2018 Major League Rugby season

The 2018 Major League Rugby season was the inaugural season of Major League Rugby, an annual rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby.[1] The seven inaugural teams were based in the United States. The competition began the weekend of April 21–22 with three matches, with New Orleans defeating Houston 35–26 to open the season.

2018 Major League Rugby
DateApril 21 – July 7
ChampionsSeattle Seawolves (1st title)
Runners-upGlendale Raptors
Matches played31
Attendance71,300
(average 2,300 per match)
Top point scorerSam Windsor (103)
Top try scorerTonata Lauti (9)
Official website
www.usmlr.com

Glendale and Seattle were the best two teams at the end of the regular season and won their respective semi-final matches to advance to the championship game at Torero Stadium in San Diego.[2] Seattle became Major League Rugby's first champion team with a surprise come-from-behind 23–19 win in the final over Glendale, who had only lost once previously during the season.[2]

Teams
TeamHead coachCaptainStadiumCapacity
Austin Elite Alain Hyardet Andrew SuniulaMultipurpose Complex3,500
Glendale Raptors David Williams Shaun DaviesInfinity Park5,000
Houston SaberCats Justin Fitzpatrick Kyle SumsionDyer Stadium6,000
New Orleans Gold Nate Osborne Taylor HowdenEagle Athletic Facility3,000
San Diego Legion Rob Hoadley Nate AugspurgerTorero Stadium6,000
Seattle Seawolves Phil Mack Shalom SuniulaStarfire Stadium3,800
Utah Warriors Alf Daniels Paul LasikeZions Bank Stadium5,000

Regular season

All seven participating teams played eight matches and received two rounds of byes during the regular season held over ten weeks from April through to June.[3] The schedule was short of a full home and away draw by four match rounds, so each side played two of the other teams twice and four of them only once. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advanced to the MLR playoffs.[4][5]

Standings

The final standings for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season were:

Major League Rugby
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Glendale Raptors [P] 8701249165+846034
2 Seattle Seawolves [C] 8602232188+444129
3 San Diego Legion 8503214201+133124
4 Utah Warriors 8305269274−57322
5 Austin Elite 8305224238−145118
6 New Orleans Gold 8305209291−824117
7 Houston SaberCats 8107216256−403411
Updated: June 23, 2018

Source: rugbyarchive.net

Four points for a win, two for a draw, and no points for a bye.
One bonus point for scoring four or more tries (TB).
One bonus point for losing by seven or less (LB).
 • Teams 1 to 4 (Green background) at the end of the regular season qualify for the semifinals.

Matches

The following matches were played for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season:[3]

Home ╲ Away AUS GLE HOU NOLA SAN SEA UTA
Austin Elite 30–17 31–5 19–20 41–33
Glendale Raptors 41–26 37–24 31–27 33–11
Houston SaberCats 50–38 26–35 7–20 30–36
New Orleans Gold 10–47 24–20 22–39 29–31
San Diego Legion 31–17 23–5 35–32 31–24
Seattle Seawolves 15–19 55–26 39–23 41–32
Utah Warriors 41–22 29–36 31–27 43–46

Updated to match(es) played on June 23, 2018.
Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.

Week 1
Bye/s: Utah Warriors

Week 2
Bye/s: New Orleans Gold

Week 3
Bye/s: Seattle Seawolves

Week 4
Bye/s: Houston SaberCats

Week 5
Bye/s: Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors. San Diego Legion

Week 6
Bye/s: Glendale Raptors

Week 7
Bye/s: San Diego Legion

Week 8
Bye/s: Utah Warriors

Week 9
Bye/s: Houston SaberCats

Week 10
Bye/s: Austin Elite, New Orleans Gold, Seattle Seawolves

Playoffs

The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The format was two semifinal matches – first versus fourth, and second versus third – followed by a Championship game between the semifinal winners to determine the MLR champion team.[4][5]

The semifinals were played as a double header at Infinity Park in Glendale on June 30, followed a week later by the final at Torero Stadium in San Diego on July 7.[9]

Semifinals
June 30 Seattle Seawolves 38–24 San Diego Legion Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado  
7:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) Try: Suniula 33' c
Rasileka 63' c, Tiberio 65' c
S. Burke-Combs 73' c
J. Hayden 78' c
Con: Smith (5/5) 34', 63',
66', 74', 79'
Pen: Smith (1/1) 6'
 Report Try: Pietersen 9' c
Gaffney 56' c
Augspurger 80' c
Con: Pietersen (3/3) 10', 57', 80'
Pen: Pietersen (1/1) 3'
Cards: Barton 61' YC
Mahoni 67' YC		 Attendance: 3,287
Referee: Derek Summers (United States)
June 30 Glendale Raptors 34–21 Utah Warriors Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado  
9:30 pm EDT (UTC−04) Try: Figg 2' c
Davidson 28' c, Davies 31' m
Fenoglio 52' c, White 64' m
Con: Magie (3/5) 3', 29', 53'
Pen: Magie (1/1) 13'
 Report Try: Lauti 35' c
Tameilau 68' c
Pati 73' c
Con: Morath (1/1) 36'
Nicholls (2/2) 69', 73'
 Attendance: 3,407
Referee: Adam Leal (England)

