# 2023 Major League Rugby season

The 2023 Major League Rugby season was the sixth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 17, 2023.
The Chicago Hounds made their debut this season, while the Austin Gilgronis and LA Giltinis withdrew from the competition. This left a total of 12 teams competing; 6 teams in each conference, with the Chicago Hounds added to the Western Conference.

## Teams and format

The 12 teams contested the regular season, with 6 in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Each club played two games against each of the other five clubs in their conference (one at home and one away each) and one game against each of the six clubs in the other conference.
Conference rankings at the end of the regular season determined each team's placement in the post season, known as the Championship Series:
* Teams ranked 2nd in their conference hosted the team ranked 3rd, as part of the Eliminators.
* The team in the conference ranked 1st received a bye, and hosted the winner of their conference's Eliminator, to determine the Conference champion.
* Both Conference champions then contested the Championship final, held at SeatGeek Stadium in Chicagoland on July 8, 2023. The winners of the Championship final lifted the MLR Shield and became the 2023 Major League Rugby Champions.
| Conference | Club | Metro area | Stadium | Capacity | Coach | Captain |
| Western Conference | Chicago Hounds | Chicago, Illinois | SeatGeek Stadium | 20,000 | Sam Harris | Bryce Campbell |
| Western Conference | Dallas Jackals | Dallas, Texas | Choctaw Stadium | 48,114 | Agustín Cavalieri | JP Aguirre |
| Western Conference | Houston SaberCats | Houston, Texas | SaberCats Stadium | 4,000 | Pote Human | Dean Muir |
| Western Conference | San Diego Legion | San Diego, California | Snapdragon Stadium | 35,000 | Danny Lee | Blair Cowan |
| Western Conference | Seattle Seawolves | Seattle, Washington | Starfire Stadium | 4,500 | Allen Clarke | Riekert Hattingh |
| Western Conference | Utah Warriors | Salt Lake City, Utah | Zions Bank Stadium | 5,000 | Greg Cooper | Bailey Wilson |
| Eastern Conference | New England Free Jacks | Boston, Massachusetts | Veterans Memorial Stadium | 5,000 | Scott Mathie | Josh Larsen |
| Eastern Conference | New Orleans Gold | New Orleans, Louisiana | Gold Mine | 10,000 | Kane Thompson | Cam Dolan |
| Eastern Conference | Old Glory DC | Washington, D.C. | Segra Field | 5,000 | Josh Syms | Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz |
| Eastern Conference | Rugby New York | New York, New York | Memorial Stadium | 4,000 | James Semple | Nate Brakeley |
| Eastern Conference | Rugby ATL | Atlanta, Georgia | Silverbacks Park | 5,000 | Stephen Brett | Matt Heaton |
| Eastern Conference | Toronto Arrows | Toronto, Ontario | York Lions Stadium | 4,000 | Peter Smith | Lucas Rumball |

## Regular season

The regular season consisted of 18 weeks, with each team playing 16 matches, beginning on February 17, 2023, and ending on June 18.

### Standings

MLR Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| New England Free Jacks (C) | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 556 | 273 | +283 | 80 | 36 | 11 | 1 | 68 |
| Rugby New York | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 428 | 387 | +41 | 62 | 52 | 10 | 1 | 43 |
| Old Glory DC (SF) | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 408 | 443 | -35 | 60 | 62 | 11 | 2 | 43 |
| New Orleans Gold | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 339 | 435 | -96 | 46 | 61 | 6 | 1 | 35 |
| Rugby ATL | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 355 | 428 | -73 | 48 | 59 | 5 | 1 | 28 |
| Toronto Arrows | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 306 | 601 | -295 | 37 | 88 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Tiebreakers If teams are level at any stage, tiebreaker criteria are as follows (coin tosses or draw of lots will be used if those below fail): number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received |||||||||||||
| Green background indicates teams in position for the Eastern Conference Finals Blue background indicates teams in position for the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Last Updated: July 9, 2023 |||||||||||||
MLR Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| San Diego Legion (RU) | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 554 | 285 | +269 | 81 | 41 | 13 | 1 | 74 |
| Seattle Seawolves (SF) | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 509 | 348 | +161 | 67 | 48 | 9 | 2 | 59 |
| Houston SaberCats | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 484 | 413 | +71 | 70 | 57 | 11 | 2 | 53 |
| Utah Warriors | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 445 | 421 | +24 | 63 | 59 | 8 | 2 | 50 |
| Chicago Hounds | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 327 | 497 | -170 | 43 | 70 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| Dallas Jackals | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 278 | 458 | -180 | 41 | 64 | 6 | 5 | 19 |
| Tiebreakers If teams are level at any stage, tiebreaker criteria are as follows (coin tosses or draw of lots will be used if those below fail): number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received |||||||||||||
| Green background indicates teams in position for the Western Conference Finals Blue background indicates teams in position for the Western Conference Semi-Finals Last Updated: June 18, 2023 |||||||||||||

