# 2022 Major League Rugby season

The 2022 Major League Rugby season was the fifth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 5, 2022.
The Dallas Jackals made their debut this season, having postponed their inaugural season from 2021.
MLR added Television Match Officials (TMO) to assist in-game referees with making the correct decisions during all matches.

## Teams and format

| Conference | Club | Metro area | Stadium | Capacity | Coach | Captain |
| Western Conference | Austin Gilgronis | Austin, Texas | Bold Stadium | 5,036 | Sam Harris | Bryce Campbell |
| Western Conference | Dallas Jackals | Dallas, Texas | Choctaw Stadium | 48,114 | Elaine Vassie (interim) | Chris Pennell |
| Western Conference | Houston SaberCats | Houston, Texas | Aveva Stadium | 4,000 | Pote Human | Dean Muir |
| Western Conference | LA Giltinis | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 77,500 | Stephen Hoiles | Dave Dennis |
| Western Conference | San Diego Legion | San Diego, California | SDSU Sports Deck | 3,000 | Danny Lee | Nate Augspurger |
| 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 | Shawn Pittman (1-7) Brandon Sparks (Interim, 8–18) | 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 | Andrew Douglas (1-7) Nate Osborne (9-18) | Danny Tusitala |
| Eastern Conference | Rugby New York | New York, New York | Cochrane Stadium | 4,000 | Marty Veale | Nate Brakeley |
| Eastern Conference | Rugby ATL | Atlanta, Georgia | Silverbacks Park | 5,000 | Stephen Brett | Matt Heaton Ryan Nell |
| Eastern Conference | Toronto Arrows | Toronto, Ontario Langford, British Columbia | York Lions Stadium Starlight Stadium | 4,000 6,000 | Peter Smith | Mike Sheppard |
* ↑ Starfire Stadium is in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, Washington.
* ↑ Silverbacks Park is in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville, Georgia.
* ↑ Toronto played their match against the LA Giltinis in Langford, BC.

## Regular season

The regular season consisted of 18 weeks, with each team playing 16 matches, beginning on February 5, 2022 and ending on June 5.

### Standings

MLR Eastern Conference :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New England Free Jacks (SF) | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 454 | 328 | +126 | 63 | 45 | 8 | 2 | 62 | Eastern Conference Finals |
| 2 | Rugby ATL | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 468 | 340 | +128 | 64 | 43 | 11 | 2 | 57 | Eastern Conference Semi-Finals |
| 3 | Rugby New York (C) | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 433 | 408 | +25 | 63 | 57 | 10 | 2 | 56 | Eastern Conference Semi-Finals |
| 4 | Toronto Arrows | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 414 | 390 | +24 | 53 | 56 | 7 | 2 | 41 | |
| 5 | New Orleans Gold | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 358 | 517 | −159 | 50 | 72 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| 6 | Old Glory DC | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 423 | 591 | −168 | 66 | 85 | 8 | 3 | 23 | |
* 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 (C) Champions; (SF) Losing semi-finalists
MLR Western Conference :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Austin Gilgronis (D) | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 475 | 229 | +246 | 64 | 27 | 9 | 1 | 58 | Disqualified from postseason play |
| 2 | LA Giltinis (D) | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 443 | 283 | +160 | 61 | 36 | 9 | 1 | 54 | Disqualified from postseason play |
| 3 | Houston SaberCats (SF) | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 408 | 393 | +15 | 61 | 53 | 8 | 4 | 48 | Western Conference Finals |
| 4 | Seattle Seawolves (RU) | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 435 | 354 | +81 | 54 | 45 | 6 | 4 | 46 | Western Conference Semi-Finals |
| 5 | San Diego Legion | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 475 | 428 | +47 | 59 | 54 | 8 | 3 | 43 | Western Conference Semi-Finals |
| 6 | Utah Warriors | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 424 | 395 | +29 | 57 | 56 | 6 | 7 | 33 | |
| 7 | Dallas Jackals | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 198 | 752 | −554 | 27 | 112 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
* 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 (D) Disqualified from postseason play; (SF) Losing semi-finalist; (RU) Runners-up. Notes:
* 1 2 Austin Gilgronis & LA Giltinis were disqualified from any 2022 postseason play.

