2024 Major League Rugby season

2024 Major League Rugby season
CountriesUnited States (12 teams)
DateMarch 2 – August 4
ChampionsNew England Free Jacks (2nd Title)
Runners-upSeattle Seawolves
Matches played103
Highest attendance12,085
Seattle Seawolves 11–20 New England Free Jacks
August 4, 2024
Official website
majorleague.rugby
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2025 →

The 2024 Major League Rugby season was the seventh season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on March 2, 2024, and lasted through June 29, 2024, followed by the Championship Series.[1]

The Miami Sharks and Anthem Rugby Carolina made their league debut this season, as well as Rugby Football Club Los Angeles following their move from Atlanta.[2][3][4] The Toronto Arrows and Rugby New York withdrew from the league following the 2023 season.[5][6] This leaves a total of 12 teams competing for the 2024 season.

Teams and format

Following the departure of Toronto and New York, the arrival of Miami and Charlotte, and the relocation of Atlanta to Los Angeles, the League had 12 teams for the 2024 season. As a result, Chicago was moved to the Eastern conference, ensuring both conferences had 6 teams each.

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Locations of teams in Major League Rugby
Conference Club Metro area Stadium Capacity Coach Captain
Western Conference Dallas Jackals Dallas, Texas Choctaw Stadium 48,114 Argentina Agustín Cavalieri Argentina Jerónimo Gómez Vara
Houston SaberCats Houston, Texas SaberCats Stadium 4,000 South Africa Pote Human South Africa Johan Momsen
Rugby Football Club Los Angeles Carson, California Dignity Health Sports Park 27,000 New Zealand Stephen Brett Ireland Niall Saunders
San Diego Legion San Diego, California Snapdragon Stadium 35,000 New Zealand Danny Lee Scotland Blair Cowan
Seattle Seawolves Seattle, Washington Starfire Stadium 4,500 Ireland Allen Clarke United States Riekert Hattingh
Utah Warriors Salt Lake City, Utah Zions Bank Stadium 5,000 New Zealand Greg Cooper United States Bailey Wilson
Eastern Conference Anthem Rugby Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina American Legion Memorial Stadium 10,500 New Zealand Alama Ieremia United States Jake Turnbull
Chicago Hounds Chicago, Illinois SeatGeek Stadium 20,000 Australia Sam Harris Australia Bill Meakes
Miami Sharks Fort Lauderdale, Florida AutoNation Sports Field 1,500 Argentina José Pellicena Argentina Tomás Cubelli
New England Free Jacks Boston, Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Stadium 5,000 South Africa Scott Mathie Canada Josh Larsen
New Orleans Gold New Orleans, Louisiana Gold Mine 10,000 New Zealand Cory Brown United States Moni Tongaʻuiha
Old Glory DC Washington, D.C. Maryland SoccerPlex 5,000 Scotland Simon Cross United States Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz

Regular season

The regular season consisted of 18 weeks, with each team playing 16 matches, beginning on March 2, 2024, and ending on June 29.

Standings

2024 MLR Eastern Conference (
)
Club P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 New England Free Jacks 16 11 0 5 463 344 119 65 45 8 3 55
2 New Orleans Gold 16 10 0 6 410 349 61 58 47 8 2 50
3 Chicago Hounds 16 8 1 7 454 387 67 65 51 7 4 45
4 Old Glory DC 16 7 2 7 394 416 -22 50 57 6 4 42
5 Miami Sharks 16 6 0 10 335 389 -54 40 51 4 4 32
6 Anthem Rugby Carolina 16 0 0 16 323 676 -353 47 102 6 1 7
Tiebreakers

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreaker criteria are as follows (coin tosses or draw of lots will be used if those below fail):

  1. number of matches won
  2. the difference between points for and points against
  3. the number of tries scored
  4. the most points scored
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against
  6. the fewest red cards received
  7. the fewest yellow cards received
2024 MLR Western Conference (
)
Club P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts
1 Houston SaberCats 16 14 0 2 478 347 131 66 47 11 0 67
2 Seattle Seawolves 16 11 0 5 498 373 125 63 49 9 4 57
3 San Diego Legion 16 11 0 5 421 374 47 51 45 7 4 55
4 Dallas Jackals 16 6 0 10 482 450 32 71 62 10 9 43
5 Utah Warriors 16 5 0 11 424 471 -47 60 67 7 8 35
6 RFC Los Angeles 16 5 1 10 367 473 -106 54 67 8 2 32
Tiebreakers

