2018 Major League Rugby season


The 2018 Major League Rugby season was the inaugural season of Major League Rugby, an annual rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby.
The seven inaugural teams were based in the United States. The competition began the weekend of April 21–22 with three matches, with New Orleans defeating Houston 35–26 to open the season.
Glendale and Seattle were the best two teams at the end of the regular season and won their respective semi-final matches to advance to the championship game at Torero Stadium in San Diego. Seattle became Major League Rugby's first champion team with a surprise come-from-behind 23–19 win in the final over Glendale, who had only lost once previously during the season.

Teams

Regular season

All seven participating teams played eight matches and received two rounds of byes during the regular season held over ten weeks from April through to June. The schedule was short of a full home and away draw by four match rounds, so each side played two of the other teams twice and four of them only once. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advanced to the MLR playoffs.

Standings

The final standings for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season were:

Matches

The following matches were played for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season:
AUSGLEHOUNOLASANSEAUTA
Austin Elite30–1731–519–2041–33
Glendale Raptors41–2637–2431–2733–11
Houston SaberCats50–3826–357–2030–36
New Orleans Gold10–4724–2022–3929–31
San Diego Legion31–1723–535–3231–24
Seattle Seawolves15–1955–2639–2341–32
Utah Warriors41–2229–3631–2743–46

Updated to match played on June 23, 2018.

Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.

Week 1

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Week 2

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Week 3

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Week 4

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Week 5

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Week 6

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Week 7

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Week 8

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Week 9

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Week 10

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Playoffs

The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The format was two semifinal matches – first versus fourth, and second versus third – followed by a Championship game between the semifinal winners to determine the MLR champion team.
The semifinals were played as a double header at Infinity Park in Glendale on June 30, followed a week later by the final at Torero Stadium in San Diego on July 7.

Semifinals

Final

Team statistics

Points by week

Tries by week

Player statistics

The leading scorers in 2018 over the regular season and playoffs combined were:

Leading try scorers

Sources: and .

Leading point scorers

Sources: and .

Sanctions

Awards

MVP of the Championship Match
PlayerTeam
Vili Toluta'uSeattle Seawolves

All-MLR First Team
PlayerPositionTeam
Paul MullenLoosehead PropHouston SaberCats
Zach FenoglioHookerGlendale Raptors
Tim MetcherTighthead PropSeattle Seawolves
Ben MitchellLeft LockAustin Elite
Ben LandryRight LockGlendale Raptors
Vili Toluta'uBlindside FlankerSeattle Seawolves
Hanco GermishuysOpenside FlankerAustin Elite
Cam DolanNo8San Diego Legion
Phil MackScrum-halfSeattle Seawolves
Sam WindsorFly-halfHouston SaberCats
Tonata LautiBlindside WingUtah Warriors
Paul LasikeInside CentreUtah Warriors
Ryan MatyasOutside CentreSan Diego Legion
Harley DavidsonOpenside WingGlendale Raptors
Mathew TurnerFullbackSeattle Seawolves

All-MLR Second Team
PlayerPositionTeam
Olive KilifiLoosehead PropSeattle Seawolves
Pat BlairHookerSan Diego Legion
Alex TucciTighthead PropUtah Warriors
Matt JensenLeft LockUtah Warriors
Matt TrouvilleRight LockHouston SaberCats
Peter DahlBlindside FlankerGlendale Raptors
Matt HughstonOpenside FlankerNOLA Gold
Sam FiggNo8Glendale Raptors
Shaun DaviesScrum-halfGlendale Raptors
Will MagieFly-halfGlendale Raptors
Josua ViciBlindside WingHouston SaberCats
Andrew SuniulaInside CentreAustin Elite
Osea KolinisauOutside CentreHouston SaberCats
Brock StallerOpenside WingSeattle Seawolves
Zinzan Elan-PuttickFullbackAustin Elite