### Matches

The following are the match results for the 2022 Major League Rugby regular season:
| Home \ Away | AUS | DAL | HOU | LA | NE | NO | DC | ATL | NY | SD | SEA | TOR | UTA |
| Austin Gilgronis | | 43–7 | 43–5 | 22–9 | 17–25 | | 57–12 | | | 44–28 | 17–6 | | 24–10 |
| Dallas Jackals | 3–57 | | 33–38 | 12–56 | | 26–32 | | | 5–41 | 14–53 | 12–34 | | 5–33 |
| Houston SaberCats | 14–29 | 31–6 | | 21–11 | | | | | 7–10 | 20–31 | 21–19 | 29–17 | 31–27 |
| LA Giltinis | 10–8 | 47–7 | 17–12 | | 19–15 | | | | 43–0 | 26–13 | 27–35 | | 19–28 |
| NE Free Jacks | | | | | | 33–29 | 26–20 | 15–10 | 14–21 | | 22–20 | 21–15 | 33–17 |
| New Orleans Gold | 10–32 | | | | 13–24 | | 50–21 | 9–14 | 19–30 | 12–42 | | 23–24 | |
| Old Glory DC | | 50–10 | 42–59 | | 25–41 | 22–31 | | 13–27 | 49–59 | | | 5–29 | 22–21 |
| Rugby ATL | 29–14 | | 29–22 | 19–31 | 27–41 | 45–19 | 55–22 | | 31–36 | | | 34–23 | |
| Rugby NY | | | | | 29–38 | 36–28 | 35–31 | 3–38 | | 26–23 | 30–22 | 10–14 | |
| San Diego Legion | 21–35 | 37–29 | 24–34 | 31–27 | | | 24–12 | 17–30 | | | 28–31 | | 31–29 |
| Seattle Seawolves | 18–25 | 74–7 | 43–36 | 12–31 | | 24–25 | | | | 34–32 | | 21–8 | 20–17 |
| Toronto Arrows | | 57–0 | | 16–31 | 33–18 | 53–36 | 32–27 | 14–20 | 17–41 | | | | |
| Utah Warriors | 22–8 | 69–22 | 12–28 | 32–39 | | | | 44–26 | | 25–40 | 14–20 | 24–27 | |
Updated to match(es) played on June 5, 2022 Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.

### Eastern Conference Extra Matches

| Home \ Away | NE | NO | DC | ATL |
| NE Free Jacks | | 57–5 | | |
| New Orleans Gold | | | | 17–34 |
| Old Glory DC | | | | |
| Rugby ATL | | | | |
| Rugby United NY | 26–29 | | | |
| Toronto Arrows | | | 35–50 | |
Updated to match(es) played on June 5, 2022 Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.