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreaker criteria are as follows (coin tosses or draw of lots will be used if those below fail):

  1. number of matches won
  2. the difference between points for and points against
  3. the number of tries scored
  4. the most points scored
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against
  6. the fewest red cards received
  7. the fewest yellow cards received


Matches

The following are the match results for the 2024 Major League Rugby regular season:

Home \ Away CAR CHI DAL HOU LA MIA NE NO DC SD SEA UTA
Anthem Rugby Carolina 29–38 28–68 15–38 29–33 14–30 13–46 5–40 32–46
Chicago Hounds 59–26 54–31 38–26 17-22 13–25 21–22 22–16 26–34
Dallas Jackals 22–20 27–30 26–29 22-35 34–36 23–30 14–7 22–20
Houston SaberCats 23–22 29–28 29–12 30–19 35–47 33–0 28–25 22–15
Rugby Football Club Los Angeles 29–32 12–27 45–15 12–34 21–38 19–27 5–36 36-32
Miami Sharks 50-21 19–23 17–38 15–13 13–20 17–12 21–22 20–19
New England Free Jacks 40–7 20–26 26–24 25–3 27–21 34–35 21–29 36–27
New Orleans Gold 34–19 21–38 7–21 27–42 27–17 18–6 32–31 21–14
Old Glory DC 47–29 22–22 17–38 22–22 13–10 30–31 27–24 11-27
San Diego Legion 34–24 30–24 37–24 19–18 23–24 33–20 45–33 32–33
Seattle Seawolves 29–13 34–32 40-42 29–12 29–18 26–24 25–19 68–29
Utah Warriors 44–19 29–15 50–46 24–29 24–31 31–24 20–27 13–23

Updated to match(es) played on May 2, 2024
Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.

Scheduled matches

Further information: List of 2024 Major League Rugby matches

Championship Series

Bracket

Conference Semi-Finals Conference Finals Final
         
1 Houston Sabercats 22
4 Dallas Jackals 34
2 Seattle Seawolves 28
4 Dallas Jackals 25
2 Seattle Seawolves 30
3 San Diego Legion 28
2 Seattle Seawolves 11
1 New England Free Jacks 20
1 New England Free Jacks 33
4 Old Glory DC 29
1 New England Free Jacks 23
3 Chicago Hounds 17
2 New Orleans Gold 21
3 Chicago Hounds 45

The play-off draw is seeded based on final positions in the regular season conference tables.

The higher-ranked teams in the Conference Semi-finals and Conference Finals have home field advantage.

Conference Semi-Finals (July 20–21)

July 20, 2024
17:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
New England Free Jacks33−29Old Glory DC
Try: MacDonald 3'
Melvin 35'
Lennon 40'
Con: Potroz 4' 36' 40+1'
Pen: Potroz 10' 15' 38' 59'		Report[7]
Veterans Memorial Stadium
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
July 20, 2024
19:30 EDT (UTC−04:00)
Houston SaberCats22−34Dallas Jackals
Report[8]
SaberCats Stadium
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
July 21, 2024
18:30 EDT (UTC−04:00)
New Orleans Gold21−45Chicago Hounds
Report[9]
Gold Mine
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
July 21, 2024
21:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
Seattle Seawolves30−28San Diego Legion
Report[10]
Starfire Sports
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)

Conference Finals (July 27–28)

July 27, 2024
13:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
New England Free Jacks23–17Chicago Hounds
Try: R. MacDonald (2) 20' m, 23' m
A. Quattrin 71' c
Con: J. Potroz (1/3) 72'
Pen: J. Potroz (2/2) 45', 58'
Cards: C. Keys yellow card 54' to 64'		Report[11][12]Try: N. Augspurger 40' c
D. Fawsitt 65' c
Con: L. Carty (2/2) 40’+1', 66′
Pen: L. Carty (1/2) 54'
Veterans Memorial Stadium
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
July 28, 2024
16:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
Seattle Seawolves28–25Dallas Jackals
Try: Penalty try 22'
J. Taufete’e 36' c
J. Smith 50' c
R. Rees 78' c
Con: M. Mason (1/1) 51'
S. Windsor (1/1) 79'
Pen: M. Mason (0/1)
Cards: M. Ngakuru yellow card 30' to 40'		Report[13][14]Try: N. Benn (2) 12' c, 31' c
T. Bekerman 73' m
Con: J. Oliver (2/2) 13', 32'
Pen: J. Oliver (2/3) 3', 29'
Cards: J. Zeiss yellow card 21' to 31'
M. Alikhan yellow card 22' to 32'
Starfire Sports
Referee: Scott Green (USA)

