A is also intended to symbolise a ‘rising star’, as the team is made up of many of the USA’s ‘rising stars’ in the game of Rugby.

Venue

Anthem RC play out of the American Legion Memorial Stadium, in Charlotte, NC. A 10,500 seater turf field owned by the City of Charlotte.

American Legion Memorial Stadium