### Scheduled matches
#### Week 1 (February 5–6)

* Bye/s: Rugby New York

#### Week 2 (February 10–12)

* Bye/s: New England Free Jacks

#### Week 3 (February 18–20)

* Bye/s: LA Giltinis

#### Week 4 (February 26–27)

* Bye/s: New Orleans Gold, Rugby ATL, Utah Warriors

#### Week 5 (March 4–6)

* Bye/s: Toronto Arrows

#### Week 6 (March 12–13)

* Bye/s: Old Glory DC

#### Week 7 (March 19–20)

* Bye/s: Houston SaberCats

#### Week 8 (March 26–27)

* Bye/s: Austin Gilgronis, Dallas Jackals, San Diego Legion

#### Week 9 (April 1–3)

* Bye/s: Seattle Seawolves

#### Week 10 (April 9–10)

* Bye/s: Utah Warriors

#### Week 11 (April 15–16)

* Bye/s: New England Free Jacks, Rugby ATL, Rugby New York

#### Week 12 (April 23–24)

* Bye/s: LA Giltinis

#### Week 13 (April 30 – May 1)

* Bye/s: Houston SaberCats, Old Glory DC, Toronto Arrows

#### Week 14 (May 7–8)

* Bye/s: New Orleans Gold

#### Week 15 (May 13–15)

* Bye/s: Austin Gilgronis

#### Week 16 (May 19–22)

* Bye/s: Seattle Seawolves

#### Week 17 (May 27–29)

* Bye/s: Dallas Jackals

#### Week 18 (June 3–5)

* Bye/s: San Diego Legion

## Playoffs
### Competition controversy

On June 7, due to breaches of the salary cap rules, Major League Rugby disqualified the two top teams in the Western Conference, the Austin Gilgronis and the LA Giltinis, from the playoffs. After the Seattle Seawolves defeated the San Diego Legion in the Western Conference Eliminator, the Houston SaberCats hosted the Western Conference Final against the Seawolves at Aveva Stadium. The match served as Houston's first appearance in the MLR playoffs.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | 1 | New England Free Jacks | 16 | | | |
| 2 | Rugby ATL | 19 | 3 | Rugby United New York | 24 | | | |
| 3 | Rugby United New York | 26 | | | | 3 | Rugby United New York | 30 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 15 |
| | | | 1 | Houston Sabercats | 27 | | | |
| 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 43 | 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 46 | | | |
| 3 | San Diego Legion | 19 | | | | | | |

### Championship final (June 25)
## Player statistics
### Top scorers

The top ten try and point scorers during the 2022 Major League Rugby season were:
Last updated: June 26, 2022
| Most tries |
| No | Player | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Ed Fidow | Rugby New York | 12 |
| 2 | Riekert Hattingh | Seattle Seawolves | 10 |
| 2 | Dean Muir | Houston SaberCats | 10 |
| 4 | Marko Janse van Rensburg | Rugby ATL | 9 |
| 4 | Peni Lasaqa | Old Glory DC | 9 |
| 6 | Hanco Germishuys | LA Giltinis | 8 |
| 6 | Slade McDowall | New England Free Jacks | 8 |
| 6 | Mark O'Keeffe | Austin Gilgronis | 8 |
| 6 | Renata Roberts-Tenana | Old Glory DC | 8 |
| 6 | William Talataina | Old Glory DC | 8 |
| 6 | Beaudein Waaka | New England Free Jacks | 8 |
| Most points |
| No | Player | Team | Pts |
| 1 | AJ Alatimu | Seattle Seawolves | 166 |
| 2 | Beaudein Waaka | New England Free Jacks | 154 |
| 3 | Joe Pietersen | San Diego Legion | 146 |
| 4 | Sam Malcolm | Toronto Arrows | 100 |
| 5 | Mack Mason | Austin Gilgronis | 86 |
| 6 | Kurt Coleman | Rugby ATL | 83 |
| 7 | David Coetzer | Houston SaberCats | 79 |
| 8 | Joaquín de la Vega Mendía | Rugby ATL | 76 |
| 8 | Rohan Saifoloi | Old Glory DC | 76 |
| 10 | Jack Heighton | Rugby New York | 67 |

