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Major League Rugby’s schedule in 2025 will have a very different look than a year ago. The league on Tuesday confirmed a 17-week regular season and three rounds of playoffs. East and West Conferences remain though the league has dropped from 12 to 11 teams, with the Dallas Jackals confirming their withdrawal a little over a month following the conclusion of the 2024 season.
A desire to complete the entire campaign before the July test window will see the regular season starting two weeks earlier than in 2024, a return to the same mid-February start as in 2023. The previous 18-week schedule has been reduced by one week, which sees some very short turnarounds during the second half of the season.
Some are as short as three days rest, which has drawn strong public criticism from the Players Association. World Rugby currently recommends a minimum of four recovery days after a match. New Zealand’s NPC forces each team to play three games in 8 days during what is called ‘Storm Week’, though the practice has been under increasing scrutiny from some coaches in the competition.
Two teams – San Diego and Los Angeles – have changed their primary home venue though only one is entirely new to MLR. LA will play two additional ‘marquee’ home games at a venue to be revealed, while Anthem, DC, and Utah will also play matches at alternate venues.
Despite the loss of one team there is no change to the playoff structure with the top four teams from each conference qualifying for the opening round. Where last season’s campaign took a break before the postseason to accommodate for the test window, this year there will be no gap between the regular season and knockout stage. The MLR Shield is set to be contested on the last weekend in June at a venue yet to be announced.
The full MLR 2025 schedule can be seen here.
