# 2023 Major League Rugby final

The 2023 Major League Rugby Championship Final was the fifth Major League Rugby (MLR) championship match, held at the conclusion of the 6th season of the rugby union club competition in North America. The match was played on July 8, 2023, at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. It was the first MLR Final to be held in Illinois, and the first since the 2019 final to be held at a pre-determined venue. The match was won by the New England Free Jacks over the San Diego Legion by a score of 25-24, claiming their first MLR Championship.

## Background

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 |||||||||||||
On March 16, 2023, MLR announced that the Championship Final would be held at SeatGeek Stadium, the home ground of the Chicago Hounds. The format for qualifying for the Championship Series remained the same from 2022, with the top-ranked team of each conference receiving a bye to the Conference Final, as well as home advantage. Likewise, the second-ranked team would host the third-ranked team of their respective conference, in the Eliminators.
In the Western Conference, San Diego Legion qualified for the Championship Series following a victory over the defending Champions, Rugby New York. They were then able to secure the top ranking with a victory over the Toronto Arrows. The second-ranked team, the Seattle Seawolves, qualified following a victory over the Utah Warriors. The third-ranked team, Houston Sabercats, qualified following a victory over Old Glory DC.
In the Eastern Conference, New England Free Jacks qualified both for the Championship Series, and the top ranking, with a victory over the Toronto Arrows. The second-ranked team, Old Glory DC, qualified for the Championship series following their victory over New Orleans Gold. Finally, defending Champions, Rugby New York, qualified after their victory over Rugby ATL.

## Championship Series
### Western Conference

In the Western Eliminator, the Seattle Seawolves defeated Houston Sabercats 37-26, at Starfire Sports Stadium. This marked Seattle's fourth and Houston's second Championship Series appearances, respectfully. The teams had previously faced each other in the Championship Series in 2022.
In the Conference Final, Seattle were hosted by San Diego Legion, at Snapdragon Stadium, where the Legion won 32-10. This marked the third time San Diego has reached the Championship Series, and the first time they played in the Conference Final. Seattle reached their second Conference Final in succession. This also marked San Diego and Seattle's fourth encounter in the post-season, having previously met in the 2018 semi-final, 2019 final, and 2022 eliminator.

### Eastern Conference

The Eastern Eliminator featured Rugby New York hosting Old Glory DC, with Washington upset New York 37-33. This was New York's third consecutive appearance in the Championship Series, having reached the Conference Final in 2021, and winning the Championship Final in 2022. This also marked DC's first appearance in the post-season, since their inception in 2020.
In the Conference Final, New England Free Jacks hosted Old Glory DC, at Veterans Memorial Stadium, winning the match 25-7. This was New England's second Eastern Conference final, having finished top of the Eastern ranking in both 2022 and 2023, and DC's first. The match also marked New England's and DC's first encounter in the Championship Series.

## Venue

On March 16, 2023, MLR announced that the Championship Final would be held at SeatGeek Stadium, the home ground of the Chicago Hounds. Part of the festivities includes a pre-match DJ set by Shaquille O'Neal (as DJ Diesel,) and a post-match concert by Dropkick Murphys.

## Broadcasting

The match was broadcast in the United States on Fox, averaging 269,000 viewers. It was available internationally on The Rugby Network.

## Championship final
### Details

The San Diego Legion were declared the "home" side, after accumulating more table points in the regular season.
* July 8 14:00 CDT
| San Diego Legion | 24–25 | New England Free Jacks |
| Try: Christian Poidevin 9′ Nate Augspurger (2) 29′, 60′ Con: Will Hooley (3/3) 10′, 30′, 61′ Pen: Will Hooley (1/1) 40’+2′ Josh Henderson (0/1) Drop: Ma'a Nonu (0/1) | Report | Try: Mitch Jacobson 4′ Paula Balekana 45′ Le Roux Malan 76′ Con: Jayson Potroz (2/3) 5′, 46′ Pen: Jayson Potroz (2/2) 14′, 18′ |
* SeatGeek Stadium Attendance: 10,103 Referee: Joe James (RFU)
* Assistants: Cam Stone (NZR) & Lex Weiner (USAR)
* TMO: Nick Hannon (USAR)
* Man of the Match: Jayson Potroz (New England Free Jacks)