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.

Dominic Akina

Hawaiian native Dominic Akina played in Major League Rugby between 2020-2026. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2020-2022) the Houston SaberCats (2023-2025), and Anthem RC (2026).

Akina played gridiron football through high school and into university at Western Oregon. He attended a combine for the Austin Herd (later the Gilgronis) and appeared in an exhibition game for them against the Austin Huns in January 2020. He played with the Austin Gilgronis during the truncated 2020 season, starting 4 of the AGs 5 games prior to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the season. Akina played with the Gilgronis for 3 MLR seasons, earning a total of 22 appearances (11 starts) and scoring 3 tries before the club was disqualified prior to the 2022 Championship Series.

Following the Austin Gilgronis‘ cessation of operations following the 2022 MLR season (along with the LA Giltinis), Dom Akina was selected 10th overall in the 2022 dispersal draft by the Houston SaberCats who he signed with ahead of the 2023 MLR season. Akina earned a career best 16 appearances for the ‘Cats (all starts), scoring 5 tries to bring his career total to 8. He gained over 800m and completed 103 successful tackles in a stand-out season. On 6th December 2023, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Dom Akina for the 2024 MLR season. He added another 2 tries in 13 games (9 starts) for the SaberCats in 2024 as Houston finished as the top team during the regular season with a record of 14-2, and Akina came off the bench during their only playoff game that year as the SaberCats were stunned by the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinals.

On November 19, 2024, the Houston SaberCats announced the return of Dom Akina for the 2025 season, his 3rd with the SaberCats and 6th in MLR. That year, Akina would equal his career high of 5 tries to move up to 17 in his career, earning 10 starts in 17 games and racking up over 575m gained for the 3rd successive season while completing over 50 tackles to help the SaberCats advance to the 2025 Championship Game where Akina came off the bench in their loss to the New England Free Jacks. Following the surprise withdrawal of the Houston SaberCats during the 2025/26 offseason, Dom Akina did not initially land on an MLR roster for the 2026 campaign. However, he was brought into the Anthem RC camp ahead of Round 3 of the season as injury cover for Junior Gafa.

Achievements:

  • 2025 MLR Runner-Up: Houston SaberCats
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 2
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 1
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 6
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 7
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 13
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2020 – Rd 3

LaRome White

Kentucky native LaRome White played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the Seattle Seawolves (2018, 2026), the Austin Gilgronis (2019-2022), the Chicago Hounds (2023-2024), and the Houston SaberCats (2024-2025).

White was introduced to rugby in 2010 and played throughout his time at the University of Kentucky between 2012-2015, starting at centre and moving to the front row in his 2nd year. Following his graduation, he attended the Sharks academy in 2016 under legendary Springboks front row (and fellow MLR-er) Tendai Mtawarira. White attended the AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American Identification camp Chula Vista Elite Training Center at the start of 2017, before signing with the Seattle Seawolves ahead of MLR’s inaugural season in 2018.

White earned 3 appearances from the bench for the Seawolves, helping them advance to the 2018 Championship Final, defeating the Glendale Raptors 19-23 to lift the first ever MLR Shield. Following the league’s debut season, White signed with the Austin Elite (later the Gilgronis) and remained with the team for 4 seasons, through dramatic changes that saw the AGs really dominate during the 2022 season, before being disqualified (along with their sister team, the LA Giltinis)  for alleged salary cap violations. Both LA & Austin folded in the off-season. White earned a total of 35 MLR caps with Austin between 2019-2022, scoring 3 of his 4 tries to date with the club. In the subsequent Expansion/Dispersal Draft, LaRome White was selected 25th overall by the Chicago Hounds, and signed a multi-year contract with the expansion side ahead of their inaugural season in 2023. In the 2023 season, LaRome White earned a career high 14 appearances (6 starts) including his 50th MLR appearance.

The Chicago Hounds confirmed the return of LaRome White on 3rd January 2024, ahead of that year’s MLR season. On 8th March 2024, 2 rounds into the 2024 season, the Chicago Hounds traded White to the Houston SaberCats in exchange for 2024 Cap Considerations (unknown). earned 13 appearances for the SaberCats in his first season in Houston, helping the team to a league-best 14-2 regular season record. He came off the bench in the Western Conference Semifinal as the SaberCats were stunned by the Dallas Jackals. White returned to the SaberCats for a 2nd season in 2025, earning 11 additional appearances and passing 300 career tackles with 45 on the season to help the SaberCats advance to the 2025 Championship Final, where they fell to the New England Free Jacks.

