RWC Bordeaux - The Lost Tapes

Rugby PickEm · RWC Bordeaux - The Lost Tapes

Some old audio from the RWC in France back in 2023. What a time to be alive! We were lucky enough to grab tickets to Ireland vs. Romania on Saturday followed by Fiji vs. Wales on Sunday in the opening weekend of an unforgettable RWC. Enjoy.

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Ten Dumb Questions - MLR 2025

Rugby PickEm · Ten Dumb Questions - MLR 2025

We've covered the MLR since its inception in 2018. Written all types of articles, in-person match reports and the occasional player interview.... but the focus this year will be asking questions.... After all, asking questions, makes for good dialogue.

Carl Sagan said “There is no such thing as a dumb question”. Sagan believed that every question is a way to better understand the world, and that asking questions is important. 

We're on a mission to find 10 "dumb" questions about Major League Rugby, and peel back the onion a bit. Let's dive into the 2025 season...

Can Anthem make the playoffs in year 2?

Yes. This is a realistic goal considering the consolidation of American talent in Charlotte. However, the league's history tells us that the first two years of any new team can be challenging. Dallas put up a collective 2-30 record it their first two years. OGDC went a collective 9-22-1 in their first two (full) years. 

However, Chicago bounced back in their 2nd season with a winning record and a playoff win. It can be done. If Anthem gets their first win "early" in the season (ideally before Week 3), it's realistic to think they can scrape into the playoffs as the 4 seed in the east.

Does 8 out of 11 teams advancing to the playoffs diminish the regular season?

With a 16 regular season, there will eventually be a period of time where all clubs will see some player rotation. This usually is due to injuries, but longevity also plays a role. Why overwork your star players all season if it means they are not at their zenith come June? Of course teams want to win and earn the top seed. Home field advantage, right? But it will be a balancing act come week 12. 

The math says that at least one team from either conference will advance to the playoffs with a losing record. That's not great from a "quality of matches" standpoint. But the team stakeholders need more matches and opportunity to drive revenue. If it means more $ in the door, and more games come summer, then so be it!

Is a New England 3-peat a realistic goal for new(ish) coach Ryan Martin? 

Winning a single championship is hard. Two in a row is a huge challenge. Three straight? Downright improbable. But if there's any team that can do it, it's the FreeJacks. Stacked roster, top notch home stadium environment, and the team leaders to back it. Just because there's been a coaching switch doesn't mean there will be wholesale changes. The front office remains in lockstep through Tom Kindley and Mags. NEFJ has the tools to do the improbable.

Is the ESPN+ broadcasting rights a good move for the league?

ESPN is a household name in the US. It should drive more awareness to the average sports fan. Someone who tunes in for basketball, and stays for rugby union... that's a great way to acquire customers. 

The problem is the $12.99/month cost. For rugby fans who are already enjoying all the matches for free on TRN, there will be hesitation to bring on an additional monthly cost to follow the league and watch the live matches. For fans who already have ESPN+, this is a huge win. Let's hope the broadcast quality continues to improve as well.

What's the International / Domestic split between the MLR fans?

As great as it is to have a global game, it's American fans and Expats located in the US who will make or break the leagues success at the ticket office. But how many "impressions" (online marketing buzzword ... clicks, views, listens, etc.) come from outside of the U.S. ? And if the end goal for the ownership group is to sign a massive live rights deal, does every eyeball count?

My guess is every single eyeball counts for the success of the league (and subsequent RWC in 2031), so it doesn't particular matter if fans are American or International. What matters is increased viewership, increased and consistent ticket sales and a loud build up to hosting the world cup here on US soil.

Is S.D. Legion's move from Snap Dragon Stadium to Torero Stadium a good move or a regression?

Fish-Eye view from the press box in Torero Stadium

A sold out Torero is a loud, fun environment for players and fans. There's no doubt that some Legion fans will be happy with the move back to their first home ... but SnapDragon was pretty slick. They put up some massive crowd numbers throughout the season. Is this a demotion of the S.D. Legion franchise? Or does Torero simply fit their needs?

What is the dialogue like with multi-year season ticket holders? Surely problems will arise when you cut your capacity from 35k to 6k. But if they averaged around 6k per match in 2024, wouldn't it make more sense to be in a sold out Torero? Maybe SnapDragon will stay on the list of potential RWC sites? (35k capacity can be bumped up to 55k per wikipedia).

