Major League Rugby

Three rounds of selections were undertaken with a total of 22 players selected. All 11 returning franchises took part though Chicago did not select any players, trading their first-round pick to Anthem. ARC was also acquired the second overall pick in a three-team exchange that saw LA receiving salary cap considerations and DC’s first round pick, and further cap considerations going to Old Glory.

The Dallas Jackals have informed the league that they will not participate in the 2025 competition. They are continuing to evaluate a controlling interest transfer which will not be complete in time for them to plan for and compete in 2025. MLR will continue to work with Dallas leadership on transition plans in the days and weeks ahead.

Our focus is on the team, its players and planning for another successful MLR season in 2025. An announcement about the player dispersal process will be shared soon.

I've had some individuals that are involved contact me, or vetting rumors right now. So it's not exactly written in stone, but all indications are that Dallas will not be coming back in MLR 2025. They're trying to figure out that situation now.
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From what I gather, this was just a, it was a bad situation in that the owners of the MLR were careful about accepting a new ownership group. And this ownership group in Dallas ticks all the boxes. They have cash, they have wealth, they're in sports, they're in sports entertainment, and then they just got tired of it.

DALLAS – Major League Rugby, the premier professional rugby league in North America, announced the results of the 2024 MLR College Draft on The Rugby Network on Wednesday.

The draft consisted of three rounds of 12 picks each, totaling 36 selections by MLR franchises.

The 2024 MLR College Draft was the fifth in league history, featuring the deepest talent pool to date. St. Mary’s College of California saw six players drafted, the most in this year’s draft, while a total of 22 schools were represented with selections.

Anthem RC selected Erich Storti with the first pick. Storti joins Rick Rose (Miami, 2023), Sam Golla (Dallas, 2022), Eric Naposki (Dallas, 2021), and Conner Mooneyham (Dallas, 2020) as the first overall players to be taken in the draft.

MLR uses a “Draft and Follow” approach where rights to drafted players will be assigned following the MLR College Draft. Teams may activate those rights at any point until the mid-point of the next competitive MLR season after the player is eligible to play in the MLR. Drafting teams may sign those players or trade player rights with other MLR teams.

The league hosted its first MLR College draft in 2020, which saw 24 players selected across two rounds, but commensurate with the growth of the league, the draft has grown into its current form today.

A complete breakdown of the each pick by round is available [in the link]

The MLR College Draft for the 2025 Season is coming up at the end of August. Watch free on The Rugby Network. The table below shows the draft order for all three rounds. The "via " notation means that slot was traded (for a player, or salary cap considerations).

Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Anthem RC	Anthem RC	Anthem RC
RFCLA	New England Free Jacks (via LA)	RFCLA
Miami Sharks	Old Glory DC (via Miami)	Miami Sharks
New England Free Jacks (via Utah)	Utah Warriors	Utah Warriors
Old Glory DC	Old Glory DC	Old Glory DC
NOLA Gold	NOLA Gold	Utah Warriors (via NOLA)
San Diego Legion	San Diego Legion	San Diego Legion
Houston SaberCats	Houston SaberCats	RFCLA (via Houston)
Dallas Jackals	Seattle Seawolves (via Dallas)	RFCLA (via Dallas)
Chicago Hounds	Chicao Hounds	Chicago Hounds
Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves	Seattle Seawolves
Anthem RC (via New England)	New England Free Jacks	New England Free Jacks

https://www.majorleague.rugby/mlrplayoffs/

Seattle vs New England. Sunday, August 4th, in Snap Dragon stadium in San Diego, at 1:00PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern, broadcast on Fox (not Fox Sports). Dig out your antennas or head to the pub.

It's Championship time.

All matches this weekend are on FS1

All matches are broadcast on FS2 in USA/Canada, and The Rugby Network internationally.

NOLA Gold (2nd in East, 10-6-0)	Chicago Hounds (3rd in East, 8-7-1)

Seattle Seawolves (2nd in West, 11-5-0)	San Diego Legion (3rd in West, 11-5-0)

Match Odds presented by SCCG

All matches are broadcast on FS2 in USA/Canada, and The Rugby Network internationally.

