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Forbes
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Rugby Continues To Grow In The U.S. Off The Back Of Major League Rugby
New England Free Jacks vs. Houston Sabercats in the Major League Rugby 2025 Championship, Saturday, ... More June 28 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island. Major League Rugby recently completed its eighth season, as the New England Free Jacks secured a hat-trick of championships, defeating the Houston Sabercats in front of nearly 6,000 fans in Rhode Island. After well-documented ups and downs in its early years — which included clubs folding and a lack of funds — MLR has become a consistent breeding ground for new talent and a stabilizing force in the U.S. rugby ecosystem. MLR's depth will be on display on July 19th as the USA Eagles test their mettle against England, currently ranked number five in the world. Eagles head coach Scott Lawrence has named a 23-man team, 22 of whom play in the MLR, including first-team All-MLR stars Pono Davis (prop, Houston), Chris Hilsenbeck (flyhalf, Chicago), and 2024 number one overall draft pick Erich Storti (fullback, Anthem). 'The league is growing. I think this year we saw more professional minutes for our players,' Lawrence told the media on the eve of the match. 'We'd like to see more [minutes], but we're better with Major League Rugby as a playing nation. It's a benefit to us. We do see that there are some areas, in terms of playing minutes for the Americans going up, so we have a bigger base to pick from.' Year-on-year, the league continues to attract more viewership as the standard of play increases, clubs invest in new facilities, and the competition becomes an ever-present entity in the U.S. sporting calendar. Ahead of its eighth season, MLR signed a broadcast deal with ESPN that saw every single league game broadcast on ESPN+. The final was shown on ESPN+ and ESPN2, and was aired in Spanish and Portuguese on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Brazil. The belief behind the ESPN deal was that being part of the 'Worldwide Leader's' catalog would help the league expand its fan base. 'We're really happy to be on ESPN this year,' MLR Commissioner Nic Benson told me ahead of the championship match in Rhode Island. 'We need to go where the sports fans are. Early numbers have our viewership multiples higher than our digital product was before.' A New England Free Jacks enjoy the FanFest before the final. In-person attendance is also up. Both the Chicago Hounds and the Utah Warriors posted record attendances in recent seasons. On championship weekend in Rhode Island, roughly 2,000 fans attended the gameday FanFest in a market with no team (although the Free Jacks are admittedly just down the road in Quincy, MA). Part of the reason for bringing the final to Rhode Island was to expose another market to rugby. Benson said that the league 'had an open bid process,' receiving 'expressions of interest from 20-plus cities,' and that Pawtucket, RI, simply made the most sense. 'It's all about getting into new places,' Benson told me. 'We want to get into a market where we haven't been. You want to expose new people to the building your audience, you're building a fandom, you're engaging new people from a business perspective and from a fan perspective.' It is MLR's objective of consistent growth over time that attracted Free Jacks co-founder Alex Magleby to the competition. Magleby played rugby, coached the USA men's 7s and Dartmouth rugby, pioneered technology in the game, and served as USA Rugby Performance Director before helping establish the Free Jacks back in 2018. 'When I left USA Rugby, what really excited me about Major League Rugby was its structure,' Magleby told me at the championship weekend FanFest. 'It was very much a central model that had a long-term vision.' Magleby believes that aside from the ferocious action on the field, which will always attract people who seek sporting thrills, it is the human element and the fan experience that attracts new fans to rugby in the U.S. 'We can have fans come on the field after the game,' says Magleby. 'That's just the nature [of the league] because we have accessible players. So they're going to sign autographs all night if they have to, because they love the kids and they're highly accessible.' The Free Jacks have signed partnerships with local craft breweries, and serve local food and have local DJs come play at their games. Even though they may have fans tuning in to watch them from the South Pacific to South Africa, the stadium experience is 'hyper-local' according to Magleby. There is a space for all demographics, from toddlers to grandmothers and everything in between. Magleby says, the Free Jacks focus on the experience because it's what they can control. 'The on-field product of rugby is beautiful and fantastic,' notes Magleby, 'but it often requires us to bring people in in a way they weren't suspecting.' There is still some distance to cover before the U.S. men's teams can compete consistently with the likes of New Zealand, South Africa, or England, but MLR is helping close the gap while creating a more talented player pool. