| 2022 Major League Rugby season | |
| Countries: | United States (12 teams) Canada (1 team) |
| Date: | February 5 – June 25 |
| Champions: | Rugby New York (1st title) |
| Matches: | 109 |
| Highest Attendance: | 3,608 Utah Warriors vs Dallas Jackals (March 5, 2022)[1] |
| Tries: | 772 |
| Website: | majorleague.rugby |
| Prevseason: | 2021 |
| Nextseason: | 2023 |
The 2022 Major League Rugby season was the fifth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 5, 2022.[2]
The Dallas Jackals made their debut this season, having postponed their inaugural season from 2021.
MLR added Television Match Officials (TMO) to assist in-game referees with making the correct decisions during all matches.[3]
The regular season consisted of 18 weeks, with each team playing 16 matches, beginning on February 5, 2022[4] and ending on June 5.
The following are the match results for the 2022 Major League Rugby regular season:
| AUS | DAL | HOU | LA | NE | NO | DC | ATL | NY | SD | SEA | TOR | UTA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Gilgronis | 43–7 | 43–5 | 22–9 | 17–25 | 57–12 | 44–28 | 17–6 | 24–10 | ||||||
| Dallas Jackals | 3–57 | 33–38 | 12–56 | 26–32 | 5–41 | 14–53 | 12–34 | 5–33 | ||||||
| Houston SaberCats | 14–29 | 31–6 | 21–11 | 7–10 | 20–31 | 21–19 | 29–17 | 31–27 | ||||||
| LA Giltinis | 10–8 | 47–7 | 17–12 | 19–15 | 43–0 | 26–13 | 27–35 | 19–28 | ||||||
| NE Free Jacks | 33–29 | 26–20 | 15–10 | 14–21 | 22–20 | 21–15 | 33–17 | |||||||
| New Orleans Gold | 10–32 | 13–24 | 50–21 | 9–14 | 19–30 | 12–42 | 23–24 | |||||||
| Old Glory DC | 50–10 | 42–59 | 25–41 | 22–31 | 13–27 | 49–59 | 5–29 | 22–21 | ||||||
| Rugby ATL | 29–14 | 29–22 | 19–31 | 27–41 | 45–19 | 55–22 | 31–36 | 34–23 | ||||||
| Rugby NY | 29–38 | 36–28 | 35–31 | 3–38 | 26–23 | 30–22 | 10–14 | |||||||
| San Diego Legion | 21–35 | 37–29 | 24–34 | 31–27 | 24–12 | 17–30 | 28–31 | 31–29 | ||||||
| Seattle Seawolves | 18–25 | 74–7 | 43–36 | 12–31 | 24–25 | 34–32 | 21–8 | 20–17 | ||||||
| Toronto Arrows | 57–0 | 16–31 | 33–18 | 53–36 | 32–27 | 14–20 | 17–41 | |||||||
| Utah Warriors | 22–8 | 69–22 | 12–28 | 32–39 | 44–26 | 25–40 | 14–20 | 24–27 |
| NE | NO | DC | ATL | NY | TOR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE Free Jacks | 57–5 | ||||||
| New Orleans Gold | 17–34 | ||||||
| Old Glory DC | |||||||
| Rugby ATL | |||||||
| Rugby United NY | 26–29 | ||||||
| Toronto Arrows | 35–50 |
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On June 7, due to breaches of the salary cap rules, Major League Rugby disqualified the two top teams in the Western Conference, the Austin Gilgronis and the LA Giltinis, from the playoffs.[5] After the Seattle Seawolves defeated the San Diego Legion in the Western Conference Eliminator, the Houston SaberCats hosted the Western Conference Final against the Seawolves at Aveva Stadium.[6] The match served as Houston's first appearance in the MLR playoffs.[7]
See main article: 2022 Major League Rugby final.