With the Houston SaberCats’ surprise withdrawal from MLR during the 2025/26 offseason, LaRome White returned to his first MLR club, the Seattle Seawolves. He was announced by the team he lifted the 2018 Shield with on 6th February, 2026.

achievement

Mason Pedersen

Californian prop Mason Pedersen played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2018-2019, 2021-2022) and the Seattle Seawolves (2020, 2023-2026).

Mason Pedersen was raised in Long Beach, CA and attended Woodrow Wilson High School before enrolling at the University of Arizona from 2014. Following his graduation, he joined the Austin Huns in 2017 where he helped the team to a D1 Championship before signing with the Austin Elite for Major League Rugby’s inaugural season in 2018 where he earned 5 starts in 6 games. Following the season he played with the Vancouver Rowing Club in British Columbia before returning to the Elite for the 2019 season where he scored his first MLR try. After a brief spell with the Seattle Seawolves for the truncated 2020 season where he scored 2 tries in 5 games (starting 4), Pedersen returned to Austin with the new look Gilgronis for two seasons from 2021-2022. In total, Pedersen earned 29 starts in 43 games for Austin, scoring 3 tries in total and completing a career high 89 tackles in 2022.

Following the disqualification of the Austin Gilgronis from the 2022 season and their subsequent cessation of operations, Pedersen re-joined the Seattle Seawolves for 2023, and earned 3 starts in 17 games in his first full season in the Pacific Northwest. He picked up an injury which ruled him out of the following season, but on January 14th, 2025, Mason Pedersen was included on the Seattle Seawolves roster for their 2025 season, his 8th in MLR. He bounced back in 2025, earning 2 starts and completing 84 tackles in 15 games, as well as passing 1000m gained in his 80 game career and earning his first career Team of the Week selection in Rd 10. Pedersen would return for a 5th season with the Seattle Seawolves in 2026, as the team announced his return on 19th December, 2025.

Pedersen started 6 of his 9 appearances for the Seawolves during the 2026 season, scoring a pair of tries and passing 500 tackles made across his MLR career with 72 completed this season alone to help Seattle finish 2nd during the regular season before they fell to the California Legion in the Semifinals. Following the MLR season, Mason Pedersen was included in the USA Eagles squad for their July Nations Cup tests, and earned his debut off the bench as Eagle #602 in a hotly contested 30-29 victory over Portugal.

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 7
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 10
  • 2024 MLR Runner-Up: Seattle Seawolves

Seattle Seawolves

background & History

Founded in 2017, the Seattle Seawolves are a founding member of Major League Rugby and have competed in every season of MLR to date. The team was founded by an investor group headed by Adrian Balfour and Shane Skinner and is one of the most successful teams in MLR history. The Seawolves won the inaugural season to become the first team to lift the MLR shield in 2018, defeating the Glendale (later Colorado) Raptors and claimed a second MLR Championship the following year, defeating the San Diego Legion to lift the 2019 Shield. The Seattle Seawolves were the first MLR team to win multiple Championships, and the first of only two teams to have captured back-to-back Shields.

Following a controversial 2022 season the Seattle Seawolves made their 3rd Championship Final appearance but were unable to capture a third MLR Shield, falling to Rugby New York. Despite the Seawolves’ historical success, they have never finished as the #1 seed at the end of the regular season, but have finished 2nd (either overall or in the Western Conference) in 3 separate seasons (see below). Despite numerous injuries to key players in 2024, the Seawolves finished the regular season with a solid 11-5 record, and faced their rivals the San Diego Legion in the playoffs yet again. Unlike in 2023, the Seawolves prevailed in 2024 and then defeated the impressive Dallas Jackals in the 2024 Western Conference Final to advance to their 4th MLR final, against the New England Free Jacks, fighting for back-to-back titles. The Seawolves would fall in the 2024 Championship game, and finished the 2024 season as Runners-Up for the 2nd time. Although they were the first side to do so, they are not the only team in MLR to win back-to-back Shields, joined by the 2023-2024 New England Free Jacks.