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 16: Chad London of the Colorado Raptors watches Ma'a Nonu of the San ... More Diego Legion pass during the Major League Rugby Vegas Weekend at Sam Boyd Stadium on February 16, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) Stars in the twilight of their career, like Ma'a Nonu, Matt Giteau, and Andy Ellis, have all graced MLR fields, but slowly those names are being replaced with younger ones, many of them local. As the league continues to grow, salaries and the competition level have become high enough to attract players from rugby hotbeds. Perhaps MLR's biggest selling point is its on-field parody. Despite the Free Jacks winning three straight championships, every league match hangs in the balance until the 80th minute. 'We didn't know who was going to be in the playoffs and who was going to be hosting until the last game was played. That's what you want,' says Benson. With things beginning to move in the right direction, the age-old conversation in rugby circles has begun to resurface: Is the U.S. rugby's sleeping giant? With the 2028 Olympics in L.A., and the 2031 and 2033 men's and women's Rugby World Cups coming to American shores, progress remains necessary. Consistency of performance, consistent attendances, and consistent growth of the fanbase will be key to unlocking the American market and player pool. Thanks to the creation of Women's Elite Rugby (WER), there is now a credible talent pipeline for American women interested in rugby in the U.S. On the men's side, MLR continues to build momentum and offer high-level playing opportunities in new locations. 'I think there's no better way to grow a market than to have a team in that market,' says Benson. 'It's about creating critical mass for the sport. It's about being in the right market, in the right building, with the right owner.' With footprints on both coasts of the U.S. and along the southern rim, MLR is casting its gaze to areas like Northern California, the Mid-South, and the Upper Midwest for potential expansion, with an eye on a potential 20-team competition in the not-so-distant future. Every new market opens up the possibility of a boy or girl picking up a rugby ball and falling in love with a sport that is looking to establish its position in the American sports pecking order.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Super-physical': Houston's Seth Smith points to US rugby future
It's less than two years since Seth Smith became the youngest player ever in Major League Rugby and he only turned 20 this week. The hooker's birthday fell on Tuesday, during the Houston SaberCats' preparation for their first MLR Championship Game, against the New England Free Jacks in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday. The Free Jacks are seeking a third title in a row but in the SaberCats camp, 'Everybody's very positive,' Smith said, contemplating the challenge for a team that had previously played three postseason games and lost them all. 'We've had ups and downs but … these play-off games are the ones that matter. We beat a very strong LA side that fought very hard. And Utah, they're very physical, and we took care of business there as well.' In that western final, Smith scored a vital try. Of New England, MLR's dominant team in recent years, he says with relish: 'Now we're on to the big Goliath.' Smith could yet play David. But though he's young he already has a warlike nickname, Viking, thanks to his long blond hair and prodigious strength. He was introduced to rugby at 11 when his dad found the game on the internet, fell for it, and found a club, Katy Barbarians, who taught his boy to play. In Texas, high-school football is a religion. Smith excelled at fullback for Fulshear and wrestled too but rugby bit hardest. He played with the West Houston Lions and at school and was eyeing a place at Life University in Georgia, a college power, when the SaberCats signed him. Global rugby watchers might be advised to take note. Smith is the right age for college, the traditional time Americans find rugby, but he's been playing nine years already. More American boys and girls can say the same. Smith's style of hard-hitting athleticism may be about to become a more familiar sight around the oval world. Asked how traditional school sports helped his rugby education, Smith said: 'Everybody thinks football is like a direct translation to rugby but there's so many different tweaks.' As a fullback he 'played offense, and I carried every once in a while, but I was more of a blocker. In rugby there's no player who only does attack: everybody has to be able to do attack and defense and be versatile enough to switch quickly. And that's kind of where wrestling came in. Because in wrestling, you're doing both: attacking and defending. 'One of the things I've realized with rugby is, you learn people's bodies, right? You get to understand how people go down. I like tackling. I'm 5ft 9in. I have a low center of gravity. If I ever tried a high tackle, I would have to jump. And so that's what rugby is: you have a double-leg take-down, you have a single-leg take-down. And that's what wrestling is too. And also, you know how to get out of situations. Football is just, like, contact.' Wrestling helps with scrummaging too: 'It definitely helps with the legs, with your lower body. As a hooker, you have to understand how to use your head in scrums, whenever you're binding. And if there's one thing that I did very well in wrestling, I was very good with the leverage, using the head and shoulders – which goes straight into being a hooker.' Smith was a flanker first but soon moved from the back of the scrum to the front. It helped that at high school, he came to see the weights room as his 'safe place'. 