The top ten try and point scorers during the 2022 Major League Rugby season were:
Last updated: June 26, 2022
| Most tries | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Player | Team | Tries< | -- Pos | Player | Team | Tries--> |
| 1 | Ed Fidow | Rugby New York | 12 | ||||
| 2 |  Riekert Hattingh | Seattle Seawolves | 10 | ||||
| Dean Muir | Houston SaberCats | ||||||
| 4 | Marko Janse van Rensburg | Rugby ATL | 9 | ||||
 Peni Lasaqa | Old Glory DC | ||||||
| 6 | Hanco Germishuys | LA Giltinis | 8 | ||||
| Slade McDowall | New England Free Jacks | ||||||
| Mark O'Keeffe | Austin Gilgronis | ||||||
| Renata Roberts-Tenana | Old Glory DC | ||||||
| William Talataina | Old Glory DC | ||||||
| Beaudein Waaka | New England Free Jacks |
| Most points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Player | Team | Pts< | -- Pos | Player | Team | Points--> |
| 1 | AJ Alatimu | Seattle Seawolves | 166 | ||||
| 2 | Beaudein Waaka | New England Free Jacks | 154 | ||||
| 3 | Joe Pietersen | San Diego Legion | 146 | ||||
| 4 | Sam Malcolm | Toronto Arrows | 100 | ||||
| 5 |  Mack Mason | Austin Gilgronis | 86 | ||||
| 6 | Kurt Coleman | Rugby ATL | 83 | ||||
| 7 | David Coetzer | Houston SaberCats | 79 | ||||
| 8 |  Joaquín de la Vega Mendía | Rugby ATL | 76 | ||||
| Rohan Saifoloi | Old Glory DC | ||||||
| 10 | Jack Heighton | Rugby New York | 67 |
| Player | Team | Red | Yellow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerrie Labuschagné | 2 | 1 | ||
| Apisai Naikatini | 1 | 1 | ||
| Niall Saunders | 1 | 1 | ||
| Slade McDowall | 1 | 1 | ||
| Matt Frings | 1 | 0 | ||
| Hanco Germishuys | 1 | 0 | ||
| Maciu Koroi | 1 | 0 | ||
| Maikeli Naromaitoga | 1 | 0 | ||
| Jake Turnbull | 1 | 0 | ||
| Will Tucker | 1 | 1 | ||
| Riekert Hattingh | 0 | 3 | ||
| Nate Brakeley | 0 | 2 | ||
| Kisi Unufe | 0 | 2 | ||
| Keni Nasoqeqe | 0 | 2 | ||
| Ma'a Nonu | 0 | 2 | ||
| Leslie Leulua'iali'i-Makin | 0 | 2 | ||
| Asa Carter | 0 | 2 | ||
| Tiaan Loots | 0 | 2 | ||
 Josh Larsen | 0 | 2 | ||
| Andy Ellis | 0 | 2 | ||
 Joseph Mano | 0 | 2 | ||
| Conrado Roura | 0 | 1 | ||
| Bronson Teles | 0 | 1 | ||
| Robbie Coleman | 0 | 1 | ||
| Pieter Jansen | 0 | 1 | ||
| Kellen Gordon | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jordan Trainor | 0 | 1 | ||
| Carlo de Nysschen | 0 | 1 | ||
| Malcolm May | 0 | 1 | ||
| Dino Waldren | 0 | 1 | ||
| Alex Tucci | 0 | 1 | ||
| Moe Abdelmonem | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz | 0 | 1 | ||
 Keni Nasoqeqe | 0 | 1 | ||
| Chris Robshaw | 0 | 1 | ||
| Cole Keith | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jurie van Vuuren | 0 | 1 | ||
| Hugh Roach | 0 | 1 | ||
| Christian Ostberg | 0 | 1 | ||
| Chad London | 0 | 1 | ||
| Samu Manoa | 0 | 1 | ||
| James Malcolm | 0 | 1 | ||
| Lui Sitama | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jesse Parete | 0 | 1 | ||
 Setefano Funaki | 0 | 1 | ||
| Nicolás Solveyra | 0 | 1 | ||
| Ueta Tufuga | 0 | 1 | ||
| Paul Ciulini | 0 | 1 | ||
| James O'Neill | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jack Reeves | 0 | 1 | ||
| Ryan Louwrens | 0 | 1 | ||
| Casey McDermott Vai | 0 | 1 | ||
| Johnny Sheridan | 0 | 1 | ||
