2024 Major League Rugby season
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2024 Major League Rugby season | |
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Countries | United States (12 teams) |
Date | March 2 – August 4 |
Champions | New England Free Jacks (2nd Title) |
Runners-up | Seattle Seawolves |
Matches played | 103 |
Attendance | 16,115 (average 156 per match) |
Highest attendance | 12,085 Seattle Seawolves 11–20 New England Free Jacks August 4, 2024 |
Official website | |
majorleague | |
The 2024 Major League Rugby season was the seventh season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on March 2, 2024, and lasted through June 29, 2024, with the Championship Series to follow.[1]
The Miami Sharks and Anthem Rugby Carolina made their league debut this season, as well as Rugby Football Club Los Angeles following their move from Atlanta.[2][3][4] The Toronto Arrows and Rugby New York withdrew from the league following the 2023 season.[5][6] This leaves a total of 12 teams competing for the 2024 season.
Teams and format
[edit]Following the departure of Toronto and New York, the arrival of Miami and Charlotte, and the relocation of Atlanta to Los Angeles, the League had 12 teams for the 2024 season. As a result, Chicago was moved to the Eastern conference, ensuring both conferences had 6 teams each.
Regular season
[edit]The regular season will consist of 18 weeks, with each team playing 16 matches, beginning on March 2, 2024, and ending on June 29.
Standings
[edit]2024 MLR Eastern Conference ( ) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
1 | New England Free Jacks | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 463 | 344 | 119 | 65 | 45 | 8 | 3 | 55 |
2 | New Orleans Gold | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 410 | 349 | 61 | 58 | 47 | 8 | 2 | 50 |
3 | Chicago Hounds | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 454 | 387 | 67 | 65 | 51 | 7 | 4 | 45 |
4 | Old Glory DC | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 394 | 416 | -22 | 50 | 57 | 6 | 4 | 42 |
5 | Miami Sharks | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 335 | 389 | -54 | 40 | 51 | 4 | 4 | 32 |
6 | Anthem Rugby Carolina | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 323 | 676 | -353 | 47 | 102 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
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):
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2024 MLR Western Conference ( ) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
1 | Houston SaberCats | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 478 | 347 | 131 | 66 | 47 | 11 | 0 | 67 |
2 | Seattle Seawolves | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 498 | 373 | 125 | 63 | 49 | 9 | 4 | 57 |
3 | San Diego Legion | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 421 | 374 | 47 | 51 | 45 | 7 | 4 | 55 |
4 | Dallas Jackals | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 482 | 450 | 32 | 71 | 62 | 10 | 9 | 43 |
5 | Utah Warriors | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 424 | 471 | -47 | 60 | 67 | 7 | 8 | 35 |
6 | RFC Los Angeles | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 367 | 473 | -106 | 54 | 67 | 8 | 2 | 32 |
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):
|
Matches
[edit]The following are the match results for the 2024 Major League Rugby regular season:
Updated to match(es) played on May 2, 2024
Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.
Scheduled matches
[edit]Championship Series
[edit]Bracket
[edit]Conference Semi-Finals | Conference Finals | Final | ||||||||||||
1 | Houston Sabercats | 22 | ||||||||||||
4 | Dallas Jackals | 34 | ||||||||||||
2 | Seattle Seawolves | 28 | ||||||||||||
4 | Dallas Jackals | 25 | ||||||||||||
2 | Seattle Seawolves | 30 | ||||||||||||
3 | San Diego Legion | 28 | ||||||||||||
2 | Seattle Seawolves | 11 | ||||||||||||
1 | New England Free Jacks | 20 | ||||||||||||
1 | New England Free Jacks | 33 | ||||||||||||
4 | Old Glory DC | 29 | ||||||||||||
1 | New England Free Jacks | 23 | ||||||||||||
3 | Chicago Hounds | 17 | ||||||||||||
2 | New Orleans Gold | 21 | ||||||||||||
3 | Chicago Hounds | 45 |
The play-off draw is seeded based on final positions in the regular season conference tables.
The higher-ranked teams in the Conference Semi-finals and Conference Finals have home field advantage.