Final
Main article: 2018 Major League Rugby Final
July 7 Glendale Raptors 19–23 Seattle Seawolves Torero Stadium, San Diego, California  
9:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) Try: Fenoglio (2) 13' c, 50' m
Campbell 56' c
Con: Magie (2/3) 13', 57'
 Report Try: Barkwill 23' m
Rasileka 58' m, Hattingh 61' c
Con: Smith (1/3) 62'
Pen: Smith (2/3) 9', 67'
 Attendance: 2,901
Referee: Scott Green [10] (United States)

Team statistics

Points by week

Week
Team
 001.0 002.0 003.0 004.0 005.0 006.0 007.0 008.0 009.0 0010.0 00Total.0 00Average.0
Austin 2641 3850 3017 2241 –– 315 4133 1920 1731 –– 224238 28.029.8
Glendale 4126 1915 3629 3127 –– –– 4710 3724 3311 523 249165 31.120.6
Houston 2635 5038 3235 –– 2024 3036 720 2437 –– 2731 216256 27.032.0
New Orleans 3526 –– 1730 2931 2420 2655 1047 2239 4643 –– 209291 26.136.4
San Diego 2339 3124 3532 2731 –– 531 –– 3922 3117 235 214201 26.825.1
Seattle 3923 1519 –– 3129 4132 5526 207 2019 1133 –– 232188 29.023.5
Utah –– 2431 2936 4122 3241 3630 3341 –– 4346 3127 269274 33.634.3

Tries by week

Week
Team
 001.00 002.00 003.00 004.00 005.00 006.00 007.00 008.00 009.00 0010.0 00Total.0 00Average.0
Austin 45 67 42 36 –– 41 55 13 23 –– 2932 3.64.0
Glendale 54 22 54 43 –– –– 72 54 51 12 3422 4.32.8
Houston 44 76 25 –– 23 35 12 45 –– 35 2635 3.34.4
New Orleans 44 –– 24 54 32 47 27 36 57 –– 2841 3.55.1
San Diego 25 53 52 34 –– 14 –– 63 32 21 2724 3.43.0
Seattle 52 22 –– 45 55 74 21 31 15 –– 2925 3.63.1
Utah –– 35 45 63 55 53 55 –– 75 53 4034 5.04.3
AttackDefense

Player statistics

The leading scorers in 2018 over the regular season and playoffs combined were:

Leading try scorers
No. Player Team Tries
excl.
playoffs		 Total
tries
   
1 Tonata Lauti Utah Warriors 89
2 Harley Davidson Glendale Raptors 67
Zach Fenoglio Glendale Raptors 4 7 [lower-alpha 1]
4 Hanco Germishuys Austin Elite 66
5 Osea Kolinisau Houston SaberCats 55
William Rasileka Seattle Seawolves 35
Anthony Salaber San Diego Legion 55
Josua Vici Houston SaberCats 55
9 Lote Tuipulotu Utah Warriors 44
Mathew Turner Seattle Seawolves 44
Sam Windsor Houston SaberCats 44
Marcus Walsh Austin Elite 44

Sources:[12][13]Americas Rugby News and MLR (archived).

Leading point scorers
No. Player Team Points
excl.
playoffs		 Total
points
   
1 Sam Windsor Houston SaberCats 103103
2 Timothée Guillimin Austin Elite 8484
3 Will Magie Glendale Raptors 6477
4 JP Eloff New Orleans Gold 6565
5 Brock Staller Seattle Seawolves 6060
6 Kurt Morath Utah Warriors 4749
7 Tonata Lauti Utah Warriors 4045
8 Tadhg Leader San Diego Legion 4242
9 Peter Smith Seattle Seawolves 2041
10 Maximo de Achaval Glendale Raptors 3535

Sources:[12][13] Americas Rugby News and MLR (archived).

