2025 Major League Rugby season

The 2025 Major League Rugby season was the eighth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 15, 2025, and ended on June 28, 2025. Following the shutdown of the Dallas Jackals in September 2024, Major League Rugby featured 11 teams competing in the 2025 season.

The season marked the first of a multiyear media agreement between Major League Rugby and ESPN, with all games streaming on ESPN+ and select games aired nationwide.

For the first time, the MLR Championship Final would be played in Rhode Island at Centreville Bank Stadium.

The New England Free Jacks would go on to capture their third-straight MLR Championship title in beating the Houston SaberCats, 28-22. The club became the first three-time champions in Major League Rugby history, and the first U.S. professional sports team to win three consecutive championships since the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002.

Teams and format

The Dallas Jackals ceased to exist after the 2024 season, leaving 11 teams in the 2025 season.

Regular season

All teams will play eight home games and eight away games followed by a postseason.

<small>Standings updated through 17 June 2025</small>

Notes

• *&nbsp;- League Champions
• z&nbsp;– Clinched home field advantage for the entire playoffs
• c&nbsp;– Clinched home field advantage for the conference semi-finals
• y&nbsp;– Clinched conference title
• x&nbsp;– Clinched playoff spot
• e&nbsp;– Eliminated from playoff contention

Matches

Week 1 (February 15–16)

---

Week 2 (February 21–23)

---

Week 3 (February 28–March 2)

Week 4 (March 7–8)

Week 5 (March 15)

Week 6 (March 22)

Week 7 (March 29)

Week 8 (April 5–6)

Week 9 (April 12–13)

Week 10 (April 18–19)

Week 11 (April 22–27)

Week 12 (April 30–May 4)

Week 13 (May 9–12)

Week 14 (May 13–19)

Week 15 (May 23–24)

Week 16 (May 30–June 1)

Week 17 (June 4–8)

Championship Series

Bracket

Conference Semi-Finals (June 14–15)

Conference Finals (June 21)

Championship final (June)

Records, milestones, and notable statistics

Preseason

• Rugby Football Club Los Angeles played the Fijian Drua in an exhibition match, the first match between teams from MLR and Super Rugby.

Week Two

• Chicago Hounds' hooker Dylan Fawsitt becomes the first player with 100 MLR appearances.

Week Seven

• Anthem Rugby Carolina became the first team to field an all-domestic roster in an MLR game.

Week Nine

• Anthem RC sets the record for longest losing streak in MLR history, with 23 consecutive losses. The previous record of 22 was set by the Dallas Jackals between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Week Ten

• Seattle Seawolves' scrum half Juan-Philip Smith becomes the second player with 100 MLR appearances, and the first to do so with one team.

Week Eleven

• Utah Warriors' prop Angus MacLellan becomes the first American-born player, and third overall, to appear in 100 MLR games.
• The Houston Sabercats and New Orleans Gold both record the 50th wins in their franchises' histories.

Week Sixteen

• The Miami Sharks qualify for the MLR playoffs for the first time in franchise history after defeating the San Diego Legion 36-32.

Week Seventeen

• Anthem RC finishes with an 0–16 record for the second consecutive season, becoming the first team in MLR season with multiple winless seasons.
• The Utah Warriors and Chicago Hounds both clinch a home playoff game for the first time in their franchise histories.

Conference Semifinals

• The Utah Warriors win their first postseason game in club history, defeating the Seattle Seawolves 23-21.
• The New England Free Jacks advance to their fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, becoming the first MLR team to play in four conference finals games.
• The Houston SaberCats win their first postseason game in club history, defeating RFC Los Angeles 27-21.

Conference Finals

• The New England Free Jacks win their third-straight Eastern Conference title, becoming the first team to play in three consecutive MLR Championship finals.
• The Free Jacks also set the record for largest postseason comeback in MLR history, overcoming a 17-point deficit to defeat the Chicago Hounds 21-20.
• The Houston SaberCats defeat the Utah Warriors to advance to their first MLR Championship final.

Championship Final

• The New England Free Jacks win their third-straight MLR Championship Final, becoming the first three-time champions in Major League Rugby history, and the first U.S. sports team to win three consecutive championships since the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002.

Postseason

• Utah Warriors lock Frank Lochore sets the MLR single-season tackles record with 303, breaking the previous record of 246 set in 2024 by Cory Daniel.
• MLR referee Lex Weiner is appointed by World Rugby to officiate the third-place match between France and Argentina in the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship, the highest level of competition reached by an American male MLR referee.
• Paula Balekana is named MLR Player of the Year, the fourth-straight year a member of the New England Free Jacks won the award.
• Miami Sharks CEO Milagros Cubelli wins the inaugural MLR Executive of the Year Award

Player statistics

Top scorers

The top five try and point scorers during the 2024 Major League Rugby season are:

Last updated: June 8, 2025

<small>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).</small> <br> <small>References:</small>

End of Season Awards

All-League Teams

Major League Rugby announced its First and Second All-MLR Teams in July 2025. The Utah Warriors were the most represented team, with four players in the First Team and three in the Second Team.

References