'My dad's a bodybuilder. I was going into my freshman year of high school, that summer me and him started lifting. It's a place where you can just zone into something and give it everything you have for as long as you want, and have nothing else to worry about. It's like getting in between the four lines [of a rugby field]. You have nothing else to worry about except doing your job. And so it's just a place that I was able to find safety and security.' Rugby as unsafe safe space: players know the feeling. Come Saturday in Rhode Island, Smith, the SaberCats, the Free Jacks and as many as 10,500 fans – MLR commissioner Nic Benson said the league thinks it will get 'close' to a sell-out – will create such a space once again. Smith has made Under-19 and U20 US national squads but not yet U23, saying: 'I didn't get invited this year, so that's a good thing for the chip on the shoulder.' At Houston, he has had international talent to learn from, from the great USA flanker Danny Barrett to current SaberCats including the Samoa hooker Pita Anae Ah-Sue. Houston also has a heavy South African influence, through plenty of players and head coach Pote Human, successor to Heyneke Meyer, once coach of the Springboks. 'You watch any South African game, they're going to do three things,' Smith said. 'They're going to out-line-out you, they're going to out-scrum you, and they're going to out-physical you. Those are the things that they do best, and that's why they are so successful. 'I've always been a super-physical player, from playing seven, making the tackles a seven makes, to hooker, it's everything I grew up doing and it's exactly the way that they want players to play. Fitting in at Houston with all the South Africans? I don't think it would be the same anywhere else for me.' Those who wish MLR would field more Americans might wish Smith a regular starter elsewhere, though Anthem RC, the North Carolina team formed to field such homegrown talent, has logged two winless seasons. Asked about Anthem, Benson said: 'If you look at the goals for what we set out to do with Anthem, it was to get young American players more game time and exposure at a higher level. In that respect, it's been a win … I think it's serving its purpose.' Detailing Smith's progress in a Houston squad heavy with imports, Benson said: 'I think you always have to strike a balance. You want to have the foreign players, but to have a learning experience for the Americans, especially where you have really seasoned professionals who lead by example. 'Like you have the seasoned veteran who shows the younger players what it means to be a professional in terms of eating habits, training, discipline, all of those things. That's a critical component. You see it in Chicago, you see it in San Diego, you see it in Houston. That's a critical piece.' Either way, it says something that at just 20, Smith is set to feature in the Championship game. Look ahead 10 years: in 2035, at the men's World Cup after the men's World Cup to be held on US soil, Smith will be only 30, a hooker's prime. If the US can find more such talent, dreams of quarter-finals and more may edge closer to fruition. Smith is raring to go. 'I played my first international game at 15, and I've traveled all over the world. I've played in Scotland, I've played in the Netherlands, I've played in Canada, I've played in Dubai, I've played in Ireland. I've played all over. So going overseas is a big aspiration … and obviously trying to get up with the main Eagles, the big boys, at the men's level. Let's see how far I can take this.' Martin Pengelly writes on Substack at The National Maul, on rugby in the US
CTV News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Stephen Meehan names first roster as Canada coach for Belgian test in Edmonton
Rugby Canada will kick off the season with 2 games against Belgium and Spain. Captain Lucas Rumball and Edmonton's own Brock Gallagher speak with Kent Morrison. Rugby Canada will kick off the season with 2 games against Belgium and Spain. Captain Lucas Rumball and Edmonton's own Brock Gallagher speak with Kent Morrison. Cooper Coats will make his first start at fly half while fullback Brenden Black earns his first 15s cap when Canada hosts Belgium on Saturday in Stephen Meehan's first game as Canadian rugby coach. Appointed in December, Meehan officially started in April. The 59-year-old Australian succeeds Kingsley Jones, who stepped down in December after seven years at the helm. After No. 23 Belgium, the 24th-ranked Canadians face No. 16 Spain on July 18, also at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton. The Belgians are coming off a 36-17 loss Saturday to the 15th-ranked United States in Charlotte, N.C. The Americans host Spain on Saturday, also in Charlotte. Coats, who has earned the majority of his 17 caps at fullback, will partner scrum half Brock Gallagher. Black, who played for the Canadian sevens side earlier this