Despite putting in some impressive results including a win over 2025 Runners-Up the Houston SaberCats, a win over 2025 Champions the New England Free Jacks, and defeating the 2025 Regular Season leading Utah Warriors on the road, the 2025 Seattle Seawolves struggled in a cutthroat Western Conference. They started slowly, with a 1-4 record and finished with a record of 8-1-7 and 49pts, squeezing into the postseason as 4th place in the Western Conference by a single point at the expense of their rivals, the San Diego Legion. Although the regular season was up and down, the Seawolves put in a valiant performance in Western Conference Semifinal against the league-leading Utah Warriors, their come back fell just short, falling 23-21. With the New England Free Jacks lifting the 2025 Shield and completing the Threepeat, the Seawolves no longer hold the most Shields in MLR history. Maybe this will give them something to fight for in 2026.

records & Record Holders

2018 MLR Champions
2019 MLR Champions
2022 Western Conference Champions
2024 Western Conference Champions

All Time:

Top Scorer: AJ Alatimu (321)
Top Try Scorer: Riekert Hattingh (48)
Top Playoff Scorer: AJ Alatimu (55)
Top Tackler: Riekert Hattingh (950)
Top Meter Eater: Riekert Hattingh (5,563m)
Most Capped Player: JP Smith (106)
Most Starts: JP Smith (96)

Single Season:

Top Scorer: Mack Mason (172pts) – 2024
Top Try Scorer: Riekert Hattingh (12) – 2023
Top Tackler: Charles Elton (272) – 2023
Top Meter Eater: Lauina Futi (1,495m) – 2023

historical performance

2018: 6-0-2 (+44) – 29pts: 2nd (Champions x1)
2019: 11-1-4 (+91) – 58pts: 2nd (Champions x2)
2020: 1-0-4 (-24) – 8pts: 4th in Western Conference
2021: 4-0-12 (-118) – 26pts: 5th in Western Conference
2022: 9-0-7 (+73) – 46pts: 4th in Western Conference (Runners-Up)
2023: 12-0-4 (+161) – 59pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Conference Runners-Up)
2024: 11-0-5 (+125) – 57pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Runners-Up)
2025: 8-1-7 (+38) – 49pts: 4th in Western Conference (Conference Semifinalist)

Overall Regular Season Record: 62-2-45
Overall Championship Series Record: 9-4
Championship Series Appearances: 6 (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 22
Longest Streak: 8 Games
First Possession: 2018 – Rd 5
Last Possession: 2025 – Rd 16
Successful Challenges: 7
Failed Challenges: 8
Challenge Success Rate: 46.67%
Successful Defences: 13
Failed Defences: 7
Defence Success Rate: 65.00%

Captains & Head Coaches

Head Coach
  • Tony Healy*: 2018
  • Phil Mack: 2018
  • Anton Moolman*: 2019
  • Richie Walker: 2019
  • Kees Lensing: 2020 – April 2021
  • Allen Clarke: May 2021 – Present

*= Appointed but unable to take up post due to visa difficulties

Captain

Logo & Jersey

2017-

The Seawolves logo depicts an Orca, also known as a Seawolf. The logo has not changed since the inaugural MLR season in 2018. Their jerseys initially fell in like with traditional Seattle sports team colours: faded blue and green. This worked in relation to the Seawolves as it gave images of the sea around the PNW. In later years, the Seawolves would step away from the blues and replace them with black. The green remained and their away kits were often primarily white.

Venue

The Seattle Seawolves have always played their home games out of Starfire Sports, a 4,500 seater turf stadium in Tukwila, South of Seattle. The Seawolves share these facilities with the Seattle Sounders of the MLS, who have offices and training facilities at the complex, as well as the NWSL team, Seattle Reign FC.

Starfire Sports Complex

 

Old Glory DC

Old Glory DC

background & History

On May 15th 2018, Major League Rugby announced that a Washington, D.C. based team would enter the league by the 2020 season. The team was confirmed in November 2018 and the name of Old Glory DC was announced in February 2019. The team is owned by Chris Dunlavey and former USA Eagle Paul Sheehy and in March 2019, the Scottish Rugby Union announced that it had purchased a minority stake in the team.

