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.

Ramiro Gurovich

Argentinian hooker Ramiro Gurovich played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented Anthem RC for his entire MLR career.

Gurovuch began his rugby career in his native Argentina, playing with El Club Atlético Estudiantes (CAE) in Argentina’s Torneo Regional del Litoral, representing CAE for most of his career so far. While playing with CAE in 2019, he was chosen to represented the Argentina U20 team at their home U20 World Cup, scoring a try against Fiji. Gurovich enjoyed a stellar year in 2023, he began his professional career with Argentinian SLAR franchise Pampas, before returning to CAE to help them earn their first Torneo Regional del Litoral title. He also featured for the Argentina XV side a handful of times, capping off a career year.

Gurovich has played with Pampas in each SLAR season since his debut in 2023, helping the side to their best ever finish in 2024, runners-up to Dogos in the league’s first ever all-Argentinian final. After representing the Pampas for a 3rd season in 2025, Ramiro Gurovich made the move north to Major League Rugby, joining Anthem RC on December 12th, 2025.

NARDB Player #1,642

Filipe Vakasiuola

New Zealand prop Filipe Vakasiuola played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Tauranga native Filipe Vakasiuola is a product of the Bay of Plenty pathway. He played amateur rugby for Tauranga Sports and was named to the Bay of Plenty Toa (U19s) squad in 2022, before earning his NPC debut for the Steamers in 2024, earning 10 appearances and the title of 2024 Bay of Plenty Rookie of the Year. Vakasiuola has earned 19 NPC appearances for the Bay of Plenty Steamers over the last two seasons, playing just shy of 400 minutes, earning 3 starts and scoring 2 tries, 1 in each season.

On 10th December 2025, the New England Free Jacks announced the addition of 23yo, 290lbs prop Filipe Vakasiuola for their 2026 title defence alongside fellow Bay of Plenty Steamers Jacob Norris and Sione Tupou as well as Free Jacks Captain Joe Johnston, another Steamers player. In his debut season in North America, Vakasiuola started 4 of his 8 appearances for the Free Jacks, earning a MLR Team of the Week selection in Round 5, contributing a try assist and completing over 50 tackles as the defending champions finished 5th, missing out on a playoff spot for the first time since 2021. Following the MLR season, he returned to New Zealand and re-joined the Steamers for their 2026 NPC campaign.

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5

NARDB Player #1,641

Sione Tupou

New Zealand hooker Sione Tupou played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Not to be confused with the former Tongan Sevens captain of the same name, Sione Tupou attended De La Salle College in Auckland while also joining the Bay of Plenty pathway. In 2024, he was selected to join the Chiefs U20 side and later that same year Tupou earned his NPC debut for the Steamers, earning a pair of appearances off the bench against Otago and the Tasman Mako. The following season, Tupou would increase this to 5 appearances for the Steamers during their NPC campaign, more than tripling his gametime minutes.

On 10th December 2025, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of 21yo hooker/prop Sione Tupou for their 2026 title defence, joining fellow Steamer Jacob Norris and Bay of Plenty prospect Filipe Vakasiuola as well as Free Jacks Captain Joe Johnston, another Steamers player. Tupou appeared in all 10 Free Jacks games during his solid debut season in North America, starting 6 times and earning a pair of MLR Team of the Week selections. He completed 99 tackles in total, and beat 7 defenders on 140m gained, scoring 6 tries and recording 2 try assists. Following the MLR season in which the Free Jacks missed the playoffs, Sione Tupou returned to New Zealand to re-join the Bay of Plenty Steamers for their 2026 NPC season.

achievements
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 11
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5

NARDB Player #1,640

Jacob Norris

New Zealand back row Jacob Norris played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

Born and raised in Tauranga, NZ, Jacob Norris played his junior rugby for the Tauranga Sports rugby club before heading to St Peters Cambridge, and signed with the Tasman Mako in the Mitre 10 (now the NPC) in 2017. He made his Mako debut in 2018 and went on to scored 3 tries and start 12 of his 16 games with the Tasman Mako from 2018-2021. In June 2021 Norris earned his debut for the Māori All Blacks as injury cover in a 35-10 victory over Samoa. He moved from the Tasman Mako to the Bay of Plenty Steamers for the 2022 NPC season and has represented them in each NPC season since, starting 34 of his 39 appearances and scoring another 3 tries for the Steamers.

