Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
JP Doyle has bid farewell to Major League Rugby. The popular referee is taking up a new post with the Scottish Rugby Union as their High Performance Referee Coach. Doyle made his MLR debut in April of last year after departing English Premiership. He took charge of 20 games all told, including 2021 Championship Final between the LA Giltinis and Rugby ATL.
A new name will make his MLR refereeing debut in New Orleans this weekend. Marcus Playle arrives from Auckland, New Zealand, and has been part of the national panel since 2019. Playle made his Bunnings NPC referee debut in 2021 and has been an assistant referee in Super Rugby this season.
Utah Warriors center Tyler Fisher has been suspended for two weeks for a dangerous tackle on LA Giltinis fullback Jordan Trainor. The incident took place at the 57-minute mark of Sunday’s game at Memorial Coliseum. No penalty was given by the officials during the match and the tackle was not referred to the TMO during the game.
The citing officer for the match referred the incident to the judiciary, who determined that Fisher lifted Trainor beyond the horizontal in the tackle. It was considered a low end offense. As a result of the suspension Fisher will miss the upcoming matches against Toronto and Houston. He will be free to play on April 1st against the San Diego Legion.
Softening the blow for the Warriors is the return of Paul Lasike. The US Eagles star has now departed English club Harlequins. In recent weeks he has been playing on loan for London Scottish after recovering from a long-term Achilles tendon injury.
The Dallas Jackals have moved to help shore up their scrum woes with the acquisition of tighthead prop Herman Agenbag from the Free Jacks. New England receives an international slot for the 2023 season in return. The 21-year-old Agenbag is a South African age-grade international and made his Currie Cup debut last July. He has yet to appear in MLR.
New England are busy making other moves. Openside flanker Ethan Fryer has arrived from the Pacific Pride, Rugby Canada’s centralized development program. Though born in the USA, Fryer is Canadian-eligible through his Ontario-born father. He suited up for the Free Jacks development side against the Arrows Academy this past weekend.
Canadian winger Isaac Olson, who made his test debut in November, is set to follow Fryer from Langford to Boston next week. Both Olson and Fryer arrive on development contracts. Rumors suggest a significant addition to the senior squad is on the way near the end of the month.
Sam Windsor’s record run has come to an end. The Rugby New York flyhalf had started in 49 consecutive matches dating back to the inaugural 2018 season before missing this past weekend’s game. He started every possible game for Houston from 2018 to 2021, and the first four games of this season.
Windsor is still set to be the first to reach a significant milestone – the first player to reach 50 starts in Major League Rugby. Also ready to join MLR’s 50-cap club is New York hooker Dylan Fawsitt, currently on 49 appearances. The duo will become the 3rd and 4th players to reach the mark with Utah prop Angus MacLellan and Seattle prop Tim Metcher becoming the 1st and 2nd respectively earlier this season.