Old Glory DC got off to a strong start in MLR, winning 4 of their first 5 games before the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Flags struggled following the league’s return in 2021, winning a combined 9 of the 32 games played between 2021-2022. In 2023 DC appeared to be starting to turn things around and although finishing with a mediocre 7-1-8 record, qualified for the Championship Series for the first time in club history and defeated the reigning Rugby New York Ironworkers in the Eastern Eliminator to advance to the Eastern Conference Final where they fell to eventual champions, the New England Free Jacks. The following year, thanks to an expanded playoff format Old Glory DC qualified for the post-season for the second year running, with a record of 7-2-7. They faced their rivals the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and although they defeated them in Quincy during the regular season, it was not to be, falling 29-33 on the road. The Flags will look to improve their regular season for 2025 and secure home field advantage in the playoffs for the first time.

Old Glory DC returned in 2025 with a similar roster. The Flags alternated wins and losses for the first half of the 2025 season that included star Fly-half Jason Robertson suffering a season-ending injury early in the campaign. Luckily for DC, they had picked up Jason Emery from Rugby FC LA in the offseason and while Emery is primarily a fullback, he covered the Old Glory DC 10 jersey superbly. The Flags finished with an even 8-8 record in the 2025 regular season, with a franchise best 45pts securing them 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. This made them the road team in the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the 11-5 Chicago Hounds who were able to deliver a 27-16 victory, ending the Flags’ season 1 step earlier than the year before. Despite qualifying for the postseason for the 3rd season in a row, Old Glory DC have still never finished an MLR regular season with a positive record.

Records & Record Holders

all time

Top Scorer: Jason Robertson (367pts)
Top Try Scorer: William Talataina (23)
Top Playoff Scorer: Tito Diaz Bonilla & Connor Buckley (17pts)
Top Tackler: Cory Daniel (888)
Top Meter Eater: Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (2,809m)
Most Capped Player: Jack Iscaro (76)
Most Starts: Tevite Naqali (64)

single season

Top Scorer: Jason Robertson (138pts) – 2024
Top Try Scorer: William Talataina (10) – 2023
Top Tackler: Cory Daniel (276) – 2024
Top Meter Eater: Renata Roberts-Te Nana (1,351m)

historical performance

2020: 4-0-1 (-7) – 17pts: 2nd in Eastern Conference
2021: 6-1-9 (-81) – 39pts: 5th in Eastern Conference
2022: 3-0-13 (-168) – 23pts: 6th in Eastern Conference
2023: 7-1-8 (-35) – 43pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference Finalists)
2024: 7-2-7 (-22) – 42pts: 4th in Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference Semifinalist)
2025: 8-0-8 (-40) – 45pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference (Eastern Conference Semifinalist)

Overall Regular Season Record: 35-4-46
Overall Championship Series Record: 1-3
Championship Series Appearances: 3 (2023, 2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 2
Longest Streak: 2 Games
First Possession: 2024 – Rd 2
Last Possession: 2024 – Rd 4
Successful Challenges: 1
Failed Challenges: 5
Challenge Success Rate: 16.67%
Successful Defences: 1
Failed Defences: 1
Defence Success Rate: 50.00%

Head Coach & Captain

head coach
  • Andrew Douglas (2019- March 2022)
  • Nate Osborne (April – October 2022) (Interim)
  • Josh Syms (October 2022 – 2023)
  • Simon Cross (Jul 2023 – Present)
captain

logo & Jersey

Old Glory DC
Logo 2020-

Old Glory DC is another of the MLR teams with a shield logo. Made up of red, white, and blue, the shield contains the name of the club ‘Old Glory DC’ within the shield and ‘Rugby Football Club’ written atop it. The logo also features the dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. at the point.

Named after the US flag, Old Glory DC embraced their namesake in their early seasons, with kits featuring the US flag emblazoned across the breast on a background of blue or white depending on if they were at home or away, respectively. As time went on, the symbolism of the US capitol and flag became more subtle. In 2024, the home kit was entirely a dark blue with subtle imagery of the inside of the capitol rotunda, while the away kit was entirely red with subtle patterns nodding to the columns of the Lincoln Memorial.

