MLR News Archives - Major League Rugby

First XV | WK14 | 2025

aaroncastro — Wed, 21 May 2025 14:59:54 +0000

Loosehead Prop, Alessandro Heaney – RFCLA

15 Tackles Made
22 Ruck Arrivals
Seven Carries Made

Hooker, Seth Smith – Houston SaberCats

Two Tries Scored
Six Tackles Tackles Made
23 Meters Made

Tighthead Prop, Maliu Niafe – RFCLA

12 Tackles Made
32 Ruck Arrivals
Five Carries Made

Left Lock, Jason Damm – RFCLA

One Tries Scored
15 Tackles Made
26 Ruck Arrivals

Right Lock, Rhyno Herbst – Seattle Seawolves

16 Tackles Made
34 Ruck Arrivals
Five Lineout Takes

Blindside Flanker, Cory Daniel – Old Glory DC

Two Tries Scored
46 Ruck Arrivals
36 Tackles Made

Openside Flanker, Matt Heaton– RFCLA

One Try Scored
18 Tackles Made
25 Ruck Arrivals

No 8., Wian Conradie – New England Free Jacks

Two Tries Scored
52 Meters Made
10 Tackles Made

Scrum-half, Nick Boyer – Seattle Seawolves

Seven Tackles Made
Three Carries Made
Four Ruck Arrivals

Fly-half, Jason Emery – Old Glory DC

11 Points Scored
18 Tackles Made
143 Meters Kicked

Left Wing, Juan-Dee Oliver – Houston SaberCats

Two Tries Scored
45 Meters Made
48 Kick in Play Meters

Inside Center, Nick Grigg – Old Glory DC

One Try Scored
43 Meters Made
12 Tackles Made

Outside Center, Matias orlando – Miami Sharks

One Try Scored
Five Carries Made
Six Ruck Arrivals

Right Wing, Marcos Young – Miami Sharks

One Try Scored
22 Meters Made
10 Tackles Made

Fullback, Duncan Matthews – Seattle Seawolves

One Try Scored
152 Meters Made
10 Carries Made

The post First XV | WK14 | 2025 appeared first on Major League Rugby.

Antoine Dupont Joins Rugby Football Club Los Angeles Ownership Group

annechandlery — Fri, 16 May 2025 13:27:00 +0000

Los Angeles, CA – May 16, 2025. Rugby Football Club Los Angeles (RFCLA) is proud to welcome Antoine Dupont and his company Ouest Coast into the ownership group of the franchise, currently competing in its second season in Major League Rugby.

Widely regarded as one of the very best players of rugby’s professional era, Dupont will leverage his unparalleled success on the pitch and extensive marketing experience to guide RFCLA’s enduring success in high performance, branding, and commercial development.

Dupont’s decision to bring his on-field and oJ-field skills and global star power to RFCLA and Major League Rugby (MLR) represents a critical landmark in the development of rugby in the U.S. in the run-up to Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics and the U.S. playing host to the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Dupont’s unique blend of skill, speed, strength, decision making, and leadership has captivated the hearts of his fellow Frenchmen and earned universal accolades from the global rugby community as the best player in the world and the only in history to excel at the highest levels of 15s and 7s in the same calendar year.

As national team captain, Dupont led France to the 2025 6 Nations title to add to an unprecedented string of achievements in 2024, including an Olympic Gold Medal in 7s rugby in Paris, championship runs with his club Stade Toulousain in the France Top 14 and European Professional Club Rugby competitions, and the HSBC SVNS title with France.

At only 28 years of age, Dupont was named the 2021 World Player of the Year and has helped establish Stade Toulousain as the premier club in Europe, with four Top 14 titles and two European Champions Cup titles during his tenure there.

Dupont shared his thoughts about the opportunity ahead: “Rugby is more than just a sport; it’s a community with strong values. Beyond competitive success on the pitch for RFCLA, I am excited by the opportunity to grow rugby’s popularity in the States and establish an energetic hub of rugby culture that attracts players, fans, teams, and partners from around the world.

“Los Angeles is a unique place, combining the best of sports, entertainment, fashion, and culture – I can’t think of any other place that provides such opportunities for youth development, high performance, and commercial success to go hand-in-hand.”

For RFCLA, this represents a new era.

“We feel very privileged that Antoine has chosen RFCLA as the pathway to inspire new rugby players and fans and to join us in growing a global rugby brand. He is as dedicated to expanding the rugby community as he is to competing on the pitch ,and his vision for integrating the athleticism and core values of rugby will prove invaluable to building a bright future for rugby in LA and throughout the U.S,.” said CEO Pete Sickle

For media inquiries on RFCLA, please contact Olivia at: olivia@rugbyfcla.com

The post Antoine Dupont Joins Rugby Football Club Los Angeles Ownership Group appeared first on Major League Rugby.

