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Rugby Football Club Los Angeles

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Rugby FC Los Angeles (RFCLA) is a professional rugby union team based in Los Angeles California, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team began play in 2020 as Rugby ATL, based in Atlanta, Georgia, but announced they would relocate to Los Angeles for the 2024 season, under new ownership.

Rugby FC Los Angeles
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
LocationLos Angeles, California
Ground(s)Dignity Health Sports Park (Capacity: 27,000)
Coach(es)Stephen Brett
Captain(s)Niall Saunders
League(s)Major League Rugby
20235th (Eastern Conference)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
rugbyfcla.com

History

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Rugby ATL

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On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Atlanta was one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season.[1] The team name Rugby ATL was revealed on February 26, 2019.[2] The team was unofficially known as the Rattlers and in 2021 an alternate logo with a rattlesnake was unveiled.[3] Rugby ATL played its first three seasons at Lupo Family Field on the campus of Life University in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta. The field was damaged by flooding in September 2021 and the team moved to Silverbacks Park ahead of the 2022 season.[4]

Following the death of their original team owner, S. Marcus Calloway, the ownership of the team was placed into an investment group, acquiring control of the franchise on an interim basis. The move kept Rugby ATL operational, until a permanent ownership group was acquired in 2023.[5]

Rugby FC Los Angeles

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On August 2, 2023, Major League Rugby announced that Rugby ATL would be relocating to a yet-to-be announced location for the 2024 season.[5] On August 17, it was announced the team would relocate to Los Angeles. On December 21, it was announced that the team would be renamed to Rugby FC Los Angeles, abbreviated to RFCLA.[6][7] This marked the return of Major League Rugby back to Los Angeles since the removal of the former LA Giltinis in October 2022. On the same day, it was announced that RFCLA would play out of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA.

Sponsorship

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Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Other Shirt sponsor(s)
2019 Canterbury None None
2020–2023 Paladin Sports Barbour Orthopedics and Spine None
Terrapin Beer Co.
Body Armor Sports Drink

Roster

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For player movements before and during the 2024 season, see List of 2023–24 Major League Rugby transfers § Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is:[8]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Bruce Kauika-Petersen Hooker   New Zealand
Ben Strang Hooker   United States
Sam Buckley* Prop   England
Alessandro Heaney Prop   United States
Alex Maughan Prop   United States
Wilton Rebolo Prop   Brazil
Lincoln Si'i Prop   United States
Conor Young Prop   Canada
Dane Zander Prop   Australia
Liam Antrobus Lock   United States
Matt Gelhaus Lock   United States
Ben Mitchell Lock   United States
Reegan O'Gorman Lock   Canada
Jurie van Vuuren Lock   South Africa
Theo Vukašinović Lock   England
Michael Amiras Back row   South Africa
Jason Damm Back row   United States
Matt Heaton Back row   Canada
Max Katjijeko Back row   Namibia
Semi Kunatani Back row   Fiji
Bruce Yun Back row   United States
Player Position Union
Cristian Rodriguez Scrum-half   United States
Niall Saunders (c) Scrum-half   Ireland
Tas Smith Scrum-half   United States
Matt Anticev Fly-half   United States
Jordan Chait Fly-half   South Africa
Dan Hollinshead Fly-half   New Zealand
Sean Nolan Fly-half   United States
Jason Emery Centre   New Zealand
Will Leonard* Centre   Ireland
Seth Purdey Centre   Canada
James Stokes Centre   England
Derek Adams Wing   United States
Andrew Coe Wing   Canada
Brooklyn Hardaker Wing   Australia
Jack Shaw Wing   Canada
Henry Speight Wing   Australia
Austin White Wing   United States
Rory van Vugt Fullback   New Zealand
Sam Walsh Fullback   United States
  • Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
  • * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
  • MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