DC have also worn city edition jerseys featuring Japanese ‘Sakura’ (cherry blossom), a nod to the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., which were a gift from Japan

Venue

Like most Major League Rugby teams, Old Glory DC have moved home venues several times in their short history. For their inaugural season in 2020, the Flags played at Cardinal Stadium, a 3,500 seater artificial turf field at the Catholic University of America that only saw 2 MLR games before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season after only 5 rounds. Between 2021-2023, Old Glory DC played their home games at the 5,000 capacity Segra Field in Leesburg, VA, a soccer-specific stadium with an artificial turf pitch. In early September following the 2023 MLR season, Old Glory DC announced that they were moving to the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, MD on a 1yr deal. The 5,000 capacity stadium features seating for 3,200 plus general admission areas and sports a Bermuda grass pitch.

Old Glory DC spent two seasons at the Maryland Soccerplex between 2024-2025, before announcing that they were leaving Germantown on 7th October, 2025. After teasing an announcment on 14th October that strongly suggested that they would play out of George Mason University. The 4,500 capacity primarily soccer/lacrosse Bermuda grass field at GMU Stadium in Fairfax, VA is right on the outskirts of DC, and hosted Old Glory DC’s 27-14 win over the NOLA Gold in Round 14 of the 2025 season. On 10th November, 2025, Old Glory DC confirmed GMU as their home for the 2026 campaign.

George Mason Stadium at George Mason University

 

Lucas Rumball

Canadian Flanker Lucas Rumball played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2026. He represented the Toronto Arrows as Arrow #1 between 2019-2023, and the Chicago Hounds (2024-2026)

Lucas Rumball is a test-capped Canadian, with his international debut coming against Uruguay in 2016. He earned his 50th cap for Canada in November 2023 against Spain.

The Scarborough, Ontario native played club rugby with Balmy Beach RFC in Toronto, and has represented the Toronto Arrows in every MLR season in which they competed, earning 54 MLR caps (50 starts) and scoring 5 tries. Rumball was named Co-Captain of the Arrows for their 2021 campaign alongside fellow Canadian, Ben LeSage. He was named outright captain of the Arrows for their 2023 MLR campaign. He has developed a reputation as a fearsome tackler, and can be relied on for at least one breakdown steal a game. He finished the 2021 season as MLR’s highest tackler with a total of 228, and has a career MLR total of 1078 through 2025.

A Toronto and Canada stalwart, on 7th November 2023 the Arrows announced the return of Lucas Rumball for the 2024 MLR season. Rumball was one of only three Arrows players to reach 50 caps in MLR, along with Mike Sheppard and Paul Ciulini. In late November 2023, the Toronto Arrows and MLR announced that they would not compete in the 2024 season due to financial difficulties. Following this news, Rumball signed with the Chicago Hounds as a free agent for the 2024 season, which the Hounds announced on 20th December 2023.

In his first season away from the Arrows, Rumball earned 10 caps (5 starts) for the Hounds, completing another 91 tackles take his MLR total to 880, 2nd all-time as of the conclusion of 2024. The Chicago Hounds qualified for the playoffs in the 2024 season, and Rumball came off the bench in both their playoff games as the Hounds fell to the eventual champions, the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Final. On October 21st 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Lucas Rumball for his 7th MLR season in 2025, Captaining the side. On May 19th, 2025, Rumball completed 15 tackles for the Chicago Hounds to take his career total to 1,009 tackles completed, becoming the first play in MLR history to pass 1,000 tackles completed in the competition. Rumball ended up scoring 2 tries in 16 games (15 starts) as the Hounds took the Free Jacks beyond the 80 before losing a heartbreaking 21-20 Eastern Conference Final. For his efforts, Lucas Rumball was named the Chicago Hounds’ Forward of the Year for 2025 and was also named to the All-MLR Second XV team for 2025, his 2nd All-MLR selection.

On November 6th, 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of their 2025 Captain Lucas Rumball for the 2026 MLR season, where he continued his stand-out performance. Rumball started 9 of his 10 appearances for the Hounds during their dominant 2026 season, Captaining the team to the Championship Game against the California Legion where they claimed their first MLR Shield in front of a home crowd to cap off the first perfect season in league history. As expected, Rumball was an integral part of the 2026 Hounds. He earned 4 First XV Selections and scored a career high 4 tries, beating a massive 37 defenders on over 250m gained in possession while averaging over 14 tackles per game for 141 on the season to finish T-6th league wide with California Legion’s Lance Williams. For his remarkable effort, 2026 Shield-Winning Captain and Championship MVP Lucas Rumball was named as the Chicago Hounds Forward of the Year for the 2nd year in a row, and was an All-MLR First XV selection. Following the MLR season, he played with the Canadian national team in their July Nations Cup tests in Edmonton & Winnipeg.