New England Free Jacks (1st in East, 11-5-0)	Old Glory DC (4th in East, 7-7-2)

Houston SaberCats (1st in West, 14-2-0)	Dallas Jackals (4th in West, 6-10-0)

This weekend, the Major League Rugby Playoffs presented by Sportsbreaks.com will be underway. After 18 weeks, just eight teams remain in the race to lift the MLR Shield at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, August 4. Ahead of kick-off this weekend live on FS2, here is how all four Western Conference teams staked their claim for Playoff rugby in 2024.

See the semifinals bracket post here for the full schedule.

Even though the standings are known at this point and the bracket is completed, they haven't updated their page with a filled in graphic yet. I'll update the post with the official graphic and keep it pinned throughout the playoffs.

All matches are broadcast on FS2

Western Conference Semifinals:

• Houston SaberCats (1st) vs Dallas Jackals (4th), July 20th @ 7:00 PM ET
• Seattle Seawolves (2nd) vs San Diego Legion (3rd), July 21 @ 8:30 PM ET

Eastern Conference Seminfinals:

• New England Free Jacks (1st) vs Old Glory DC (4th), July 20th @ 5:00 PM ET
• NOLA Gold (2nd) vs Chicago Hounds (3rd), July 21 @ 6:30 PM ET

Last week of the 2024 regular season. The Western conference is all locked up, with Houston hosting Dallas and Seattle hosting San Diego. Interestingly almost that's the same matchups that we have for those 4 this weekend (San Diego is hosting tomorrow)! In the East NEFJ and NOLA will be competing for the #1 seed while Chicago and OGDC will be competing for the #3 seed. Though in my amateur opinion the current rankings will hold into the playoffs.

• LOOSEHEAD PROP, CAMERON ORR – SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
• HOOKER, DYLAN FAWSITT – CHICAGO HOUNDS
• TIGHTHEAD PROP, ISAAC SALMON – NOLA GOLD
• LEFT LOCK, FRANK LOCHORE – UTAH WARRIORS
• RIGHT LOCK, RHYNO HERBST – SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
• BLINDSIDE FLANKER, DEVIN SHORT – SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
• OPENSIDE FLANKER, CORY DANIEL – OLD GLORY DC
• NO 8., SAM TUIFUA – DALLAS JACKALS
• SCRUM-HALF, KIERAN MCCLEA – UTAH WARRIORS
• FLY-HALF, HARRIS RUTHERFORD – SAN DIEGO LEGION
• LEFT WING, JULIAN DOMINGUEZ – CHICAGO HOUNDS
• INSIDE CENTER, JORDAN JACKSON-HOPE – NOLA GOLD
• OUTSIDE CENTER, TIAAN LOOTS – SAN DIEGO LEGION
• RIGHT WING,MICHAEL MANSON – UTAH WARRIORS
• FULLBACK, MATIAS FREYRE – MIAMI SHARKS

This weekend could solidify playoff seeds in both conferences, with Houston SaberCats the only team who has clinched a seed so far.

• LOOSEHEAD PROP, JAKE TURNBULL – ANTHEM RC
• HOOKER, DYLAN FAWSITT – CHICAGO HOUNDS
• TIGHTHEAD PROP, STEVEN LONGWELL – OLD GLORY DC
• LEFT LOCK, JUSTIN BASSON – HOUSTON SABERCATS
• RIGHT LOCK, WILLIAM WAGUESPACK – NOLA GOLD
• BLINDSIDE FLANKER, CORY DANIEL – OLD GLORY DC
• OPENSIDE FLANKER, JED MELVIN – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• NO 8., LUKE WHITE – CHICAGO HOUNDS
• SCRUM-HALF, CONNOR BUCKLEY – OLD GLORY DC
• FLY-HALF, JAYSON POTROZ – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• LEFT WING, TANIELA FILIMONE – NOLA GOLD
• INSIDE CENTER, NICK GRIGG – MIAMI SHARKS
• OUTSIDE CENTER, JP DU PLESSIS – NOLA GOLD
• RIGHT WING,MICHAEL MANSON – UTAH WARRIORS
• FULLBACK, DAMIAN HOYLAND – OLD GLORY DC

SAN DIEGO (June 17, 2024) – Major League Rugby and the San Diego Legion announce that tickets to this year’s MLR Championship Match will go on sale Tuesday, June 18 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. The culmination of the eight-team MLR Playoffs presented by SportsBreak.com, the league’s annual title match is slated for Aug. 4, 2024, at 4 p.m ET/1 p.m. PT on FOX.

