Introduced prior to the 2026 Major League Rugby Campaign, The MLR Supporters Challenge Cup is an idea that originated with MLR fans and links the history of Major League Rugby to the present day. Colloquially known as The Old Mate, this trophy operates as a lineal title contested throughout MLR regular seasons and playoffs. The idea is that every week, teams will compete to either defend or successfully challenge for The Old Mate, contributing to both the history of the Challenge and to the history of Major League Rugby itself.

For example, in the very first MLR game between the Houston SaberCats and NOLA Gold back on April 21st, 2018, the NOLA Gold claimed a 26-35 road victory to become the inaugural holders of The Old Mate. In the Gold’s next match, they fell to the Austin Elite who claimed their first MLR victory and with it, took possession of The Old Mate. Had the NOLA Gold defeated the Austin Elite, they would have successfully defended The Old Mate and it would stay with the Gold for the next game, and so on and so forth until we reach the present.

For a better explanation of what The Old Mate is and how it works, there’s a video covering this that can be found below via the NARDB YouTube channel:

The idea of a lineal Championship isn’t entirely new. One of the best examples can be found in New Zealand, The Ranfurly Shield. Affectionately known as the Log ‘o Wood, this Shield is also based on a challenge system and has been contested since 1904, although challenges for the Ranfurly Shield typically only take place at the holder’s home arena and are not usually contested during away games. In MLR, The Old Mate will be contested in every one of the holder’s games, regardless of whether they are played at home or away.

Another pair of examples can be found in the international game, the Raeburn and Utrecht Shields. Although not officially recognised, the Raeburn Shield (in the men’s game) and the Utrecht Shield (in the women’s game) are growing in popularity and track the lineal champions of the international game all the way back to the very first internationals at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, Scotland (for the men) and Utrecht in the Netherlands (for the women). The Old Mate operates in the same matter as these shields, so fans can think of The Old Mate as the Raeburn Shield, but in Major League Rugby!

This page is designed to provide an introduction to The Old Mate as well as a snapshot of the current holders and the overall ‘standings’. For more details on The Old Mate, please visit The Supporters Challenge Cup page on Major League Rugby’s website.

The Old Mate: At a Glance

Current Holder

Holder		Since Rd 2 of 2026
Current Streak	1	1 Successful Challenge 0 Defences
Total Team Possessions	1	First Possession!
Team Longest Streak	1	Ongoing!
Successful Challenges	1	1/1 – 100.00%
Failed Challenges	0	0/1 – 0.00%
Successful Defences	0	0/0 – 0.00%
Failed Defences	0	0/00 – 0.00%

All-Time

Total Number of Challenge Matches	125
Most Possessions		30
Most Defences		22
Most Successful Challenges		8
Longest Streak		11 Games	2023 – RD 8 to 2023 – Championship

Possession Leaderboard

For more stats on The Old Mate for each team, please refer to the ‘The Old Mate’ section of individual team pages. Here you will find things like Challenge Success %, Defence Success %, etc.

Team	Failed Challenges	Successful Challenges	Successful Defences	Total Possessions	Longest Streak
	2	8	22	30	11 Games
	8	7	13	20	8 Games
	2	6	14	20	7 Games
	3	4	5	9	4 Games
	4	4	4	8	3 Games
	7	2	6	8	6 Games
	1	3	3	6	4 Games
	6	1	5	6	6 Games
	3	3	2	5	3 Games
	5	3	2	5	2 Games
	12	3	0	3	1 Game
	5	1	1	2	2 Games
	0	1	0	1	1 Game
	1	1	0	1	1 Game
	6	1	0	1	1 Game
	2	0	0	0	0 Games
	3	0	0	0	0 Games
	3	0	0	0	0 Games
	4	0	0	0	0 Games