Head coaches

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Assistant coaches

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Captains

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Records

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Season standings

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Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
Rugby ATL
2020[a] Eastern 5th 5 2 0 3 116 110 +6 4 12 - - - - - - Cancelled
2021 Eastern 2nd 16 11 0 5 420 321 +99 13 57 2 1 1 27 40 -13 Won East Conference Final (Rugby United New York) 10–9
Lost Major League Rugby final (LA Giltinis) 17–31
2022 Eastern 2nd 16 11 0 5 468 340 +128 11 57 1 0 1 19 26 -7 Lost East Conference Eliminator (Rugby New York) 19–26
2023 Eastern 5th 16 5 1 10 355 428 -73 6 28 - - - - - - Did not qualify
Rugby Football Club Los Angeles
2024 Western 6th 16 5 1 10 367 473 -106 10 32 - - - - - - Did not qualify
Totals 69 34 2 33 1,726 1,672 +54 38 158 3 1 2 46 66 -20 2 postseason appearances

404 Rugby (2019)

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Rugby ATL started with an exhibition side, called 404 Rugby. From September to November 2019, 404 Rugby played exhibition matches against Mystic River, NYAC, Old Blue, and USA Rugby men's club champions Life University.[10]

2019 roster

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Alex Maughan Hooker   United States
Amro Gouda Hooker   United States
Barrington McNutt Hooker   United States
Sam Chaney Prop   United States
Nick Towns Prop   United States
Cullen Barelka Prop   United States
Sam Peri Lock   United States
Michael Young Lock   United States
Paris Hollis Flanker   United States
Josh Rieser Flanker   United States
Andre Potgieter Flanker   South Africa
Lordan Hinojosa Flanker   United States
Marthinus van Zyl Number 8   South Africa
Player Position Union
Kurtis Werner Scrum-half   United States
Sam Christmann Scrum-half   United States
Lucas Baistrocchi Fly-half   United States
Ryan Britain Centre   United States
Martini Talapusi Centre   Samoa
Richard Shore Centre   United States
Drew Moyes Wing   United States
Eamonn Mathews Wing   United States
Sam Trammel Wing   United States
Tom Wallace Wing   United States
John Truax Wing   United States
Robert Mattison Fullback   South Africa

2019 season

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All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the MLR standings.

Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result
September 7 Mystic River Away Pine Banks 50–25
September 14 Old Blue Home Lupo Family Field 45–6
September 28 New York Athletic Club Away Travers Island 42–17
October 5 Life University Away Lupo Family Field 22–21
October 12 New Orleans Away Gretna Park 55–24
October 19 Old Blue Away Columbia Soccer Stadium 17–25
November 2 New York Athletic Club Home Lupo Family Field 66–7
November 9 Life University Home Lupo Family Field 30–18

2020 season

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On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic.[11] It was cancelled the following week[12]

Regular season

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Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result
February 9 Utah Warriors Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Won, 28–19
February 16 New Orleans Gold Away Gold Mine Won, 22–10
February 23 Rugby United New York Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Lost, 19–22
March 1 Toronto Arrows Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Lost, 18–28
March 8 Old Glory DC Away Cardinal Stadium Lost, 29–31
March 22 New England Free Jacks Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Cancelled
March 28 Austin Gilgronis Away Round Rock Multipurpose Complex Cancelled
April 5 New Orleans Gold Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Cancelled
April 10 Rugby United New York Away MCU Park Cancelled
April 19 Toronto Arrows Away Lamport Stadium Cancelled
April 26 San Diego Legion Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Cancelled
May 2 Colorado Raptors Away Infinity Park Cancelled
May 10 Seattle Seawolves Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Cancelled
May 17 Old Glory DC Home Life University Running Eagles Stadium Cancelled
May 23 Houston SaberCats Away Aveva Stadium Cancelled
May 30 New England Free Jacks Away Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled

