A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2018 Major League Rugby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | April 21 – July 7 |
| Champions | Seattle Seawolves (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Glendale Raptors |
| Matches played | 31 |
| Top point scorer | Sam Windsor (103) |
| Top try scorer | Tonata Lauti (9) |
| Official website | |
| www | |
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.
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
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Elite |  Alain Hyardet |
 Andrew Suniula |
Multipurpose Complex | 3,500 |
| Glendale Raptors | David Williams |
Shaun Davies |
Infinity Park | 5,000 |
| Houston SaberCats |  Justin Fitzpatrick |
Kyle Sumsion |
Dyer Stadium | 6,000 |
| New Orleans Gold |  Nate Osborne |
 Taylor Howden |
Eagle Athletic Facility | 3,000 |
| San Diego Legion |  Rob Hoadley |
Nate Augspurger |
Torero Stadium | 6,000 |
| Seattle Seawolves |  Phil Mack |
Shalom Suniula |
Starfire Stadium | 3,800 |
| Utah Warriors | Alf Daniels |
Paul Lasike |
Zions Bank Stadium | 5,000 |
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:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale Raptors (P) | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 249 | 165 | +84 | 6 | 0 | 34 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Seattle Seawolves (C) | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 232 | 188 | +44 | 4 | 1 | 29 | |
| 3 | San Diego Legion | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 214 | 201 | +13 | 3 | 1 | 24 | |
| 4 | Utah Warriors | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 269 | 274 | −5 | 7 | 3 | 22 | |
| 5 | Austin Elite | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 224 | 238 | −14 | 5 | 1 | 18 | |
| 6 | New Orleans Gold | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 209 | 291 | −82 | 4 | 1 | 17 | |
| 7 | Houston SaberCats | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 216 | 256 | −40 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 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).
Matches
The following matches were played for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season:
Week 1
| April 21 | Houston SaberCats | 26–35 | New Orleans Gold | Dyer Stadium, Houston, Texas | ||
| 3:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) | Try: Osea Kolinisau 18' m Josua Vici (2) 25' c, 78' c Justin Allen 66' c Con: Windsor (3/4) 26', 67', 79' |
Report | Try: Sebastián Kalm 33' c Nikola Bursic 44' m Matt Hughston 58' c JP Eloff 73' c Con: JP Eloff (3/4) 34', 59', 74' Pen: JP Eloff (3/5) 21', 47', 80' |
Referee: Paul-Henri Courbier (France) |
| April 21 | Glendale Raptors | 41–26 | Austin Elite | Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado | ||
| 5:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) | Try: Connor Cook 33' c John Quill 37' c Ben Landry 40' c Maximo de Achaval 44' c Harley Davidson 47' c Con: Will Magie (5/5) 34', 38', 40', 45', 48' Pen: Will Magie (2/3) 21', 80' |
Report | Try: Reece Czarnecki (2) 14' c, 75' m Hanco Germishuys 52' c Ben Mitchell 59' c Con: Timothée Guillimin (3/4) 15', 53', 60' Pen: Timothée Guillimin (0/1) |
Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada) |
| April 22 | Seattle Seawolves | 39–23 | San Diego Legion | Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, Washington | ||
| 8:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) | Try: Brock Staller 21' c Penalty try (3) 36', 58', 68' Cam Polson 75' m Con: Brock Staller (1/2) 22' Pen: Brock Staller (2/3) 10', 32' |
Report | Try: Chris Turori 64' c Drew Gaffney 72' c Con: Ben Cima (2/2) 65', 73' Pen: Ben Cima (3/4) 5', 27', 43' |
Attendance: 3,500[6] Referee: Derek Summers (United States) |
| Bye/s: Utah Warriors |