In 2023, Norris earned his Super Rugby debut with the Western Force as injury cover, before breaking into Super Rugby proper with the Moana Pasifika in 2024, earning 12 appearances (11 starts) that season. Norris was named to the Chiefs wider training and replacement players group for the 2025 season, but has yet to make his Chiefs debut. On 10th December, the New England Free Jacks announced the signing of the 27yo back row for their 2026 title defence, joining fellow Steamers Sione Tupou and Filipe Vakasiuola as well as Free Jacks Captain Joe Johnston, another Steamers player.

Norris started all 10 of New England’s games in a disappointing season for the Free Jacks in 2026. Although he did gain over 100m with ball in hand, his defence made him a standout. Norris averaged over 15 tackles per game to record 152 tackles during the regular season, and finishing as the 5th highest tackler in MLR that season. For his performance, he was named as both the New England Free Jacks Forward of the Year, and Free Jacks Players’ Player of the Year for 2026.

achievements

NARDB Player #1,639

Harison Mataele

Tongan lock Harison Mataele played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A product of Tonga’s elite pathways, Harison Mataele took to professional rugby relatively late. He earned his test debut for Ikale Tahi off the bench against the All Blacks in July 2021, and has been a regular for Tonga ever since, representing his country at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, as well as in the 2024 & 2025 Pacific Nations Cup and most recently, the 2025 Autumn internationals. To date, Mataele has earned 16 test caps for Tonga.

At club level, Harison Mataele represented the Manly Marlins (2022-23) and the Eastern Suburbs (2023-24) in the Australian Shute Shield before moving to France, joining Stade Montois in the Pro D2 for their 2024/25 campaign. On 9th December 2025, the Seattle Seawolves announced the addition of the 6’8 lock for their 2026 Major League Rugby campaign. Mataele started the first 3 games of the 2026 Seawolves season before suffering a season-ending injury early in their Round 4 clash with the California Legion.

NARDB Player #1,638

Tayne Hemopo

New Zealand lock/back row Tayne Hemopo played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

After graduating from Nelson College in New Zealand, Tayne Hemopo entered the Crusaders pathway system, playing with the Academy side and U20s before joining the Tasman Mako development squad for the 2024 NPC season. He earned 2 appearances for the Mako in his debut season, but followed this up with 5 starts in 8 games in 2025 where he scored his first professional try. On 5th December 2025, the New England Free Jacks announced the addition of 21yo Tayne Hemopo for their 2026 title defence.


NARDB Player #1,637

Reuben Palmer

New Zealand lock Reuben Palmer played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

The Tauranga native attended Tauranga Boys College in Tauranga, NZ, where he captained the 1st XV, Palmer developed through the Otago/Highlanders system. He played with the Otago U19 and Highlanders U20 sides in 2023 and has played Premier Grade rugby with the Dunedin Sharks for the last two seasons. Palmer has a strong connection to newly appointed Free Jacks forwards coach Pingi Tala’apitaga, and on 5th December 2025, the New England Free Jacks announced the addition of 6’7 lock Reuben Palmer for their 2026 campaign.

He earned his professional debut with the Free Jacks that season, starting all 4 of his appearances during his first season in North America, and scored his first professional try in their Round 7 victory over the California Legion. This would be one of only 3 wins the Free Jacks would record in 2026 however, finishing 5th and missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2021. Following the MLR campaign, Palmer returned to New Zealand where he was named in the Bay of Plenty Steamers squad for the 2026 NPC season. He earned his Steamers and NPC debut in Round 1 of the 2026 NPC.

NARDB Player #1,636

Nathan Salmon

New Zealand winger Nathan Salmon played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the New England Free Jacks for his entire MLR career.