### Matches

The following are the match results for the 2023 Major League Rugby regular season:
| Home \ Away | CHI | DAL | HOU | NE | NO | DC | ATL | NY | SD | SEA | TOR | UTA |
| Chicago Hounds | | 24–22 | 21–38 | | 24–37 | | | 20–21 | 14–36 | 5–27 | 26–27 | 10–14 |
| Dallas Jackals | 28–29 | | 12–33 | | 10–15 | 3–7 | | | 38–47 | 10–35 | 14–11 | 26–36 |
| Houston SaberCats | 40–33 | 33–21 | | | 35–14 | 31–7 | 40–28 | | 31–26 | 17–34 | | 24–30 |
| NE Free Jacks | 31–19 | 10–9 | 47–24 | | 50–3 | 34–31 | 23–13 | 8–0 | | | 57–20 | |
| New Orleans Gold | | | | 12–36 | | 15–28 | 7–23 | 31–5 | 12–26 | 35–36 | 40–24 | 37–14 |
| Old Glory DC | 42–27 | | | 24–42 | 17–20 | | 36–28 | 42–31 | | 19–41 | 29–3 | 36–22 |
| Rugby ATL | 27–12 | 19–27 | | 14–35 | 29–16 | 35–27 | | 24–39 | 10–35 | | 17–10 | |
| Rugby NY | | 43–14 | 27–34 | 18–33 | 54–19 | 34–8 | 31–20 | | | | 39–3 | 33–43 |
| San Diego Legion | 48–24 | 22–0 | 29–16 | 29–12 | | 48–26 | | 36–13 | | 40–19 | | 33–17 |
| Seattle Seawolves | 35–13 | 61–19 | 24–12 | 26–34 | | | 28–22 | 25–11 | 20–23 | | | 27–20 |
| Toronto Arrows | | | 26–48 | 5–80 | 24–26 | 29–29 | 34–34 | 27–29 | 17–50 | 27–36 | | |
| Utah Warriors | 24–26 | 33–25 | 34–28 | 26–24 | | | 28–12 | | 16–26 | 41–35 | 47–19 | |
Updated to match(es) played on June 18, 2023 Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.

### Scheduled matches
#### Week 2 (February 24–26)

* Bye/s: Chicago Hounds, Old Glory DC

#### Week 3 (March 3–5)

* Bye/s: New England Free Jacks, Toronto Arrows

#### Week 4 (March 11–12)

* Bye/s: Rugby ATL, Utah Warriors

#### Week 5 (March 18–19)

* Bye/s: Houston SaberCats, Seattle Seawolves

#### Week 6 (March 25–26)

* Bye/s: Rugby New York, San Diego Legion

#### Week 8 (April 8)

* Bye/s: Dallas Jackals, New Orleans Gold

#### Week 11 (April 28–30)

* Bye/s: Chicago Hounds, Old Glory DC, Rugby ATL, Utah Warriors

#### Week 12 (May 6–7)

* Bye/s: Houston Sabercats, New England Free Jacks, Seattle Seawolves, Toronto Arrows

#### Week 14 (May 18–21)

* Bye/s: Rugby New York, San Diego Legion

#### Week 15 (May 27–28)

* Bye/s: Dallas Jackals, New Orleans Gold

#### Week 18 (June 17–18)
## Championship Series
### Bracket

| Eliminators | Eliminators | Eliminators | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 1 | San Diego Legion | 32 | | | |
| 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 37 | 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 10 | | | |
| 3 | Houston Sabercats | 26 | | | | 1 | San Diego Legion | 24 |
| | | | | | | 1 | New England Free Jacks | 25 |
| | | | 1 | New England Free Jacks | 25 | | | |
| 2 | Rugby New York | 33 | 3 | Old Glory DC | 7 | | | |
| 3 | Old Glory DC | 37 | | | | | | |