| Mike Sheppard | 0 | 1 | ||
| Djustice Sears-Duru | 0 | 1 | ||
| Thomas Tu'avao | 0 | 1 | ||
| James Mocke | 0 | 1 | ||
| Tevita Tameilau | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jaco Bezuidenhout | 0 | 1 | ||
| Frikkie de Beer | 0 | 1 | ||
| Cam Dodson | 0 | 1 | ||
| Siaosi Mahoni | 0 | 1 | ||
| Emmanuel Albert | 0 | 1 | ||
| Payton Telea-Ilalio | 0 | 1 | ||
| Junior Sa'u | 0 | 1 | ||
| Kelly Kolberg | 0 | 1 | ||
| Ben Mitchell | 0 | 1 | ||
| Chris Baumann | 0 | 1 | ||
| Joe Taufeteʻe | 0 | 1 | ||
| Paula Balekana | 0 | 1 | ||
| Herman Agenbag | 0 | 1 | ||
| Tommy Madaras | 0 | 1 | ||
| Tevita Naqali | 0 | 1 | ||
| Paddy Ryan | 0 | 1 | ||
| Matai Leuta | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jesse Parete | 0 | 1 | ||
| Johan Momsen | 0 | 1 | ||
| Juan Pablo Zeiss | 0 | 1 | ||
| Marno Redelinghuys | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jack Iscaro | 0 | 1 | ||
| Rhyno Herbst | 0 | 1 | ||
| Andrew Quattrin | 0 | 1 | ||
| Mills Sanerivi | 0 | 1 | ||
| Fintan Coleman | 0 | 1 | ||
| Felix Kalapu | 0 | 1 | ||
| Michael Smith | 0 | 1 | ||
| Julián Domínguez | 0 | 1 | ||
| Lachlan McCaffrey | 0 | 1 | ||
| Will Burke | 0 | 1 | ||
| AJ Alatimu | 0 | 1 | ||
| Connor Burns | 0 | 1 | ||
| Stan South | 0 | 1 | ||
| Chance Wenglewski | 0 | 1 | ||
 Wian Conradie | 0 | 1 | ||
| Osaiasi Tonga'uiha | 0 | 1 | ||
| Billy Stewart | 0 | 1 | ||
| Beaudein Waaka | 0 | 1 | ||
 Wilton Rebolo | 0 | 1 | ||
| Pele Cowley | 0 | 1 | ||
| Luke Carty | 0 | 1 | ||
| Cyrille Cama | 0 | 1 |
| Award | Player | Team | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach of the Year | Head Coach | |||
| Player of the Year | New England Free Jacks | Fly-half | ||
| Rookie of the Year | Outside Center | |||
| Back of the Year | Center | |||
| Forward of the Year | Flanker |
The MLR introduced a new postseason award; the S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award, which honors the MLR player who has made a "positive impact in their community while exuding the values of the sport of rugby".
The award is named after the late S. Marcus Calloway, the former chairman and majority owner of Rugby ATL who died in December 2021. It will be awarded to the player who shows "passion, excellence and integrity on and off the field, inspires others to action, shows strength in character, aids those less fortunate, and embraces the core values of rugby, while displaying solidarity, discipline and respect". Each Major League Rugby team will nominate one player each year for the award, with a committee made up of MLR Commissioner George Killebrew, Deputy Commissioner Bill Goren and Marcus' widow Clea Calloway, selecting the winner from the 13 nominees. The winning player will be presented with a commemorative trophy and a $5,000 donation to the non-profit of their choice at the MLR Championship Final.[8]
During the MLR Championship Final, it was announced that Andrew Quattrin of the Toronto Arrows was the recipient of the inaugural S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award. Quattrin was presented with a commemorative trophy and a $5,000 donation to his non-profit, Optimism Place.[9]