year, could be joined by debutant Kyle Tremblay who starts on the bench. Twelve of the starters are with Major League Rugby clubs including five from the three-time champion New England Free Jacks and three from the Chicago Hounds. Flanker Lucas Rumball, one of the Hounds, continues as captain under Meehan with New England hooker Andrew Quattrin appointed vice-captain. Veteran centre Ben Lesage, vice-captain under Jones, has been ruled out of the Belgium match as he recovers from an injury sustained in the June 28 MLR championship game. Talon McMullin, who made his debut in July 2024 in a 73-12 loss to No. 7 Scotland in Ottawa and scored his first international try in a 55-28 loss to No. 12 Japan in Vancouver last August, starts at inside centre. McMullin's twin brother Takoda also made his debut in the Scotland loss, becoming the 500th men's player to earn a cap for Canada. 'We've been really pleased with our week of preparation,' Meehan said in a statement. 'The players have trained very hard and that has created a lot of energy and healthy competition as they've all tried to earn a spot in the matchday 23. Belgium will challenge us right across the pitch, but we are well prepared.' The Canadian men have not played since a pair of November losses in Bucharest to No. 21 Romania (35-27) and No. 20 Chile (44-14). The other Free Jacks in the starting 15 are Cole Keith, Piers Von Dadelszen, Isaac Olsen and Josiah Morra. Foster Dewitt and Kyle Steeves are among the replacements. Rumball is joined by Chicago teammates Matt Oworu and Noah Flesch with Jason Higgins on the bench to start. The Edmonton tests are a warmup for the Pacific Nations Cup, which doubles as a qualifier for the 2027 World Cup. Canada opens Pacific Nations Cup play Aug. 25 against Japan on Aug. 25 in Vancouver before facing the U.S. on Aug 31 in Carson, Calif. The six-country tournament also features No. 9 Fiji, No. 13 Samoa and No. 19 Tonga, who will play in a separate pool. Each team will play two pool games before taking part in a final placement match. The top three teams will book their ticket to the 2027 World Cup in Australia. But given Fiji and Japan have already qualified through their performance at the last World Cup, a top-five finish would do it for Canada if Fiji and Japan finish above it. Should Canada fail to qualify via the Pacific Nations Cup, it will still have two more chances to make the World Cup field, via a playoff with the 2025 Sudamerica Rugby Championship runner-up and, finally, a four-team repechage tournament. Canada failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, the first time it has missed the sport's showcase, after losing two-legged qualifying series to the U.S. (59-50 on aggregate) and Chile (54-46). Canada Roster Calixto Martinez, White Rock, B.C., Old Glory DC (MLR); Andrew Quattrin, Holland Landing, Ont., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Cole Keith, Sussex, N.B., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Piers Von Dadelszen, Vancouver, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Izzak Kelly, White Rock, B.C., Capilano RFC; Matt Heaton, Godmanchester, Que., RFC LA (MLR); Lucas Rumball (capt.), Toronto, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Oworu, Calgary, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Cooper Coats, Halifax, NOLA Gold (MLR); Josiah Morra, Toronto, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Talon McMullin, White Rock, B.C., UBC; Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Isaac Olson, Vernon, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Brenden Black, Oakville, Ont., University of Guelph. Replacements Dewald Kotze, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Foster Dewitt, Courtenay, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Kyle Steeves, Winnipeg, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Callum Botchar, Vancouver, NOLA Gold (MLR); Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC (Wales); Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC (Northern Ireland); Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Pacific Pride. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025. Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Stephen Meehan names first roster as Canada coach for Belgian test in Edmonton
Cooper Coats will make his first start at fly half while fullback Brenden Black earns his first 15s cap when Canada hosts Belgium on Saturday in Stephen Meehan's first game as Canadian rugby coach. Appointed in December, Meehan officially started in April. The 59-year-old Australian succeeds Kingsley Jones, who stepped down in December after seven years at the helm. After No. 23 Belgium, the 24th-ranked Canadians face No. 16 Spain on July 18, also at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton. The Belgians are coming off a 36-17 loss Saturday to the 15th-ranked United States in Charlotte, N.C. The Americans host Spain on Saturday, also in Charlotte. Coats, who has earned the majority of his 17 caps at fullback, will partner scrum half Brock Gallagher. Black, who played for the Canadian sevens side earlier this year, could be joined by debutant Kyle Tremblay who starts on the bench. Twelve of the starters are with Major League Rugby clubs including five from the three-time champion New England Free Jacks and three from the Chicago Hounds. Flanker Lucas Rumball, one of the Hounds, continues as captain under Meehan with New England hooker Andrew Quattrin appointed vice-captain. Veteran centre Ben Lesage, vice-captain under Jones, has been ruled out of the Belgium match as he recovers from an injury sustained in the June 28 MLR championship game. Talon McMullin, who made his debut in July 2024 in a 73-12 loss to No. 7 Scotland in Ottawa and scored his first international try in a 55-28 loss to No. 12 Japan in Vancouver last August, starts at inside centre. McMullin's twin brother Takoda also made his debut in the Scotland loss, becoming the 500th men's player to earn a cap for Canada. 