Talking Everything American Professional Rugby
One path to France has passed. Two more remain. After an exciting exhibition win over the French Barbarians, the USA Eagles are back in official Test action this weekend with the Americas 2 World Cup Qualifier playoff all set. We'll break it all down here. What's at Stake? A guaranteed spot in Rugby World Cup … Continue reading USA Eagles’ Path to Rugby World Cup 2023
USA men's rugby is back in action on July 1st. With it comes the return of FloRugby. FloRugby isn't a new topic here. The streaming home of USA Rugby has drawn universal revile. At a price of $30/month for occasionally spotty streaming, there's a reason why Twitter loves to hate it. The reasons why FloRugby … Continue reading Our Annual Commentary on FloRugby
Houston, we have a lineup. Gary Gold has named his first Eagles team of the year: https://twitter.com/USARugby/status/1542287007493361664 A trio of internationally based players start in the tight five. Toulouse's David Ainu'u and Saracens' Kapeli Pifeleti team up with Utah's Paul Mullen in the front row. Newcastle Falcons' Greg Peterson pairs with New York's Nick Civetta … Continue reading USA Eagles 23 Named for French Barbarians Match
The 2022 MLR season is officially behind us. The rugby is officially not. A big focus of RFT is covering the MLR, but that is merely one way we execute on our grand mission of providing in depth American style analysis of rugby in the USA. As the calendar shifts to the second half of … Continue reading Welcome to the Major League Rugby Offseason
In less than 12 hours, two sides are set to the play for the 2022 Major League Rugby title. Two other sides could already be eliminated from 2023 contention.
Then There Were Two Saying New York and Seattle had different paths to the title match would be an understatement. New York is a team largely built around former stars and a few current Eagles. Seattle sports several Tier 2 internationals, but they lack the star power of other sides. Factor in that Seattle finished … Continue reading 2 Things: MLR Conference Championships
As the American rugby community reels continues to process Austin and LA's disqualification from the MLR Championship Series, sympathy has been poured onto the affected players. That particular sentiment is premature at best. Several respected sources have reported that Austin's disqualification stems from severe salary cap infringements. Reporting from The Guardian indicates that LA fell … Continue reading Sympathy for Disqualified MLR Players is Premature
Hopes that the Gilgronis/Major League Rugby dispute will end quickly are naive at best. The more likely result is a power struggle that sees a prominent player exit the league. Austin's disqualification from the 2022 Championship Series as a result of alleged salary cap infringements was the end of the saga's first chapter, not the … Continue reading The Gilgronis Disqualification is Inherently Political
Since the Austin Gilgronis were disqualified from playoff participation on Friday, details have been scant. The reason for the muddy waters is becoming clear. According to The Rugby Network’s Alexander Diegel: https://twitter.com/AlexanderDiegel/status/1532829067514462209 The speculation from the beginning has surrounded salary cap infringements. If the alleged infringements did occur, they would have to be severe to … Continue reading Austin and Major League Rugby are Headed for War
The Austin Elite never made the playoffs. Neither did the Austin Herd. It appears the Gilgronis addition of the franchise will end with a similar fate. In a stunning twist, Austin has been disqualified from the 2022 MLR Championship Series. The league has neglected to provide any information past claiming a 'violation of league rules'. … Continue reading Austin Disqualified from MLR Championship Series
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