A native of Whangarei, NZ, Nathan Salmon attended Whangarei Boys High School and came up through the Northland system, playing with both the U19 and academy sides as well as Old Boys Marist in 2023, the same year he was selected for the NZ Barbarians squad. The following year, Salmon earned his NPC debut with Northland, and has represented the Taniwha for the last two seasons, scoring 4 tries in his 17 games, starting 5 times. He played under New England Free Jacks Head Coach Ryan Martin at Northland and so unsurprisingly, on 5th December 2025 the Free Jacks announced the signing of Nathan Salmon for the 2026 season.

In his debut season in MLR, Salmon proved a strong runner and real attacking threat during a disappointing year for the defending champions. Salmon started all 7 of his appearances for the Free Jacks, beating an impressive 25 defenders and gaining over 350m in possession, scoring 3 tries. Following his solid first season in North America, Salmon returned to New Zealand and re-joined Northland for their 2026 NPC season on 17th June, 2026.

NARDB Player #1,635

2026 MLR Results

This page displays all fixtures/results from the 2026 Major League Rugby season, the 9th season in League History. This list includes both regular season and playoff games. All times are in EST.

The schedule for the 2026 MLR season was announced on 4th December, 2025. Having contracted to 6 teams during the off-season, the 2026 campaign kicked off later than usual, with a single game held on 28th March, 2026 as the California Legion hosted Anthem RC in Orange County for the Legion’s first game under their new, merged identity. The remaining 4 teams received a 1st Round bye (much to the confusion of many) and kicked off their seasons the following weekend on either Friday April 3rd or Saturday April 4th. The California Legion and Anthem RC made up their bye week during Round 6. A far more advantageous time for a bye week.

The regular season concluded on June 7th with ‘MLR Decision Day’, after which the top 4 teams advanced to the post-season. The 2026 Semifinals took place on June 14th & 15th, with the Championship Final held at 7:00pm on June 21st, 2026.

Theo Fourie

South African born, Australian raised hooker Theo Fourie played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the Chicago Hounds for his entire MLR career.

Theo Fourie was born in South Africa where he spent the first few years of his life, before moving with his family to Australia, where he attended Rockhampton Grammar School in Queensland. Once he left school, Fourie played with the Souths under current Chicago Hounds Forwards Coach Todd Dammers, and got his first glimpse at pro rugby in 2019 when he signed with the Queensland Reds academy. His performances at the Reds academy earned him a spot in the Wallabies U20 squad in 2020, but didn’t get a chance to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the Junior World Cup that year. Later that year he moved to Melbourne having joined the Rebels as a member of the Training Squad, appearing in pre-season contests in 2021 and 2022 while still playing for Souths.

In July 2022, the Rebels signed Fourie as a full-time player ahead of the 2023 Super Rugby season, where he earned his pro debut in Round 14 against the Western Force which would be his only Super Rugby appearance for the Rebels before signing with the Waratahs once the 2023 season concluded. He earned 3 further Super Rugby appearances with the Waratahs in 2024, but returned to the Queensland Reds for the 2025 campaign, where he started their Round 1 clash with the Brumbies. On 24th November 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the addition of the 25yo Theo Fourie for the 2026 MLR season, reuniting with Todd Dammers.

Fourie had big shoes to fill in his debut season in North America, replacing MLR legend and all-time leading try scorer Dylan Fawsitt in the Hounds front row, and he filled them excellently. Fourie appeared in 9 of the Hounds’ 10 regular season games that year, starting 8 times and scoring 9 tries to help the team secure a perfect 10-0 regular season and finish the season in 1st place. He started both of Chicago’s playoff games, scoring a try in both to take his total on the season to 11 tries in 11 games as the Hounds finished as MLR Champions at the end of an undefeated season. Fourie finished as MLR’s top try scorer in 2026 and beat 18 defenders on over 200m gained, recording 99 tackles completed. For his excellent season, he was named to the All-MLR First XV for 2026.

achievements

NARDB Player #1,634