Achievements

  • 2026 All-MLR First XV Selection
  • 2026 Chicago Hounds Forward of the Year
  • 2026 MLR Champion: Chicago Hounds
  • 2026 MLR Championship MVP
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 2
  • 2025 All-MLR Second XV Selection
  • 2025 Chicago Hounds Forward of the Year
  • First MLR Player to pass 1,000 tackles completed – 19th May 2025
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 8
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 3
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 1
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 16
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 3
  • 2021 All-MLR First XV Selection
  • 1st in MLR Tackling: 2021 (228)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 6
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 1
  • 2nd in MLR Tackling: 2020 (73)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 10

NARDB Player #2

New England Free Jacks

Background & History

The New England Free Jacks on 21st September 2018 as part of the wave of Major League Rugby expansion ahead of the 2020 season, joining the league alongside Rugby ATL (now a part of the California Legion) and Old Glory DC. The team was founded by Errik Anderson and former USA Eagle Alex Magelby, and is owned by a consortium that includes former NFL-ers Nate Ebner and Patrick Chung.

The Free Jacks would play their first ever game against the Ontario Arrows (later the Toronto Arrows) on October 20, 2018 at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through their first 4 seasons in Major League Rugby, the New England Free Jacks performance could be summarized as steadily increasing performance. With the exception of the 2020 season when they held a 1-4 record before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the season, the Free Jacks finished with a positive record each year between 2021-2025, improving every year (see below in ‘Historical Performance’ section) between 2021-2023, recording a 13-0-3 record in 2022 which was the best regular season record in MLR history at the time, qualifying for the post-season but suffering a shock defeat to eventual Champions Rugby New York in the Eastern Conference Final.

The New England Free Jacks’ 2022 record was surpassed the following year by the San Diego Legion’s 15-0-1 season. The Free Jacks themselves recorded a 14-0-2 record in 2023, once again qualifying for the Championship Series as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Free Jacks would not slip up as they did the year before, and easily saw off Old Glory DC in the Conference Final to advance to the Championship Final against the San Diego Legion in Chicago. Thanks to a 77th minute try by Le Roux Malan, the Free Jacks prevailed 24-25 victors in arguably the best MLR final to date to lift their first MLR Shield. The Free Jacks title defence in 2024 saw them finish the regular season with an 11-5 record at the top of the Eastern Conference once again, defeating local rivals Old Glory DC and the Chicago Hounds to claim the Eastern Conference Championship in back-to-back seasons. Standing between them and back-to-back Shields lay the only team in MLR history to have achieved back-to-back titles, the Seattle Seawolves playing in their 4th final. A back-and-forth final was defined by discipline and defence, and the Free Jacks put on a defensive masterclass in MLR’s lowest scoring final to date, emerging as 11-20 victors in San Diego and joined the Seawolves as Back-to-Back MLR Champions.

The Free Jacks’ 2x Title Defence got off to a shaky start in 2025. New England found themselves 2-3 after 5 games, before a huge comeback victory on the road against the Utah Warriors started a 7-game win streak. To the surprise of no-one, the Free Jacks finished the regular season atop the Eastern Conference with an 11-5 record and 55pts, guaranteeing home field advantage in the postseason. New England dominated the Miami Sharks in the Conference Semifinals before squeezing past the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Final thanks to a Hounds penalty kick off the upright in the final play of the game to secure a 21-20 victory and claim the Eastern Conference title for the 3rd straight year. The Free Jacks faced the Houston SaberCats in the 2025 Championship game in Rhode Island in what was definitely a home fixture for the Free Jacks. Looking to complete the Threepeat, New England took the lead after 7 minutes, and never trailed. They secured a 28-22 victory and their 3rd straight MLR Shield in front of a home crowd in New England!