Who's the baddest dude in the MLR?

There's a lot of guys that could be on this short list... personally, I always found massive locks and 8 men to be really intimidating. Catching a knee anywhere on your body as you attempt to tackle a big man is a scary thought. In that vein, guys like Luke White for Chicago, Sam Golla for Anthem, and Emmanuel Albert for Houston are going to be on our short list of baddest dudes in the league. Caleb Gieger also seems like a guy that can fold anyone into a pretzel. 

Wyd if you see that stache running straight at you?

Will there be a revival of both the New York & Toronto franchises in the coming years leading up to 2031 RWC?

We hope so. Massive markets. Decent proximity to each other (encouraging fan travel and the building of local rivalries). I certainly know the New England FreeJacks want their local rivals back in the league ... no matter the branding or ownership group. New Englanders simply love having a team to hate. That's how they're wired.

In all seriousness, if we're going to host an exceptional RWC (in both 2031 with the men AND 2033 with the women), New York City must be a central figure. A game in front of nearly 90,000 at MetLife would make for an epic semi-final (or final) venue. Someone call a private equity rugby guy who's tired of the Wall Street grind. He can buy into the league, and spend the rest of his days trying not to be as involved as Jerry Jones is with his beloved Dallas Cowboys.

Are the new MLR scrum laws good for the growth of the game?

These new trial laws had a lot of traditionalists big mad when they were published last week. Essentially, they have established laws to keep the match moving, and limit the amount of scrums. I can see why front rowers are furious. After all, most tight heads earn their income through dominance in the scrum. To see that advantage diminished by rule changes would understandably have most front rowers ticked off.

However, the other side of this coin means faster paced matches. Major League Baseball has entered an era with a pitch clock for pace of play. MLR and now World Rugby have kick clocks in place for conversions, and it's been deemed a welcome change ( ... let's be honest, no one enjoyed Johnny Wilkinson dancing for 10 minutes before his place kicks). The point we're making here is that although the MLR is moving away from "traditional" scrum laws, if it means faster matches and more ball in play, well isn't that what we want as fans?

Who will win the MLR shield in 2025?

The smart $ says New England will be knocking on the door again come June. They have an exceptional front office, who knows how to bring players in at the right times to see their team firing at the end of the year. In the west, I wouldn't sleep on Houston. They have exceptional strength in their forward pack, and AJ Alatimu has been a dominant 10 in MLR since he first made waves in Seattle.

It's hard to predict the future, but for the sake of seeing a new champion, let's make the Houston SaberCats our official choice to lift the shield come June.

Houston has come a long way from the Justin Fitzpatrick era ... the Cat Den is known to get raucous!

HARPO'S Spreadz: (Winners in BOLD)

For context, HARPO was our first "boots on the group" reporter when we started in 2018. He hates technology, and loves to spend his summer's away from crowds in his "alone zone" ... but he always sends us his week to week spreadz and winners.

Old Glory D.C. +6.5 @ Miami Sharks -6.5

Anthem Rugby Club +17.5 @ NOLA Gold -17.5

Chicago Hounds +8.5 @ Houston SaberCats -8.5

New England Freejacks -22.5 @ L.A. RFC +22.5

Seattle Seawolves +3.5 @ San Diego Legion -3.5

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College Rugby at its Finest (ft. John Fitzpatrick of Rugby Morning)

Rugby PickEm · College Rugby at its Finest (ft. John Fitzpatrick of Rugby Morning)

 

The 2024 CRC's did not disappoint. A uniquely American tournament format featured a "win and advance" style of bracket, and the excitement that came with the high stakes was exhilarating. 

Premier Division - 

1st Place: Wheeling 

Back in January, Aaron Juma and Joe Iye led the Great Lakes NCR all star team to a cup final in Round Rock Texas. The two players dominance continued this weekend as Wheeling blew through their Saturday & Sunday competition. Juma is ready for the next level, and should be considered for a PR 7's contract this summer.

With 10 players from Zimbabwe and South Africa coach Michael Geibel shows he can recruit internationals aplenty, fielding an extremely competitive collegiate side. Will the college game ever have a cap on internationals? For now it comes down to how many scholarships you have and how hard you're willing to recruit.