Championship final (August 4)

Main article: 2024 Major League Rugby final
August 4, 2024
1:00 pm PDT
Seattle Seawolves11–20New England Free Jacks
Try: J. Taufete’e 31' m
Con: M. Mason (0/1)
Pen: M. Mason (2/3) 25', 48'
Cards: T. Lopeti yellow card 52' to 62'		Report[15]Try: L. Malan 14'
Con: J. Potroz (0/1)
Pen: J. Potroz (5/5) 9', 28', 40’+1', 45', 52'
Snapdragon Stadium
Attendance: 12,085
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)

Player statistics

Top scorers

The top five try and point scorers during the 2024 Major League Rugby season are:

Last updated: September 13, 2024

MLR awards the try scorer 7 points when there is an Automatic Conversion (The ball is touched down between the post in the in-goal area).
References:[16]

End of Season Awards

Award Player Team Position Ref.
Coach of the Year Scott Mathie New England Free Jacks Head Coach [17]
Player of the Year Wayne van der Bank New England Free Jacks Center [18]
Rookie of the Year Junior Gafa Anthem Rugby Carolina Center [19]
Back of the Year Reece MacDonald New England Free Jacks Fly-half [20]
Forward of the Year Jero Gomez Vara Dallas Jackals Flanker [21]
S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Ben LeSage New England Free Jacks Center [22]

Attendances

# Club Average attendance
1 Seattle Seawolves 4,213
2 New England Free Jacks 3,756
3 San Diego Legion 3,482
4 Houston SaberCats 3,167
5 Old Glory DC 2,874
6 Utah Warriors 2,521
7 NOLA Gold 2,342
8 RFCLA 2,104
9 Chicago Hounds 1,967
10 Dallas Jackals 1,842
11 Miami Sharks 1,453
12 Anthem Rugby Carolina 1,350

References

  1. ^ "Major League Rugby Unveils 2024 Slate Of Matchups". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Major League Rugby Comes to Charlotte in a Groundbreaking Partnership". Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "Expansion Teams Headline Off-Season of Growth for Major League Rugby". Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  4. ^ "Major League Rugby's Atlanta Team to Relocate to Los Angeles". Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  5. ^ "Toronto Arrows to not compete in 2024 MLR Season". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Former champions New York out of 2024 MLR season". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "Free Jacks survive stern challenge from Old Glory in Quincy". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  8. ^ "Sensational Jackals knock out top-seeded SaberCats". Americas Rugby News. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  9. ^ "Strong second half sees Chicago past NOLA into East Final". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  10. ^ "Seawolves hang on to halt Legion and book West Final spot". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  11. ^ "Free Jacks are final-bound after pulsating win over Hounds". Americas Rugby News.
  12. ^ "NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS BEAT CHICAGO HOUNDS 23-17 IN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "Seawolves pushed to the brink in West Final win over Jackals". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL REVIEW: SEATTLE REACH CHAMPIONSHIP WITH LAST-MINUTE SCORE". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  15. ^ "Free Jacks beat Seawolves to claim second straight MLR title". americas rugby news. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "LEAGUE LEADERS". Major League Rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  17. ^ "2024 Major League Rugby Coach of the Year". Major League Rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  18. ^ "2024 Major League Rugby Player of the Year – Wayne Van Der Bank". Major League Rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  19. ^ "2024 Major League Rugby Rookie of the Year". Major League Rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  20. ^ "Major League Rugby Back of the Year – Reece Macdonald". Major League Rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  21. ^ "2024 Major League Rugby Forward of the Year – Jero Gomez Vara". Major League Rugby. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  22. ^ "Congratulations to the 2024 S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award Recipient, Ben LeSage". Twitter. Retrieved September 14, 2024.