2021 season

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Regular season

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Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 20 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 21–14
March 27 Old Glory DC Away Lost, 23–30
April 3 San Diego Legion Home Won, 41–22
April 11 Rugby United New York Home Lost, 17–27
April 17 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 15–17
April 24 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 38–28
May 9 Toronto Arrows Away Won, 33–29
May 15 New England Free Jacks Home Won, 33–18
May 23 Seattle Seawolves Away Won, 25–6
May 29 LA Giltinis Home Won, 17–12
June 5 New Orleans Gold Away Won, 8–7
June 13 Rugby United New York Away Lost, 24–31
June 19 Houston SaberCats Home Won, 33–15
June 26 Old Glory DC Home Won, 32–12
July 10 Utah Warriors Away Won, 41–31
July 18 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 19–22

Post season

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Date Opponent Home/Away Result
July 24 Rugby United New York Home Won, 10–9
August 1 LA Giltinis Away Lost, 17–31

2022 season

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Regular season

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Date Opponent Home/Away Result
February 5 Old Glory DC Home Won, 55–22
February 12 New Orleans Gold Away Won, 14–9
February 19 Rugby New York Home Lost, 31–36
March 5 Houston SaberCats Home Won, 29–22
March 12 Austin Gilgronis Home Won, 29–14
March 20 Old Glory DC Away Won, 27–13
March 26 New England Free Jacks Home Lost, 27-41
April 2 Toronto Arrows Away Won 20-14
April 9 New Orleans Gold Away Won, 34-17
April 24 San Diego Legion Away Won, 30-17
April 30 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 19-31
May 7 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 26-44
May 13 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 10-15
May 22 Rugby New York Away Won, 38-3
May 28 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 34-23
June 3 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 45-19

Postseason

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See also: 2022 Major League Rugby playoffs
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result
East Eliminator June 11 Rugby New York Home Lost, 19–26

2023 season

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Regular season

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Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result
February 17 Toronto Arrows Home Silverbacks Park Won, 17–10
February 24 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Complex Lost, 28–22
March 4 NOLA Gold Home Silverbacks Park Won, 29–16
March 18 San Diego Legion Home Silverbacks Park Lost, 10–35
March 25 Houston SaberCats Away SaberCats Stadium Lost, 40–28
April 2 New York Ironworkers Away Memorial Field Lost, 31–20
April 8 Old Glory DC Home Silverbacks Park Won, 35–27
April 15 NOLA Gold Away The Gold Mine Won, 23–7
April 22 New England Free Jacks Away Veterans Memorial Stadium Lost, 23–13
May 6 Chicago Hounds Home Silverbacks Park Won, 27–12
May 12 Toronto Arrows Away York Lions Stadium Draw, 34–34
May 20 Dallas Jackals Home Silverbacks Park Lost, 27–19
May 27 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Lost, 28–12
June 2 New England Free Jacks Home Silverbacks Park Lost, 35–14
June 10 New York Ironworkers Home Silverbacks Park Lost, 39–24
June 17 Old Glory DC Away Segra Field Lost, 36–28

Notes

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  1. ^ 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

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  1. ^ "Major League Rugby confirms Boston and Atlanta for 2020 – Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. September 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "ATLANTA'S NEW MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY TEAM PICKS A NAME". USMLR.com. February 26, 2019.
  3. ^ "Rugby ATL unveil new logo for 2021 season". Americas Rugby News. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Rugby ATL relocate to Silverbacks Park for 2022". Americas Rugby News. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Major League Rugby's Atlanta Team to Relocate". Major League Rugby. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  6. ^ "Major League Rugby Officially Announces Rugby FC Los Angeles for 2024". Major League Rugby.
  7. ^ "Major League Rugby Officially Announces Rugby Football Club Los Angeles for 2024". Rugby FC LA. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  8. ^ "RFC Los Angeles". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Rugby ATL adds Stephen Brett to coaching staff". Americas Rugby News. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  10. ^ "Schedule".
  11. ^ Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
  12. ^ "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
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