Sanctions
Player Team Red Yellow Suspended match(es):
Zachary Pangelinan Houston SaberCats12 vs. New Orleans Gold (W5)
Connor Cook Glendale Raptors10 vs. Austin Elite (W1)
Ben Landry Glendale Raptors10 vs. Austin Elite (W1)
Jake Turnbull Houston SaberCats01 vs. New Orleans Gold (W1)
Eric Howard New Orleans Gold01 vs. Houston SaberCats (W1)
Ben Mitchell Austin Elite01 vs. Glendale Raptors (W1)
Sani Taylor Austin Elite01 vs. Glendale Raptors (W1)
Kelepi Fifita Glendale Raptors01 vs. Austin Elite (W1)
Sione Tuihalamaka San Diego Legion01 vs. Seattle Seawolves (W1)
Matt Trouville Houston SaberCats01 vs. Austin Elite (W2)
Maximo de Achaval Glendale Raptors01 vs. Seattle Seawolves (W2)
Siaosi Finau Austin Elite01 vs. New Orleans Gold (W3)
Pago Haini Houston SaberCats01 vs. San Diego Legion (W3)
Taylor Howden New Orleans Gold01 vs. Seattle Seawolves (W4)
Hubert Buydens New Orleans Gold01 vs. Houston SaberCats (W5)
Chris Slater Houston SaberCats01 vs. Glendale Raptors (W8)
Anthony Parry New Orleans Gold01 vs. San Diego Legion (W8)
Cam Poison Seattle Seawolves01 vs. Glendale Raptors (W9)
Alec Barton San Diego Legion01 vs. Austin Elite (W9)
Ben Mitchell Austin Elite01 vs. San Diego Legion (W9)
Alec Barton San Diego Legion01 vs. Seattle Seawolves (SF)
Siaosi Mahoni San Diego Legion01 vs. Seattle Seawolves (SF)

Awards

MVP of the Championship Match

Player Team
Vili Toluta'uSeattle Seawolves

All-MLR First Team

Player Position Team
Paul MullenLoosehead PropHouston SaberCats
Zach FenoglioHookerGlendale Raptors
Tim MetcherTighthead PropSeattle Seawolves
Ben MitchellLeft LockAustin Elite
Ben LandryRight LockGlendale Raptors
Vili Toluta'uBlindside FlankerSeattle Seawolves
Hanco GermishuysOpenside FlankerAustin Elite
Cam DolanNo8San Diego Legion
Phil MackScrum-halfSeattle Seawolves
Sam WindsorFly-halfHouston SaberCats
Tonata LautiBlindside WingUtah Warriors
Paul LasikeInside CentreUtah Warriors
Ryan MatyasOutside CentreSan Diego Legion
Harley DavidsonOpenside WingGlendale Raptors
Mathew TurnerFullbackSeattle Seawolves

All-MLR Second Team

Player Position Team
Olive KilifiLoosehead PropSeattle Seawolves
Pat BlairHookerSan Diego Legion
Alex TucciTighthead PropUtah Warriors
Matt JensenLeft LockUtah Warriors
Matt TrouvilleRight LockHouston SaberCats
Peter DahlBlindside FlankerGlendale Raptors
Matt HughstonOpenside FlankerNOLA Gold
Sam FiggNo8Glendale Raptors
Shaun DaviesScrum-halfGlendale Raptors
Will MagieFly-halfGlendale Raptors
Josua ViciBlindside WingHouston SaberCats
Andrew SuniulaInside CentreAustin Elite
Osea KolinisauOutside CentreHouston SaberCats
Brock StallerOpenside WingSeattle Seawolves
Zinzan Elan-PuttickFullbackAustin Elite

Notes
  1. In a discrepancy between sources, Zach Fenoglio's second try in the MLR championship game, as recorded by Americas Rugby News,[10] was attributed instead to Kelepi Fifita on the MLR website,[11] which therefore listed Fenoglio's tally of tries for the full season at 6 instead of 7.[12]

References
  1. "Major League Rugby nears kick-off as next attempt to make US a union power". The Guardian. UK. 2017-11-17. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  2. "Major League Rugby crowns Seattle champions – and looks to season two". The Guardian. UK. 2018-07-10. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  3. "Major League Rugby schedule revealed". Rugby Today. 2017-12-01. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  4. "CBS Sports Network Partners with MLR". Major League Rugby (Press release). 2017-11-06. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  5. "Austin Elite, new U.S. pro rugby league lure major TV contract". Austin American-Statesman. 2017-11-07. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  6. https://aedelhard.com/blogs/stories/seattle-seawolves-home-debut-something-special
  7. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sd-sp-legion-rugby-home-debut-0430-story.html
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2018-06-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "MLR reveals Finals Locations and Expansion Plans". Americas Rugby News. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  10. "Seawolves stun Raptors to win inaugural MLR title". Americas Rugby News. 2018-07-08. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  11. "Big Second Half Propels Seawolves Over Raptors in Inaugural MLR Championship". usmlr.com. 2018-07-08. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  12. "Player stats (incl. playoffs)". Major League Rugby. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27.
  13. "Player stats (excl. playoffs)". Americas Rugby News. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17.
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