Conference Semi-Finals (July 20–21)
[edit]July 20, 2024 17:00 EDT (UTC−04:00) |
New England Free Jacks | 33−29 | Old Glory DC |
Try: MacDonald 3' Melvin 35' Lennon 40' Con: Potroz 4' 36' 40+1' Pen: Potroz 10' 15' 38' 59' | Report[7] |
Veterans Memorial Stadium Referee: Lex Weiner (USA) |
July 20, 2024 19:30 EDT (UTC−04:00) |
Houston SaberCats | 22−34 | Dallas Jackals |
Report[8] |
SaberCats Stadium Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) |
July 21, 2024 18:30 EDT (UTC−04:00) |
New Orleans Gold | 21−45 | Chicago Hounds |
Report[9] |
Gold Mine Referee: Scott Green (USA) |
July 21, 2024 21:00 EDT (UTC−04:00) |
Seattle Seawolves | 30−28 | San Diego Legion |
Report[10] |
Starfire Sports Referee: Luke Rogan (USA) |
Conference Finals (July 27–28)
[edit]July 27, 2024 13:00 EDT (UTC−04:00) |
New England Free Jacks | 23–17 | Chicago Hounds |
Try: R. MacDonald (2) 20' m, 23' m A. Quattrin 71' c Con: J. Potroz (1/3) 72' Pen: J. Potroz (2/2) 45', 58' Cards: C. Keys ![]() | Report[11][12] | Try: N. Augspurger 40' c D. Fawsitt 65' c Con: L. Carty (2/2) 40’+1', 66′ Pen: L. Carty (1/2) 54' |
Veterans Memorial Stadium Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) |
July 28, 2024 16:00 EDT (UTC−04:00) |
Seattle Seawolves | 28–25 | Dallas Jackals |
Try: Penalty try 22' J. Taufete’e 36' c J. Smith 50' c R. Rees 78' c Con: M. Mason (1/1) 51' S. Windsor (1/1) 79' Pen: M. Mason (0/1) Cards: M. Ngakuru ![]() | Report[13][14] | Try: N. Benn (2) 12' c, 31' c T. Bekerman 73' m Con: J. Oliver (2/2) 13', 32' Pen: J. Oliver (2/3) 3', 29' Cards: J. Zeiss ![]() M. Alikhan ![]() |
Starfire Sports Referee: Scott Green (USA) |
Championship final (August 4)
[edit]August 4, 2024 1:00 pm PDT |
Seattle Seawolves | 11–20 | New England Free Jacks |
Try: J. Taufete’e 31' m Con: M. Mason (0/1) Pen: M. Mason (2/3) 25', 48' Cards: T. Lopeti ![]() | Report[15] | Try: L. Malan 14' Con: J. Potroz (0/1) Pen: J. Potroz (5/5) 9', 28', 40’+1', 45', 52' |
Snapdragon Stadium Attendance: 12,085 Referee: Luke Rogan (USA) |
References
[edit]- ^ "Major League Rugby Unveils 2024 Slate Of Matchups". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ "Major League Rugby Comes to Charlotte in a Groundbreaking Partnership". Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ "Expansion Teams Headline Off-Season of Growth for Major League Rugby". Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ "Major League Rugby's Atlanta Team to Relocate to Los Angeles". Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ "Toronto Arrows to not compete in 2024 MLR Season". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ "Former champions New York out of 2024 MLR season". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ "Free Jacks survive stern challenge from Old Glory in Quincy". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Sensational Jackals knock out top-seeded SaberCats". Americas Rugby News. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Strong second half sees Chicago past NOLA into East Final". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Seawolves hang on to halt Legion and book West Final spot". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Free Jacks are final-bound after pulsating win over Hounds". Americas Rugby News.
- ^ "NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS BEAT CHICAGO HOUNDS 23-17 IN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ "Seawolves pushed to the brink in West Final win over Jackals". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ "WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL REVIEW: SEATTLE REACH CHAMPIONSHIP WITH LAST-MINUTE SCORE". Major League Rugbby. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ "Free Jacks beat Seawolves to claim second straight MLR title". americas rugby news. Retrieved August 5, 2024.