### Championship final (July 8)
## Player statistics
### Top scorers

The top ten try and point scorers during the 2023 Major League Rugby season are:
Last updated: July 11, 2023
| Most tries |
| No | Player | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Paula Balekana | New England Free Jacks | 15 |
| 2 | Joseph Mano | Utah Warriors | 14 |
| 3 | Riekert Hattingh | Seattle Seawolves | 12 |
| 4 | Tomas Aoaki | San Diego Legion | 11 |
| 4 | Nate Augspurger | San Diego Legion | 11 |
| 4 | Gideon van Wyk | Houston SaberCats | 11 |
| 7 | Dylan Fawsitt | Rugby New York | 10 |
| 7 | William Talataina | Old Glory DC | 10 |
| 9 | Christian Dyer | Houston SaberCats | 9 |
| 9 | Lauina Futi | Seattle Seawolves | 9 |
| 9 | Le Roux Malan | New England Free Jacks | 9 |
| Most points |
| No | Player | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Jayson Potroz | New England Free Jacks | 146 |
| 2 | Davey Coetzer | Houston SaberCats | 135 |
| 3 | Joel Hodgson | Utah Warriors | 122 |
| 4 | AJ Alatimu | Seattle Seawolves | 100 |
| 5 | Joaquín Díaz Bonilla | Old Glory DC | 96 |
| 6 | Will Hooley | San Diego Legion | 89 |
| 7 | Jordan Chait | Seattle Seawolves | 77 |
| 7 | Rodney Iona | New Orleans Gold | 77 |
| 9 | Paula Balekana | New England Free Jacks | 75 |
| 10 | Jason Emery | Rugby New York | 73 |
MLR awards the try scorer 7 points when there is an Automatic Conversion (The ball is touched down between the post in the in-goal area).

### Sanctions

Last updated: May 11, 2023
| Player | Team | Red | Yellow |
| Tiaan Eramsus | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Luke Beauchamp | Chicago Hounds | 0 | 1 |
| Saia Uhila | Utah Warriors | 0 | 3 |
| Andrew Coe | Rugby New York | 0 | 2 |
| Rhyno Herbst | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Travis Larsen | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Tupou Afungia | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Martín Elías | Dallas Jackals | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Maughan | Rugby ATL | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Florence | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Lance Williams | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Emerson Prior | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Djustice Sears-Duru | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Poidevin | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Teihorangi Walden | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Pago Haini | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Conor Keys | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 2 |
| Jesse Parete | New England Free Jacks | 2 | 4 |
| Maclean Jones | Chicago Hounds | 0 | 1 |
| Lucas Rumball | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Noel Reid | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| James O'Neill | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Siaosi Mahoni | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 2 |
| Brendon O'Connor | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Ratu Veremalua Vugakoto | Utah Warriors | 1 | 0 |
| Zion Going | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Isaac Ross | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Michael de Waal | Chicago Hounds | 0 | 2 |
| Mitch Eadie | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Kobe Faust | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 2 |
| Kara Pryor | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Reece Macdonald | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 2 |
| Thomas Tu’avao | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Martini Talapusi | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Dean Muir | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Asa Carter | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Duncan Matthews | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Kaleb Geiger | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Ma'a Nonu | San Diego Legion | 0 | 3 |
| Chris Mattina | Chicago Hounds | 0 | 1 |
| Faʻasui Fuatai | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Johan Momsen | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Rewita Biddle | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Te Rangatira Waitokia | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Wynand Grassmann | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Bailey Wilson | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Peter Nelson | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Dawson Fatoric | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Gideon van Wik | Houston SaberCats | 1 | 0 |
| Conrado Roura | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| JP du Plessis | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Joseph Mano | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Alejo Daireaux | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Kyle Baillie | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Joel Hodgson | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Liam Murray | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Alejandro Torres | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Juan Pablo Zeiss | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Jale Vakaloloma | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Filimona Waqainabete | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Rodney Iona | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Isaia Lotawa | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Jake Turnbull | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Lucas Bur | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Jerónimo Gómez Vara | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Charlie Abel | Chicago Hounds | 0 | 1 |
| Langilangi Haupeakui | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Ben Grant | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Te'o | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |

## End of Season Awards

| Award | Player | Team | Position |
| Coach of the Year | Josh Syms | Old Glory DC | Head Coach |
| Player of the Year | Jayson Potroz | New England Free Jacks | Fly-half |
| Rookie of the Year | Sam Golla | Dallas Jackals | Lock |
| Back of the Year | Nate Augspurger | San Diego Legion | Scrum-half |
| Forward of the Year | Wian Conradie | New England Free Jacks | Flanker |
| S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact | Daniel Kriel | Seattle Seawolves | Centre |