First XV | WK13 | 2025

aaroncastro — Tue, 13 May 2025 17:11:27 +0000

Loosehead Prop, Alessandro Heaney – RFCLA

15 Tackles Made
19 Ruck Arrivals
Three Carries Made

Hooker, Dylan Fawsitt – Chicago Hounds

One Tries Scored
16 Tackles Tackles Made
10 Ruck Arrivals

Tighthead Prop, Tonga Kofe – Utah Warriors

Seven Tackles Made
14 Ruck Arrivals
One Carry Made

Left Lock, Jason Damm – RFCLA

Two Tries Scored
12 Tackles Made
16 Ruck Arrivals

Right Lock, Malembe Mpofu – Seattle Seawolves

One Try Scored
Nine Tackles Made
10 Ball Carries Made

Blindside Flanker, Manuel Ardao – Miami Sharks

Two Tries Scored
24 Ruck Arrivals
2 Jackles Won

Openside Flanker, JOe Johnston – New England Free Jacks

One Try Scored
18 Tackles Made
25 Ruck Arrivals

No 8., Marno Redelinghuys – Houston SaberCats

17 Tackles Made
27 Meters Made
20 Ruck Arrivals

Scrum-half, Nick Boyer – Seattle Seawolves

42 Meters Made
Two Offloads
Nine Carries Made

Fly-half, Joel Hodgson – Utah Warriors

One Try Scored
104 Meters Made
149 Meters Kicked

Left Wing, Paula Balekana – New England Free Jacks

One Try Scored
81 Meters Made
11 Tackles Made

Inside Center, Dom Akina – Houston SaberCats

One Try Scored
96 Meters Made
12 Carries Made

Outside Center, Matias Jensen – RFCLA

13 Tackles Made
14 Ruck Arrivals
15 Meters Made

Right Wing, Lauina FuTI – Seattle Seawolves

One Try Scored
122 Meters Made
62 Meters Kicked

Fullback, Drew Wild – Houston SaberCats

265 Kicking Meters
83 Meters Made
10 Carries Made

The post First XV | WK13 | 2025 appeared first on Major League Rugby.

Major League Rugby Broadcast Expands to Over 100 Countries Worldwide

annechandlery — Thu, 01 May 2025 20:34:37 +0000

Multi-Year ESPN Deal In The U.S. Drives Expansion of MLR Broadcast Rights Abroad

DALLAS (May 1, 2025) — Major League Rugby is now available to more than 100 countries via linear TV availability, further expanding off of a multiyear agreement with ESPN, bringing the highest level of professional rugby in the United States to a worldwide audience.

Increasing MLR’s visibility and reach by expanding into a broader international market is one of the league’s many strategic growth plans for 2025. New partners across the globe will showcase opportunities for live featured matches, along with replays to reach a broader audience.

Coverage areas include:

United States – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+
Sub-Saharan Africa – ESPN Africa 1 & 2
New Zealand – Sky Sports New Zealand
United Kingdom & Ireland – Premier Sports
Australia – Stan Sports
France, French speaking Europe, Africa and Territories – Sport En France
Latin America (Miami Sharks) – Disney+
beIN Sport – MENA

“We are hyperfocused on increasing our audience in both the U.S. and around the world. During our 2024 campaign we grew our viewership by more than 25 percent year over year, and these partnerships will be critical to our growth goals,” said MLR Commissioner Nic Benson. “Given the depth of talent across the league, we are in the midst of our most exciting season yet. These strategic agreements with our broadcast partners will enable more of our fans world-wide to tune in for some best-in-class rugby action.”

The road to the 2025 MLR Championship features 18 weeks of intense regular season action, followed by two weeks of playoffs, all leading to the MLR Championship on June 28, where the league’s best will battle for the coveted MLR Shield. This season, 11 teams from across the United States are competing for the title, including Anthem RC, Chicago Hounds, Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks, New England Free Jacks, NOLA Gold, Old Glory DC, Rugby LA, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, and Utah Warriors.

For more information, visit MajorLeague.Rugby.

About Major League Rugby:

Major League Rugby is a professional sports league representing the highest level of rugby competition in North America. MLR prides itself in fostering intense, high-stakes competition while bringing together a passionate community built on the values of Respect, Inclusivity, and Tradition. Matches are televised on the ESPN family of networks and streamed via ESPN+. MLR’s 11 teams span across the country in Anthem RC, Chicago Hounds, Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks, New England Free Jacks, NOLA Gold, Old Glory DC, Rugby LA, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves and the Utah Warriors. For more information, visit www.Majorleague.Rugby and follow @USMLR on Twitter and Instagram.

The Rugby Network, MLR’s OTT platform, offers fans the ability to stream select MLR matches, along with Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Premiership Women’s Rugby, collegiate rugby and other international rugby content.

About Octagon Global Media Rights Consulting:

Octagon’s global media rights consulting division advises more than $26 Billion in media rights for a comprehensive collection of the world’s largest organizations in sports and media, including the NFL, MLR, MLB, NWSL, WWE, NCAA Conferences and Universities, major broadcast and streaming networks, and a variety of other properties across five continents.

As part of its expansive media rights practice, Octagon leverages the strength and size of its proprietary data, research, analytics, and technology, to provide strategic consultation to major domestic and international rights holders, as well as teams, broadcasters, emerging distribution platforms, and the sports investment community

The post Major League Rugby Broadcast Expands to Over 100 Countries Worldwide appeared first on Major League Rugby.

How To Watch: April 30 – May 4

annechandlery — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:12:43 +0000

Find information on how to watch every MLR match this weekend. For more match information and to buy tickets, head to the MLR Schedule. Stream all MLR matches in the US on ESPN+

Utah Warriors vs San Diego Legion | Wednesday, april 30 at 9:00 PM ET

US TV: ESPN+

And KJZZ and JUSI

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa 1 / ESPN Africa 2 and The Rugby Network
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
UK/Ireland: Premier Sports and The Rugby Network
Everywhere else: The Rugby Network