2nd Place: Kutztown

At just 5'7", 155lbs, Chris Cleland is once again in dominant form. Last year's tournament MVP for Mount St. Mary's is now suiting up for the Kutztown Bears and showing size doesn't really matter in 7's. The flyer is excellent at stretching defenses in open space, just gassing teams off scrum set piece. Would winning back to back championships with two different schools be a first for the new age "transfer portal" collegiate era?

Kutztown fielded a team with an English / American blend. Four players from England and one from Scotland mix with American recruits from Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Kutztown program has been elite for the better part of a decade and won the entire tournament in 2022.

3rd Place: Babson

First of, let's just take a step back and realize that Babson (a small college) moved from the small college division ALL THE WAY up to the Premier bracket. That's a massive leap in competition, but they never flinched and clearly belong with the top competition. 

Brice Muller stands out at 6'6" 230 lbs, the Fairfield Prep grad has had as big of an impact on a program that a freshman can provide. A pivotal part of Babson's small college XV's championship, he can do it all. Run, pass, tackle, lineout ... he's a jack of all trades and will surely be a force for Babson in his next 3 years.

4th Place: ICCC 

Dubbed "The United States of Iowa Central" for the weekend, coaches Brent Nelson and Joe Lippert have built a mid-west monster in Fort Dodge Iowa. The Tritons have gotten better year after year and the program's success shows that you don't need a large group of alumni boosters to build a successful program. 

The majority of their scoring was done by Hlanga Mbela who was carving up defenses throughout the weekend. Noah Champion & Koen Webb created an impact running hard and straight earning the front foot in attack, while the skipper Matt Surles-Davis was ice cold in defense as he chopped down large ball runners all weekend .

Division 1 - Louisville blanks North Carolina State 29-0

Division 2 - Maine stuns Georgetown at the death 19-15

Small College - Slippery Rock beats St. Thomas 19-12

In the end, it was an exhilarating Friday and Saturday for the tournament. The women round out the championship rounds on Sunday and hopefully the event will be just as spectacular next year.

Special thanks for John Fitzpatrick of Rugby Morning for hopping on the show.

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If The West Is The Best, Then Who Is The Best In The West?

So far there have only been FOUR inter-conference games through 3 weeks. 

Utah beat Chicago 29-15. In Salt Lake, at altitude. They ran away from a close first half.

Seattle beats Miami 29-18. Miami on the road, new vs. old. This was expected.

Houston beat Miami 30-19. Miami looks good, Houston looks better ... but again this was expected.

Dallas throttled Anthem 68-28. Is this a one-off, or a trend? Is Dallas lethal, or is Anthem just defenseless?

A mere 4 games is not enough for a trend line, but enough for the ridiculous headline ... The West has been better (straight up!). No denying the early results ... but will the trend hold? That would be unlikely. If it does, we'll see a severely wounded Eastern conference team limp into the QF's with the #4 seed come July.

Some Old Faces in New Places

With the battle of the two remaining undefeated teams (Seattle vs. Houston) looming, let's look into the past to try and predict the future. 

Here's Seattle vs. Houston head to head since 2018 (and it's not even close ...)

2018 - Seattle beats Houston 20-7 at Dyer Stadium.

2019 - Seattle defends home turf with a 27-14  at Star Fire.

         - Seattle smacks Houston 52-10 at the new SaberCats Stadium.

2020 - 3/4's of the season cancelled, teams did not play.

2021 - Houston finally draws first blood with a 30-24 win at home in Week 1.

         - Seattle fires back three months later with a 40-21 win in Week 18.

2022 - Houston wins at home 21-19.

         - Seattle fireworks come alive back home, 43-36 win.

         - Seattle beats Houston handily in the Western Conference Final 64-27 in Texas. 

2023 - Seattle wins 24-12 in Tukwila.

         - Seattle wins 34-17 in Houston.

         - Seattle wins Quarter Final 37-26 in Houston.

It's almost like the throttling in the 2022 Western Conference Final was a back breaker for Houston. Since then, they haven't settled the score, with the total historic record favoring Seattle 9-2. But does history always predict future outcomes? When picking games, Never EVER, say the words "always" or "never". We do know 1 thing though, whoever wins tonight will be the Best in the West. Until the West is Bested.