During the 2025/26 MLR offseason, the league contracted from 11 teams to 6 and as a result of that as well as an increased focus on developing domestic talent at the league level with the realignment of Canadian players as internationals for the 2026 season. With a large Canadian contingent, this meant a huge turnover for the New England Free Jacks, with only 30% of their roster remaining from their Shield-winning 2025 season. As a result, the Free Jacks brought in a huge number of new players and lost a lot of the stars that had helped them to 3 successive titles, and they struggled in 2026. They dropped from perennial Shield contenders to not making the postseason at all, finishing 5th with a record of 3-7, although they started to show flashes of the Free Jacks that MLR was used to seeing towards the end of the season and weren’t mathematically eliminated until the final weekend of regular season play. A huge step back for New England, and plenty to work on ahead of 2027.

Records & Record Holders

2025 MLR Champions
2024 MLR Champions
2023 MLR Champions

alltime

Top Scorer: Jayson Potroz (353pts)
Top Try Scorer: Paula Balekana (40)
Top Playoff Scorer: Jayson Potroz (44)
Top Tackler: Wian Conradie (876)
Top Meter Eater: Paula Balekana (3,701m)
Most Capped Player: Joe Johnston (74)
Most Starts: Joe Johnston / Mitch Wilson (61)

single season

Top Scorer: Jayson Potroz (181pts) – 2024
Top Try Scorer: Paula Balekana (15) – 2023, 2025
Top Tackler: Wian Conradie (234) – 2023
Top Meter Eater: Reece MacDonald (1,535m) – 2024

historical performance

2020: 1-4 (-19) – 9pts: 6th in Eastern Conference
2021: 10-0-6 (+28) – 48pts: 4th in Eastern Conference
2022: 13-0-3 (+126) – 62pts: 1st in Eastern Conference (Conference Finalist)
2023: 14-0-2 (+283) – 68pts: 1st in Eastern Conference (Champions x1)
2024: 11-0-5 (+119) – 55pts: 1st in Eastern Conference (Champions x2)
2025: 11-0-5 (+84) – 55pts: 1st in Eastern Conference (Champions x3)
2026: 3-0-7 (-75) – 17pts: 5th

Overall Regular Season Record: 63-0-32
Overall Championship Series Record: 8-1
Championship Series Appearances: 4 (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 20
Longest Streak: 7 Games
First Possession: 2021 – Rd 8
Last Possession: 2026 – Rd 2
Successful Challenges: 6
Failed Challenges: 2
Challenge Success Rate: 75.00%
Successful Defences: 14
Failed Defences: 6
Defence Success Rate: 70.00%

Head Coach & Captain

Head Coach
Captain

Logo & Jersey

Free Jacks Logo
Alternate Logo

The New England Free Jacks’ logo and iconography are drawn from the American Revolution. Their primary logo is a hand holding a 18th century lantern in dark blue, with the light from the lantern coloured red, all with a white outline. The lantern is a nod to the famous ‘One if by land, two if by sea’ during Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, to warn the revolutionaries of the British Army’s approach during the Revolutionary War. Indeed, the Free Jacks have a variation of the logo showing Paul Revere atop a horse.

Throughout their time in Major League Rugby, the New England Free Jacks have had consistently highly-praised kits, often small variations on red, white, and blue hoops with a collar, typically a winning combination for rugby. For 2023 & 2024, the Free Jacks ran 3 kits, a primarily blue (home kit both years), a primarily red (2023 alternate, 2024 away), and a primarily white kits (2023 away, 2024 alternate), all of which sported hoops and a collar.

The Free Jacks have also sported a mainly dark green jersey for St. Patrick’s Day 2022, and green hooped jersey for St. Patrick’s Day 2023, as well as a baseball-themed red jersey for their city kit in 2023.

Venue

For their exhibition season 2018/19, the New England Free Jacks played their home games out of the Union Point Sports Complex, which hosted the Free Jacks and the ‘A’ sides of the 4 Irish Provinces for the Cara Cup in 2019. The Free Jacks had intended to play their 2020 season out of UPSC but the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic prior to the Free Jacks hosting a game. The Free Jacks did play a ‘home’ game in 2020, but this was at the Sam Boyd in Whitney, NV which hosted many teams as part of a ‘season kick off’ event. The Free Jacks played the majority of their 2021 home games at UPSC.

