![\"Miami](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754600651_741_960x0.jpg\")
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Tomas Cubelli #9 of Miami Sharks is one of many players whose franchise has folded after the Major League Rugby season. The league remains confident the 2026 season will be a success despite the reduced number of teams.<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a dizzying month for Major League Rugby.<\/p>\n
Just a month ago, the New England Free Jacks were celebrating their third-straight MLR Championship<\/a> \u2014 heralding the dawn of America\u2019s first rugby dynasty. Viewing figures were up, with 258 percent year-over-year streaming viewership growth and a 135 percent year-over-year increase in total minutes streamed \u2014 largely thanks to the league\u2019s deal with ESPN<\/a>. MLR even saw its first documentary, \u201cUnited States of Rugby<\/a>,\u201d hit screens across the country.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the promise of MLR\u2019s eighth season has disappeared like Cheslin Kolbe in open space. It\u2019s been roughly a week since news surfaced that Major League Rugby\u2019s California clubs, San Diego Legion and RFC L.A., are merging <\/a>and that NOLA Gold is stepping away<\/a> from the competition in 2026. At the time, MLR CEO Nic Benson stated, \u201cWe\u2019re as bullish as we\u2019ve ever been about our potential to drive value for the sport and through the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n However, since speaking with me, Benson has received more bad news. The Miami Sharks announced they would also be withdrawing from MLR, just two seasons after joining. As first reported in the Guardian<\/a>, the Sharks asked to take one season off before returning to MLR in 2027, a request which was denied by the board.<\/p>\n Both NOLA and Miami could apply to re-join the league in 2027, but as of now, MLR will go into its ninth season with just eight teams \u2014 the lowest number since its second season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s well known in U.S. rugby circles that both the Utah Warriors and the Miami Sharks were in search of additional funding ahead of the 2026 MLR season. While there is quiet confidence that Utah will secure additional funding, Miami\u2019s ownership group has pulled the plug on their operation, not seeing the returns they were expecting.<\/p>\n With so much turmoil just a month after MLR\u2019s championship game in Rhode Island, fans must wonder what these changes mean for rugby in the U.S., especially with the Olympic sevens and two Rugby World Cups coming to the States in 2028, 2031, and 2033.<\/p>\n The California Legion Merger<\/p>\n San Diego Legion and RFC LA have merged to form California Legion, a rugby club that will represent all of Southern California.<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n San Diego Legion and RFC L.A. have joined forces to become the California Legion. The new entity will pool resources and be Southern California\u2019s sole professional club. Former Wallaby Adam Freier, who has been a key figure in Los Angeles rugby for the past four years, will take the reins as CEO of the California Legion. No details have been shared about whether former San Diego Legion owner Ryan Patterson or RFC L.A. owner Pete Sickle are equal partners or one is the majority owner of the new club.<\/p>\n Upon the announcement of the new club, Freier said, \u201cOur vision is for every young rugby player in California to know there is a clear path to pursue their sport from youth to pro and that path begins with structure, support, and alignment at every stage across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n Understandably, San Diego and L.A. fans will feel hard done by. After all, they are rivals in most sports, and the San Diego Legion had one of the strongest followings in the country. However, Freier is adamant that this move will help align the Southern California rugby community and pay dividends in the long term.<\/p>\n The team will not operate in a single location; instead, it will have home matches in San Diego, L.A., and Orange County. This is not a short-term vision either; the club wants to make use of its connections across Southern California to ensure everyone in the rugby community has a chance to see their team play. No statements have been issued on how season tickets will be affected by the new multi-city stadium decision.<\/p>\n Freier also noted that the team will change color depending on where it is playing. \u201cAt no point will the California Legion enter their stadium in San Diego without their red armor,\u201d he told me, adding that they will play in baby blue when in L.A. Cynics will point out how difficult it will be to build a new identity and extended fanbase, chopping and changing stadiums and colors. But Freier is adamant that \u201cIt\u2019s about being brave and doing things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n With the Major League Rugby College Draft taking place at the end of August, California Legion and MLR will need to move quickly to sort out the future of the players that were once on two separate franchises.<\/p>\n Freier was once the head of the Players\u2019 Association in Australian rugby. As such, he says, \u201cI understand that there would be a lot of anxiety and confusion about this from a player\u2019s point of view.\u201d But he said that the MLR will give the club some time to blend the new squad, noting that no players will be trapped in any deals, nor will established pros be forced to enter a draft and wait for another franchise to call their name.<\/p>\n The overriding feeling from fans (and likely players) regarding the new California Legion is uncertainty. At best, the club could unite Southern California\u2019s rugby communities and its sizable player pool, making the Legion into a giant capable of conquering MLR. At worst, it could be a disparate assembly of players roaming from one stadium to the next without a coherent fanbase. What is clear is that Freier and Benson are both fully backing the merger.<\/p>\n At the time of the announcement, Benson said, \u201cThis new team will build and connect rugby communities to elevate the game in Southern California,\u201d while Freier told me directly, \u201cWe want to make California one of the strongest rugby states not only in America but on the planet.\u201d Benson has also previously mentioned the league\u2019s desire to have a club in Northern California, particularly the Bay Area or Sacramento, where there are strong grassroots clubs and thriving, rugby-loving Polynesian communities.<\/p>\n Miami and NOLA\u2019s Departures<\/p>\n NOLA Gold announced the franchise will not take part in MLR 2026.<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n NOLA Gold announced its decision to leave Major League Rugby at the end of July, just one season after making its first playoff appearance. The club\u2019s official statement only states that it will not be participating in the 2026 season, leaving the door open for a future comeback.<\/p>\n NOLA did not publicly offer a reason for its decision to leave the league, but rumors are that its leadership did not see eye to eye with MLR and the direction the league was heading. For now, the franchise\u2019s ownership group seems intent on investing in community rugby.<\/p>\n In its end-of-season message, NOLA cited a 30% increase in ticket revenue as \u201ca strong indicator of the growing support from our community.\u201d The Gold have introduced over 4,500 children to rugby and seem to be prioritizing the rugby development moving forward.<\/p>\n Despite their departure from MLR, NOLA said, \u201cOur belief in rugby\u2019s long-term potential remains constant – not just on the Gulf Coast, but across the United States. We are building something meaningful here: a franchise rooted in values of commitment, respect, and resilience, and a community that embraces rugby as a force for unity and excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n It remains to be seen if this will continue to be true as the club moves forward outside of MLR.<\/p>\n