'We've been really pleased with our week of preparation,' Meehan said in a statement. 'The players have trained very hard and that has created a lot of energy and healthy competition as they've all tried to earn a spot in the matchday 23. Belgium will challenge us right across the pitch, but we are well prepared.' The Canadian men have not played since a pair of November losses in Bucharest to No. 21 Romania (35-27) and No. 20 Chile (44-14). The other Free Jacks in the starting 15 are Cole Keith, Piers Von Dadelszen, Isaac Olsen and Josiah Morra. Foster Dewitt and Kyle Steeves are among the replacements. Rumball is joined by Chicago teammates Matt Oworu and Noah Flesch with Jason Higgins on the bench to start. The Edmonton tests are a warmup for the Pacific Nations Cup, which doubles as a qualifier for the 2027 World Cup. Canada opens Pacific Nations Cup play Aug. 25 against Japan on Aug. 25 in Vancouver before facing the U.S. on Aug 31 in Carson, Calif. The six-country tournament also features No. 9 Fiji, No. 13 Samoa and No. 19 Tonga, who will play in a separate pool. Each team will play two pool games before taking part in a final placement match. The top three teams will book their ticket to the 2027 World Cup in Australia. But given Fiji and Japan have already qualified through their performance at the last World Cup, a top-five finish would do it for Canada if Fiji and Japan finish above it. Should Canada fail to qualify via the Pacific Nations Cup, it will still have two more chances to make the World Cup field, via a playoff with the 2025 Sudamerica Rugby Championship runner-up and, finally, a four-team repechage tournament. Canada failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, the first time it has missed the sport's showcase, after losing two-legged qualifying series to the U.S. (59-50 on aggregate) and Chile (54-46). Canada Roster Calixto Martinez, White Rock, B.C., Old Glory DC (MLR); Andrew Quattrin, Holland Landing, Ont., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Cole Keith, Sussex, N.B., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Piers Von Dadelszen, Vancouver, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Izzak Kelly, White Rock, B.C., Capilano RFC; Matt Heaton, Godmanchester, Que., RFC LA (MLR); Lucas Rumball (capt.), Toronto, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Oworu, Calgary, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Cooper Coats, Halifax, NOLA Gold (MLR); Josiah Morra, Toronto, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Talon McMullin, White Rock, B.C., UBC; Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Isaac Olson, Vernon, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Brenden Black, Oakville, Ont., University of Guelph. Replacements Dewald Kotze, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Foster Dewitt, Courtenay, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Kyle Steeves, Winnipeg, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Callum Botchar, Vancouver, NOLA Gold (MLR); Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC (Wales); Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC (Northern Ireland); Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Pacific Pride. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
It's a Dynasty! The New England Free Jacks' quest to three-peat is complete, beat SaberCats 28-22
Massachusetts professional rugby team, the New England Free Jacks, has completed the dynasty! They Beat the Houston SaberCats 28-22. SCORING SUMMARY In the seventh minute, Dan Hollinshead completed a penalty goal to kick off the scoring. Advertisement Shortly after, the SaberCats followed up with their own penalty goal, led by AJ Alatimu. The Free Jacks then scored twice in a row, with Paula Balekana completing a try, followed by a conversion from Hollinshead in the thirteenth minute. Then, in the eighteenth minute, Dan Hollinshead completed another penalty goal. The SaberCats answered back, though, with Max Schumacher scoring, followed by Alatimu's conversion. The Free Jacks led going into halftime 13-10. Then, in the forty-sixth minute, Sam Caird completed a try, followed by another Hollinshead conversion. Houston answered back in the fifty-first minute with a Drake Davis try and another Alatimu conversion. Advertisement In the fifty-eighth minute, Hollinshead completed a penalty goal. In the sixty-ninth minute, Paula Balekana ties the MLR record with his 15th try. In the seventy-seventh minute, Max Schumacher dives in for a try, making the score 28-22. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