The full playoff schedule is here. The 4 teams in the west are now set with Houston, Seattle, San Diego, and Dallas though there is still a chance for the 2-4 seeds to change in the next two weeks. In the East we still only have NEFJ and NOLA with a spot secured and all four seeds able to change hands.

Fox will be airing four matches, one a day, from the week 16 matchups, which includes a match up Monday. Interestingly, Legion @ Hounds appears to be scheduled for live broadcast on both TRN and FS2 simultaneously. Additionally, the Sharks @ Anthem matchup will also be broadcast live on both TRN and YouTube, again simultaneously. This is a great weekend for Major League Rugby, there's never been more ways to watch.

In the West Houston, Seattle, and San Diego have secured a post-season spot.

In the East just New England and NOLA both having secured their spots (a franchise first for NOLA, the last founding team to make it to the post-season).

• LOOSEHEAD PROP, CHARLIE ABEL – CHICAGO HOUNDS
• HOOKER, JOE TAUFETE’E – SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
• TIGHTHEAD PROP, STEVEN LONGWELL – OLD GLORY DC
• LEFT LOCK, KYLE BAILLIE – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• RIGHT LOCK, WILLIAM WAGUESPACK – NOLA GOLD
• BLINDSIDE FLANKER, MASON FLESCH – CHICAGO HOUNDS
• OPENSIDE FLANKER, CORY DANIEL – OLD GLORY DC
• NO 8., MARTIN SIGREN – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• SCRUM-HALF, JUAN-DEE OLIVER – DALLAS JACKALS
• FLY-HALF, DAVID COETZER – HOUSTON SABERCATS
• LEFT WING, JAMES VAIFALE – SAN DIEGO LEGION
• INSIDE CENTER, CONNOR WINCHESTER – DALLAS JACKALS
• OUTSIDE CENTER, WAYNE VAN DER BANK – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• RIGHT WING,JADE STIGHLING- SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
• FULLBACK, MIKEY TE’O – SAN DIEGO LEGION

Watch live for free at https://www.youtube.com/@usmlr

Heyneke Meyer has confirmed his desire to take up a coaching role in South Africa when he returns from a stint in the USA at the end of this year.

Meyer currently serves as the director of rugby of the USA’s Major League Rugby side Houston Sabercats, having taken the team’s coaching reins in 2022.

• LOOSEHEAD PROP, EZEKIEL LINDENMUTH – HOUSTON SABERCATS
• HOOKER, ANDREW QUATTRIN – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• TIGHTHEAD PROP, STEVEN LONGWELL – OLD GLORY DC
• LEFT LOCK, RICHARD ROSE – MIAMI SHARKS
• RIGHT LOCK, REEGAN O’GORMAN – RFCLA
• BLINDSIDE FLANKER, ETHAN FRYER – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• OPENSIDE FLANKER, VILI HELU -SAN DIEGO LEGION
• NO 8., SEMI KUNATANI – RFCLA
• SCRUM-HALF, SIAOSI NAI – ANTHEM RUGBY CAROLINA
• FLY-HALF, JASON EMERY – RFCLA
• LEFT WING, CAEL HODGSON – ANTHEM RUGBY CAROLINA
• INSIDE CENTER, TOMAS CUBILLA – DALLAS JACKALS
• OUTSIDE CENTER, WAYNE VAN DER BANK – NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
• RIGHT WING, ANDREW COE- RFCLA
• FULLBACK, DREW WILD – HOUSTON SABERCATS