MLR Collegiate Draft order set as Players drop out

The inaugural Major League Rugby Collegiate Draft will take place this evening. A broadcast will be available on the official MLR Facebook page beginning at 7pm Eastern. Once the draft begins teams will have up to 5 minutes to make their choice with 24 picks in total set to take place.

In the end only 10 of the 13 teams will take part as Rugby United New York have followed Houston’s lead in trading out of the draft. RUNY’s first and second round picks have been sent to Dallas in exchange for an extra foreign player spot in 2021. Dallas will also receive a bump in salary cap space from New York.

Adding to the drama this week was confirmation that a number of potential picks have been declared ineligible for the draft. Incomplete paperwork and questions over visa eligibility appears to be the culprit. Among the absent is 6’6″ (1.98m) GCU eightman Cameron Dodson, who was recently projected to be selected first overall.

[EDIT: The article incorrectly included Dodson as ineligible. It has now been clarified that he was in fact eligible but not selected due to visa concerns. ARN apologises for the error.]

Toronto will join New York and Houston as spectators. The Arrows opted out as visa complications prevented Canadian players from taking part. The final draft order can be seen below.