MLR Final: Tomorrow, June 28, 2pm ET

USA vs Belgium (Men): 8 days (July 5th)

USA vs England (Men): 22 days (July 19th)

USA vs Fiji (Women): 22 days (July 19th)

West Coast Sevens: 92 days (September 27th)

🏥 A rugger in need.
One of the most beautiful things about rugby is the brotherhood. I saw it firsthand at Nationals this year during the Club semifinal, when a scary-looking injury brought the game to a halt. After the player was loaded into the ambulance, both teams—Charlotte Cardinals and Belmont Shore—formed a giant circle and bowed their heads together in prayer. I wasn’t close enough to hear the words, but the image said everything. These boys—mid-battle, bruised and breathless—locked arms for a fallen rugger.

Well, it’s time to circle up again, lads.

Oliver Baerman, a player for the Snoqualmie Valley Wildcats (WA), was in a serious car accident on June 6. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and has a long recovery ahead. His community is rallying—but they need our help.

👉 Donate to support Oliver here.
👉 Follow Oliver’s story here.

💥 Texas Sevens: The Barbarians Are Rolling
The Barbarians are going full beast mode on the summer sevens circuit. They’ve made the final in three straight tournaments, and just bagged their second trophy with a 26-7 win over St. Thomas Houston at the Sabercats Sevens.

Offensively, Steffan Du Plooy and captain Lucas Martinelli are running the show. On the other side of the ball, Clay Cordle and Eze Dias were everywhere—stacking turnovers and landing highlight tackles all tournament long. Impressive stuff.

🛩️ Legion sends another Academy Squad Down Under

Following a strong showing from their U18s, The SD Legion is sending a U16 squad over to New Zealand and Australia to test their mettle. The roster is filled with SoCal talent—Cathedral Catholic, Torrey Pines, Carlsbad Thunder, SOC Raptors, among others—all represented by future stars.

Here’s what’s on tap for the youngsters:

Talk about a stacked tour! Good luck, boys!

💥15s action across the country this weekend

Mount St. Mary’s Invitational — June 27-28
Several academy and select teams will compete this weekend at the beautiful campus in Emmitsburg, MD

Some teams competing:

Great NorthWest Challenge — June 28-29
Taking place in Bozeman Montana, the Great Northwest Challenge is both a college showcase and a USA Talent ID event. (translation: There’s gonna be scouts—good opportunity to get on the radar)

Who’s competing? All-star squads from several states, including:

📺 Catch the live-stream here.

We’ve got some more selections to the Unsung XV.

New here? The Unsung XV is where we shine a light on the players who brought grit, toughness, and team-first effort all season long. They don’t always make the highlight reel—but their coaches know, their teammates know, and now you do too.

Let’s get into it 🔦

🏉Noteworthy: Cole missed Nationals last year with an injury—a gutting setback for a talented young player. He put in the work this season, came back stronger, and became a force for the Raptors. Relentless on defense and masterful at the breakdown, Cole had a knack for timely turnovers and big stops. He was a major reason the Raptors captured the Tier 2 National title this spring. Real Unsung Hero stuff.

💬Coach’s quote: “A player’s value is often shown when they’re not playing! In two games this season, we lost both that Cole could not play. We were missing 5 turnovers and 25 tackles.” - Sam McMillan, SOC Raptors, Head Coach

🏉Noteworthy: Brennan is a four-year player who grew steadily into his role and finished as a front row starter and anchor of Fairfield Prep’s scrum, lineout, and attack. He’s a reliable, hard-working dude who always puts the team first. His tireless effort set the tone for others, and his work ethic pushed teammates to raise their own level. Just a rock-solid presence all year.

💬Coach’s quote: “He’s consistent in just about everything that he does- offense, defense, breakdown and set-piece.  A stabilizing force for us all year, and the type of guy who others look to—and give more as a result of his effort and commitment.  He will be an asset to the team at Syracuse next year, but he’ll be missed at Prep!” - Kevin Kery, Fairfield Prep, Head Coach

The final is set.
New England Free Jacks vs Houston Sabercats, this Saturday.

Here’s how the semis went down:

Western Conference:
Houston Sabercats took care of business against the Utah Warriors. In front of a loud Warriors home crowd, Houston chipped away at the defense and built a commanding 33–5 lead. Utah managed a few late scores to close the gap to 33–19, but the Sabercats were never truly threatened.

Riot Take:
The most eyebrow-raising moment came when Sabercats winger Drake Davis demolished a Warriors player into touch on a breakaway. No wrap, upright posture, head-to-head contact—it looked textbook illegal. But even after a TMO review, the officials let it stand. Absolutely confounding. It probably didn’t change the outcome of the game, but it was a lousy call. Honestly, you could make a case for a penalty try.

Eastern Conference:
The Free Jacks pulled off a brilliant second-half comeback against the Chicago Hounds. Chicago controlled the game early—smart offloads, sharp recycle speed—and built a 17-point lead. But New England surged back and edged ahead 21–20 with just minutes to go. The Hounds had one last shot at the win, but Chris Hilsenbeck’s kick missed the mark as time expired.

Riot Take:
Chicago looked sharp early but failed to adapt when fatigue set in. New England looked asleep at the wheel early before finding their groove. Best MLR game we’ve seen in a long time—maybe ever. Great defense, electric offense, and a real sense of stakes. This is the kind of game the league needs more of.

🏆 MLR Final — Saturday, June 28 (tomorrow)
📍 Rhode Island
⌚ 2pm ET
📺 ESPN2
Matchup: New England Free Jacks vs Houston Sabercats

Oddball musings, induced by borderline hypothermia.

🏉 Gamesmanship vs poor sportsmanship. Where’s the line in rugby?
Cheeky trash-talk = usually fine.
Straight-up punching someone = usually the sin bin.
Everything in between? Massive gray area.
Depends if the ref sees it. Depends if the ref cares.

🏉 The MLR is chasing a sweet spot between rugby culture and NFL spectacle.
You’ve got loudspeaker chants, hyped-up announcers, and a vibe straight out of American sports entertainment.
Then they sprinkle in rugby lingo to keep it legit.
If you’re used to watching Six Nations or Super Rugby, it all feels a little... off.
But hey—if it gets more butts in seats, maybe it works. Time will tell.

🏉 High school referees might need a few acting classes.
Half the hand signals out there feel like a game of charades with a toddler.
Was that “coming in from the side”?
“Diving over”?
Or “stirring a pot of oatmeal”?