Gordon hooker Mahe Vailanu will follow Head Coach Darren Coleman from Sydney to the LA Giltinis. The 23-year-old was recently awarded the prestigious Ken Catchpole Medal as the Shute Shield’s Player of the Year following the club’s victorious 2020 season. Vailanu was born and raised in Tonga but …
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San Diego re-signs Italy lock Joshua Furno
The San Diego Legion have re-signed Italy international Joshua Furno for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. A rangy 6’7″ (2.01m) aerial specialist, he follows fellow second rows Ben Mitchell and Siaosi Mahoni in committing to the club for another season. Furno has been an automatic selection at lock since …
Read More »Ollie Engelhart continues with Free Jacks in 2021
The New England Free Jacks have confirmed the return of scrumhalf Ollie Engelhart for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. Part of the inaugural exhibition campaign, the 24-year-old re-signed with the club in August 2019. He also fills several roles under the title of ‘Operations Associate’ in the team’s front …
Read More »Preview: Portugal vs Brazil
Portugal and Brazil will resume their rivalry on Saturday. The teams have played competitive rugby internationals in the recent past. More importantly, they are to compete in what is preparation for their respective preparation for RWC 2023 qualifiers. The COVID-19 interrupted what had been a promising start to 2020 for …
Read More »Tim O’Malley returns to MLR with Dallas
Former Utah Warriors captain Tim O’Malley will return to Major League Rugby in 2021 but with a new team. The Dallas Jackals have captured the signature of the 26-year-old New Zealander who is set to start for the Tasman Mako in Saturday’s Mitre 10 Cup Semi Final against Bay of …
Read More »Austin signs Canada winger Cole Davis
Make it two Canadian wingers heading to Austin. Just two days after confirming Jeff Hassler‘s move from Seattle to the Texas capital, the Gilgronis have announced the signing of fellow Albertan export Cole Davis for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. Davis, 23, won five caps for Canada in 2018 …
Read More »Canada and USA share pool in RWC 2021 draw
Canada have been drawn alongside the USA in Pool B for Rugby World Cup 2021. The flagship women’s tournament is to be hosted by New Zealand from September 18 to October 16 of next year. The Women’s Eagles finished in 4th place at RWC 2017, one spot higher than Canada, …
Read More »Mitre 10 Cup Regular Season review
The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup regular season has come to a close and the Semi Finals are up this coming weekend. Overall it was a unique campaign with a number of test All Blacks taking part during the early stages of the competition and New Zealand Sevens reps appearing throughout. …
Read More »Tri Nations Preview: Australia vs Argentina
Saturday’s Tri Nations match between Australia vs Argentina will be ground-breaking. First, Australia were 24-22 winners over New Zealand in their prior match. Second, Argentina were 25-15 winners over New Zealand this past Saturday. The 2020 Tri Nations has gone against the script; it is wide open. Australia has made three …
Read More »Stripes stretch away from Stars in first intra-squad match
A dominant fourth quarter saw the USA Stripes defeat the USA Stars 34-12 in the first of a two-match intra-squad series contested by the Women’s Eagles at Infinity Park. Stripes flanker Elizabeth ‘Bitsy’ Cairns was named Player of the Match. Perhaps to be expected the opening quarter was largely a …
Read More »Argentina’s 10 Greatest Wins
Los Pumas have a long history in the sport of rugby. From the Americas, only Argentina and Canada have played in every Rugby World Cup. Argentina is a two-time Semi Finalist in the competition and the only Semi Finalists never to have hosted a RWC match. Argentina is one of …
Read More »LA confirms DTH van der Merwe signing
The LA Giltinis have signed DTH van der Merwe. The Canadian flier joins the new Major League Rugby franchise after eleven years playing in Europe. The move follows months of speculation that he was on his way to back to North America to join a MLR team. van den Merwe …
Read More »Panama granted associate member status by World Rugby
Panama has been granted associate member status by World Rugby. The Central American republic joins Nepal in gaining associate status. Meanwhile, Burkina Faso, Iran and Laos achieve World Rugby full member status. Panama is a Sudamérica Rugby member. The same is true of other Central American countries Costa Rica, El …
Read More »Chile to host 2020 South American Sevens in December
Chile is to host the 2020 South American Sevens in December, Sudamérica Rugby has confirmed. The competition will feature Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile. Edit: Colombia and Paraguay will not participate due to travel issues. The two-day tournament will take place on Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13. It …
Read More »Austin signs Canada winger Jeff Hassler from Seattle
The Austin Gilgronis have confirmed the signing of Canadian winger Jeff Hassler for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. He arrives after spending the last season-and-a-half with the Seattle Seawolves, whom he joined part-way through the 2019 campaign. Hassler, 28, lifted the MLR Shield with the Seawolves in his first …
Read More »Brad Tucker returns for third season with Seawolves
Brad Tucker will suit up for a third season of Major League Rugby with the Seattle Seawolves, the club has confirmed. The 28-year-old second row was most recently spotted playing for the Ohio Aviators at the World Tens Series. Since arriving from New Zealand ahead of the 2019 campaign Tucker …
Read More »ARN Player of the Week – Nicolás Sánchez
There was actually other rugby to watch this past weekend. For example the Premier 15s where a dozen of North America’s finest were suiting up. Tony Lamborn and Jordan Olsen were try-scorers in the Mitre 10 Cup and Joe Johnston got the start in Bay of Plenty’s win over North …
Read More »Major League Rugby Kit Comparison 2020-2021
Major League Rugby has unveiled its kit lineup for the 2021 season. Last year’s provider Paladin continues and has produced some striking designs. As they were a year ago, the overall reception has been positive. In general many teams have opted for similar designs to the 2020 lineup, which makes …
Read More »Juan Manuel Cat steps away from High Performance program
Juan Manuel Cat has stepped away from Uruguay’s High Performance program. The 24-year-old has decided to prioritize work over rugby. He has not retired from international rugby and nor has see closed the door on professional rugby. Cat joined Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) side Peñarol at the start …
Read More »Portugal name strong squad to prepare for Brazil
Portugal Head Coach Patrice Lagisquet has selected 38 players to prepare for the upcoming test series against Brazil. Os Lobos will host Os Tupis on November 21 and 28, with both games to be played in Lisbon. Each team has won two of their four previous meetings. It’s a nearly …
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