Major League Rugby Week 17 Recap
June 9, 2025 - Major League Rugby (MLR) News Release
Just like that the 2025 Major League Rugby regular season is over.
For 17 weeks, there has been drama from start to finish. With this weekend's action, eight teams have their place secured in the MLR Playoffs, presented by Sportsbreaks and will battle for the Shield for the next three weeks.
But before postseason rugby takes hold, here is how things shaped up in Week 17.
CHICAGO HOUNDS 15-12 HOUSTON SABERCATS
To secure home advantage in the Playoffs the Chicago Hounds registered a 15-12 win over the Houston SaberCats.
It was an attritional affair in the Midwest from start to finish.
In the early exchanges, the SaberCats' Keni Nasoqeqe, who was an early replacement for Johan Momsen, was sent to the sin bin.
Shortly afterward, Jackson Zabierek went over the try line from the back of a maul for his first MLR score, which he did seven minutes later.
Ahead of half-time, after Chicago's Hamish Bain received a yellow card, Pita Anae-Ah Sue scored the visitors' first points of the game.
When the second half resumed, the Hounds' Matthew Oworu was shown a yellow card. However, the hosts survived 10 minutes being a player down.
Following Ollie Devoto's 65th-minute sin-binning, AJ Alatimu dotted down for Houston, and a penalty from Chicago's Chris Hilsenbeck put the result beyond all doubt.
NOLA GOLD 17-21 NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
With their 17-21 win over the NOLA Gold, the New England Free Jacks claimed the top seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the Playoffs.
Despite finishing the match as winners, it was NOLA's Cooper Coats that scored the game's opening try with just two minutes played in Louisiana.
To lead at the break, Oscar Lennon and Brock Webster crossed the try line.
When the game resumed, Free Jacks lock Sam Caird crashed across for the visitors' final score, as penalty and drop goal attempts fell wide of their mark.
In order to end their season with a losing bonus point, the Gold registered consolation scores through Coats and Abe Turpen.
UTAH WARRIORS 48-33 RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB LOS ANGELES
Utah Warriors are the team to beat in the Western Conference after their 48-33 victory over Rugby Football Club Los Angeles locked up the top spot in their division.
The scoring started early at Zions Bank Stadium as Joey Mano sped over the try line three minutes after LA's Ben Houston got an early yellow card, and Liam Coltman also scored for the hosts before the back-row returned.
Jordan Trainor's score for Utah was followed by a double for the visitors, who crossed the whitewash through Reece MacDonald and Christian Leali'ifano.
To secure Utah's try-scoring bonus point, Coltman scored his second of the game, and Joel Hodgson got the hosts' fifth.
A penalty for Hodgson shortly after the break was followed by a period of dominance for the Californians.
Houston, Jason Damm, and Nick Chan's scores kept RFCLA in the contest.
In and amongst that tirade of sky blue, only a D'Angelo Leuila penalty provided respite for the hosts.
With the clock in the red, Utah's Spencer Jones broke through the visiting defense and started a new week's preparation in style.
SAN DIEGO LEGION 50-5 OLD GLORY DC
To give themselves the best chance at reaching the Playoffs, the San Diego Legion ran rampant in Southern California to beat Old Glory DC 50-5.
Legion captain Brad Wilkin scored a hat-trick at Torero Stadium and bagged his first 16 minutes in.
A flurry of yellow cards made things harder for DC, with Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz sent to the sin bin moments before the hosts were awarded a penalty try, which also saw KoiKoi Nelligan dispatched to the sideline for 10 minutes.
With half-time approaching, Rhian Stowers moved San Diego further in front and locked forward. Zak Farrance received a red card for an act of foul play.
Even reduced a player for 20 minutes for much of the second period, Legion were in a ruthless mood.
Steffan Crimp scored a try, before kicking a penalty to keep the Californians in the ascendancy.
After Owen Sheehy crossed the whitewash to get Old Glory's sole points of the afternoon, Legion was awarded a penalty try, and Wilkin completed his trio of scores.
Despite such a dominant showing, the team nervously awaited Sunday night to see if the Miami Sharks could turn over the Seattle Seawolves in the Pacific Northwest.
HOUSTON SABERCATS 26-14 ANTHEM RC
To recover from midweek disappointment, the Houston SaberCats locked in a home Playoff game with a 26-14 win over Anthem RC.
It was a quiet first half in Texas, where a converted try for Drake Davis proved to be the only difference between the two teams.
At the start of the second half, Anthem leveled things up with a Connor Robinson score, which was only for Louritz van der Schyff's effort to land the hosts back ahead four minutes later.
After Van der Schyff and Anthem's Jake Turnbull received yellow cards, Anthem scored again through Corbin Smith beneath the posts.
In the final 10 minutes, Jay Renton and Emmanuel Albert's tries wrapped up victory for the hosts.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES 42-17 MIAMI SHARKS
Drama is something that the Seattle Seawolves do well.
So it came as little surprise that Allen Clarke's team guaranteed their place in the postseason with a 42-17 victory over the Miami Sharks.
Malembe Mpofu crossed the try line with a minute played, and the home team doubled down shortly afterward when Jade Stighling dotted down.
After Divan Rossouw was sent to the sin bin, Miami got a foothold in the clash with a converted Josh McAdam try, and Santiago Videla brought the half to a close with a well-struck penalty, even though his teammate, Sean McNulty, had seen yellow shortly beforehand.
A Duncan Matthews try kept Seattle on top in the second half, although a 20-minute red card for Rossouw opened up space for the Sharks' Chase Schor-Haskin to cross the whitewash.
Things seemingly went from bad to worse for the home side when a Videla penalty made the most of Charles Elton's yellow card, only for a second Matthews try to extend Seattle's lead even more.
With a clear confidence when restored to full numbers, Seattle scored their final tries of the game through Stighling and Nick Boyer and returned to the Playoffs once again.
Major League Rugby Stories from June 9, 2025
- RFCLA Road to the MLR Playoffs Presented by SportsBreak - Rugby FC Los Angeles
- Major League Rugby Week 17 Recap - MLR
- Seawolves Clinch Playoffs vs. Miami Sharks - Seattle Seawolves
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