### Sanctions

| Player | Team | Red | Yellow |
| Gerrie Labuschagné | Houston SaberCats | 2 | 1 |
| Apisai Naikatini | Old Glory DC | 1 | 1 |
| Niall Saunders | Utah Warriors | 1 | 1 |
| Slade McDowall | New England Free Jacks | 1 | 1 |
| Matt Frings | Dallas Jackals | 1 | 0 |
| Hanco Germishuys | LA Giltinis | 1 | 0 |
| Maciu Koroi | New Orleans Gold | 1 | 0 |
| Maikeli Naromaitoga | Houston SaberCats | 1 | 0 |
| Jake Turnbull | Austin Gilgronis | 1 | 0 |
| Will Tucker | Rugby New York | 1 | 1 |
| Riekert Hattingh | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 3 |
| Nate Brakeley | Rugby New York | 0 | 2 |
| Kisi Unufe | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 2 |
| Keni Nasoqeqe | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 2 |
| Ma'a Nonu | San Diego Legion | 0 | 2 |
| Leslie Leulua'iali'i-Makin | LA Giltinis | 0 | 2 |
| Asa Carter | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 2 |
| Tiaan Loots | San Diego Legion | 0 | 2 |
| Josh Larsen | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 2 |
| Andy Ellis | Rugby New York | 0 | 2 |
| Joseph Mano | Utah Warriors | 0 | 2 |
| Conrado Roura | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Bronson Teles | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Robbie Coleman | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Pieter Jansen | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Kellen Gordon | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Jordan Trainor | LA Giltinis | 0 | 1 |
| Carlo de Nysschen | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Malcolm May | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Dino Waldren | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Alex Tucci | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Moe Abdelmonem | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Keni Nasoqeqe | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Robshaw | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Cole Keith | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Jurie van Vuuren | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Hugh Roach | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Ostberg | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Chad London | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Samu Manoa | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| James Malcolm | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Lui Sitama | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Jesse Parete | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Setefano Funaki | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Nicolás Solveyra | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Ueta Tufuga | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Ciulini | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| James O'Neill | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Reeves | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Louwrens | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Casey McDermott Vai | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Johnny Sheridan | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Sheppard | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Djustice Sears-Duru | LA Giltinis | 0 | 1 |
| Thomas Tu'avao | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| James Mocke | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Tevita Tameilau | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Jaco Bezuidenhout | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Frikkie de Beer | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Cam Dodson | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Siaosi Mahoni | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Emmanuel Albert | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Payton Telea-Ilalio | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Junior Sa'u | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Kelly Kolberg | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Ben Mitchell | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Baumann | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Taufeteʻe | LA Giltinis | 0 | 1 |
| Paula Balekana | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Herman Agenbag | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Tommy Madaras | Dallas Jackals | 0 | 1 |
| Tevita Naqali | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Paddy Ryan | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Matai Leuta | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Jesse Parete | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Johan Momsen | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| Juan Pablo Zeiss | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Marno Redelinghuys | Houston SaberCats | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Iscaro | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Rhyno Herbst | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Andrew Quattrin | Toronto Arrows | 0 | 1 |
| Mills Sanerivi | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Fintan Coleman | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Felix Kalapu | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Smith | San Diego Legion | 0 | 1 |
| Julián Domínguez | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Lachlan McCaffrey | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Will Burke | Rugby ATL | 0 | 1 |
| AJ Alatimu | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Burns | Utah Warriors | 0 | 1 |
| Stan South | Old Glory DC | 0 | 1 |
| Chance Wenglewski | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Wian Conradie | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Osaiasi Tonga'uiha | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Billy Stewart | New Orleans Gold | 0 | 1 |
| Beaudein Waaka | New England Free Jacks | 0 | 1 |
| Wilton Rebolo | Rugby New York | 0 | 1 |
| Pele Cowley | Austin Gilgronis | 0 | 1 |
| Luke Carty | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |
| Cyrille Cama | Seattle Seawolves | 0 | 1 |

## End of Season Awards

| Award | Player | Team | Position |
| Coach of the Year | Scott Mathie | New England Free Jacks | Head Coach |
| Player of the Year | Beaudein Waaka | New England Free Jacks | Fly-half |
| Rookie of the Year | Tavite Lopeti | Seattle Seawolves | Outside Center |
| Back of the Year | Bill Meakes | LA Giltinis | Center |
| Forward of the Year | Brendon O'Connor | Rugby New York | Flanker |
The MLR introduced a new postseason award; the S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award, which honors the MLR player who has made a "positive impact in their community while exuding the values of the sport of rugby".
The award is named after the late S. Marcus Calloway, the former chairman and majority owner of Rugby ATL who died in December 2021. It will be awarded to the player who shows "passion, excellence and integrity on and off the field, inspires others to action, shows strength in character, aids those less fortunate, and embraces the core values of rugby, while displaying solidarity, discipline and respect". Each Major League Rugby team will nominate one player each year for the award, with a committee made up of MLR Commissioner George Killebrew, Deputy Commissioner Bill Goren and Marcus' widow Clea Calloway, selecting the winner from the 13 nominees. The winning player will be presented with a commemorative trophy and a $5,000 donation to the non-profit of their choice at the MLR Championship Final.
During the MLR Championship Final, it was announced that Andrew Quattrin of the Toronto Arrows was the recipient of the inaugural S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award. Quattrin was presented with a commemorative trophy and a $5,000 donation to his non-profit, Optimism Place.