Since their final game of the 2021 season, the New England Free Jacks have called Veterans’ Memorial Stadium in Quincy, MA home. Nicknamed ‘Fort Quincy’, the 5,000-seater synthetic turf stadium is owned by the City of Quincy and operated by Heritage Sports Ventures, originally a strategic partner of the Free Jacks in 2021 prior to being purchased by the team in January of 2022.

Veteran’s Memorial Stadium

 

 

Jason Damm

Born in Georgia but raised in South Carolina, Jason Damm played in Major League Rugby between 2019-2025. He represented the Glendale Raptors (2019), Rugby ATL (2020-2023), Rugby FC LA (2024-2025), and the California Legion (2026).

Damm began playing rugby in South Carolina with the Carolina Dragons, while also playing football through high school. He attended Clemson University between 2013-2017, helping their rugby team to back-to-back Atlantic Coast Rugby League Championships and advanced to the 2017 Varsity Cup Quarterfinals where they faced Cal. In 2014 he was named as ACRL Freshman of the year, and was an Honourable Mention All-American Forward. Post graduation, Damm played with Vail Rugby in the Rocky Mountain Summer League before joining the Glendale Raptors for their fall season in 2018. Damm is a test capped USA Eagle, earning his debut against Chile in 2022 as Eagle #550. He’s become a regular in the Eagles lineup since his debut, featuring heavily in the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup, as well as the USA’s unbeaten November tour that year.

Damm’s performances for the Raptors earned him a contract for their MLR side ahead of the 2019 season, where he earned 3 appearances and his first MLR start. Following his debut MLR season he moved from the Raptors to expansion side Rugby ATL, playing out of Marietta, Georgia where Damm was born. Jason Damm played with Rugby ATL for 4 MLR seasons, scoring 8 tries in 30 games (21 starts) for the RATLers, as they finished as runners-up in the 2021 season to a dominant LA Giltinis side. Following the 2023 season, MLR announced that a new ownership group had purchased the Rugby ATL franchise and were relocating to to Los Angeles, who had been without a team since the demise of the Giltinis in 2022. In December 2023, the identity of this new LA team was revealed as Rugby FC LA.

Damm followed the franchise to LA along with a number of the Rugby ATL core from 2023, and he enjoyed a stellar season, earning a career high 14 starts in 15 appearances, scoring a personal best 7 tries and finishing T-8th in MLR for tackles completed with a personal best of 172, running for just shy of 600m gained in possession. Although RFCLA missed out on a playoff spot in their first season, they were competitive thanks to standouts like Damm. On November 29th, 2024, RFCLA confirmed the return of Jason Damm for his 7th MLR season in 2025. He Captained RFCLA to their first postseason appearance in 2025, falling to the Houston SaberCats in the Western Conference Semifinal. Damm matched his career high with 7 tries scored in 16 games, starting 15 times and setting a career high with 199 tackles completed, finishing just outside the MLR top 10. For his stellar season, Damm was named to the All-MLR Second XV.

There was some uncertainty regarding Jason Damm’s future in MLR following the merger between Rugby FC LA and the San Diego Legion to form the California Legion, however on 16th January 2026 the California Legion announced the signing of Damm for their inaugural 2026 season. He was the 2nd player announced by the team, behind Christian Poidevin. That season, Damm started all 10 regular season games for the Legion, captaining the newly-merged side to a 5-5 finish, good enough for 3rd place and a spot in the postseason where they defeated the Seattle Seawolves on the road before falling to the dominant Chicago Hounds in a soaking wet Chicago. Damm started both of these games taking his appearances to the maximum of 12 starts in 12 games, contributing 3 tries and beating 18 defenders on over 200m gained while averaging over 13 tackles per game for a total of 158, his third successive 150+ tackle season and good enough to finish 3rd league-wide. Damm was named to the All-MLR First XV for his efforts in 2026, and went on to Captain the USA for their July Nations Cup tests, where they went 3-0.

achievements

  • 2026 All-MLR First XV Selection
  • 2026 MLR Runner-Up: California Legion
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 9
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 2
  • 2025 All-MLR Second XV Selection
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 16
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 14
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 13
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 9
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2025 – Rd 5
  • T-8th in MLR Tackling: 2024 (172)
  • 2021 All-MLR Second XV Selection
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 11
  • 2021 MLR Runner-Up: Rugby ATL