Old Glory DC finally celebrate their home opener at George Mason University, playing host to the California Legion during Round 5 of the 2026 MLR season. This match marks the first ‘Shield Showdown’ of the year as a Sunday Night Rugby marquee matchup.

The California Legion travel to DC off the back of a hard fought victory over the Seattle Seawolves in Los Angeles last week, and sit with a record of 2-2 through 4 games. DC share a 2-win record, but come in 2-1 having only played 3 games, all on the road. A very well executed victory over Anthem RC last week has them currently in 4th.

The visitors struck first through Ben Houston, and despite an early red card to Billy Meakes for a dangerous tackle, DC only managed 3pts during the 20min man advantage, with Ben Houston picking up his 2nd of the game with the clock in the red at the end of the first half to put a dagger into the hosts who trailed 6-17 at the break. The Flags would hit back early in the 2nd half with their first try of the game through Kirby Myhill to cut the score to 11-17, before Cassh Maluia went over about 7 minutes later to restore the Legion’s solid lead. DC pushed hard in the final quarter and added a second through Connor Robinson, his first try in an Old Glory jersey, which cut the deficit to 16-24, but a pair of interceptions from Joey Mano and Tas Smith in the final 10 minutes put the game to bed and secured the try BP for the visitors. Old Glory would get the last laugh with a try out wide from John Powers with the clock in the red, but it was nothing more than a consolation score.

The Legion now get a week off as one of just two teams that get a mid-season bye in 2026, while Old Glory DC look towards next week, where they face the unbeaten Chicago Hounds on the road.

Old Glory DC host the NOLA Gold on a Tuesday night at George Mason Stadium inside GMU for the first of two Eastern Conference games that the Flags play in Round 14.

They will travel to face Anthem RC in Charlotte at the weekend. These sides are separated by a single point in the Eastern Conference, and both will be looking to move closer to securing a playoff spot with a win in this one. Old Glory DC are coming off a great victory over the Utah Warriors at home, and are looking to build on that momentum. The NOLA Gold are on a short turnaround from a close defeat to the Miami Sharks just 4 days ago, and are desperate to get some points from ‘Storm Week’.

These Eastern Conference rivals have met 10 times in the past, with the Gold holding a dominant 8-1-2 lead in the head to head series. Old Glory DC clawed one back here, however, with a comfortable 27-14 victory in miserable conditions. The Flags jump closer to securing a playoff spot, while the NOLA Gold’s disappointing season continues. Having scored 0 table points in this game, the Gold can no longer finish 1st in the East and therefore the New England Free Jacks become the first team to clinch a playoff spot in 2025. The Gold are not out of the running, but they will need to string some solid results together in their remaining games.