In the blink of an eye, Major League Rugby’s 2025 regular season is said and done.
Eight teams live to fight another day in North America, with a place in the Championship Final and the chance to lift the Shield being the ultimate prize.
A big hitter has missed out on knockout rugby thanks to a dazzling attacking display from the Seattle Seawolves, while top seeds were confirmed in other fixtures.
Here are five takeaways from Week 17 of the 2025 MLR regular season.
Free Jacks and Warriors are the top dogs
With Week 17 victories the New England Free Jacks and Utah Warriors lodged themselves at the top of the Eastern and Western Conference.
The two teams have had vastly different roads to the Playoffs, although each have dominated on their way to knockout rugby.
New England were not flashy at all in their most recent outing and picked up a 21-17 win over the NOLA Gold in Louisiana. Oscar Lennon, Brock Webster and Sam Caird were all try scorers for Ryan Martin’s team, who will host Miami Sharks next weekend.
In contrast, Utah enjoyed a free-flowing afternoon at Zions Bank Stadium, where they crossed the try line on six occasions in a showcase of exactly what makes Greg Cooper’s side such an exciting prospect.
RFCLA will travel to the Houston SaberCats in a week’s time for their first game of knockout rugby as they look to further their hopes of lifting the Shield later this month.
Chicago Hounds don’t need to be flashy
On a week that saw plenty of teams play with freedom, the Chicago Hounds showed that tries are not everything.
To beat the Houston SaberCats 15-12 in Illinois, Chris Latham’s team relied largely on Jackson Zabierek’s first-half brace and a Chris Hilsenbeck penalty.
It was an evenly matched game from start to finish, both sides saw their fair share of yellow cards, with the hosts even conceding more penalties over the course of 80 minutes.
Seemingly cruising to victory, and a home Eastern Conference semi-final next weekend, that ability to quietly go about their business effectively could be the difference maker to a team that has contended at the top of the Eastern Conference since Week 1.
To the wire… Seattle secure playoff rugby
Last year’s runners-up, the Seattle Seawolves, will play knockout rugby in 2025 thanks to a dominant 42-17 win against a much-changed Miami Sharks.
Allen Clarke’s team were up for it from the first whistle, scoring through Malembe Mpofu with scarcely 60 seconds on the clock.
Braces for Jade Stighling and Duncan Matthews duly followed, and a Nick Boyer score in the final embers put a cherry on the cake in their final home game of the season.
Following an indifferent start to 2025, the two-time champions recovered well to establish an 8-1-7 record at the end of the regular season to knock their bitter rivals, the San Diego Legion, out of contention.
Legion, NOLA & Anthem fail to make the cut
Even with a monstrous 50-5 win over Old Glory, the San Diego Legion have been left wondering ‘what if’ as the only team in the Western Conference to miss out on postseason rugby.
To start the season, John Manenti’s team were in resplendent form.
They raced to an unbeaten five-game start to the season before the wheels started to show signs of separation, and indifferent form ultimately meant the side missed out on playoff rugby by a solitary point.
Just what there is to say about the team’s shift from controllers of their own destiny to supporting the Miami Sharks on Sunday night is unclear. But it will involve a lot of soul searching.
Truthfully, the Gold’s performance on Saturday was indicative of their season. At times, the team looked threatening but could never shed ill-discipline or a general lack of cohesion.
It gives Danny Lee’s team a lot to work on during the long offseason and a 4-12 record to dwell on.
After the 2024 season, there was much hope that Anthem would have turned a corner.
A winless inaugural season has been followed by a winless sophomore year, with the team now having lost all 32 of their MLR games to date.
Of course, the team’s overall picture is as a development centre for domestic talent, but with an array of senior USA Men’s Eagles amongst their ranks, tangible results are a must in 2026.
Three more weeks of fun to come
Now it is time for playoff rugby to come to the fore. If the past 17 weeks have not already provided their fair share of drama, these next three weekends certainly will.
We have some glorious matchups coming our way and plenty of intrigue whichever way you choose to look at it.
The path to Rhode Island was never going to be easy for whoever made it to this part of the season. And that’s all part of the fun.
Prepare for a couple of late nights too (or stock up on coffee) as the kick-off times are a little unforgiving, but it will all be worth it.
Saturday, June 14
- Chicago Hounds v Old Glory DC, 19:00 ET (00:00 BST)
- Utah Warriors v Seattle Seawolves, 22:00 ET (03:00 BST)
Sunday, June 15
- New England Free Jacks v Miami Sharks, 14:00 ET (19:00 BST)
- Houston SaberCats v Rugby Football Club Los Angeles, 20:30 ET (01:30 BST)
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/five-takeaways-as-the-mlr-playoffs-are-confirmed-with-nonus-former-side-left-wondering-what-if
