What Is 2019 Major League Rugby season

Overview

The 2019 Major League Rugby (MLR) season marked the second edition of the professional rugby union competition in the United States and Canada. Building on the foundation of its inaugural 2018 season, MLR expanded to include a seventh team and refined its competition structure to improve competitiveness and fan engagement across North America.

This season featured a full home-and-away regular season format, culminating in a two-team championship final. The league continued to prioritize player development, domestic talent, and high-tempo rugby, setting the stage for future growth and expansion in the U.S. sports landscape.

• Seven teams competed in the 2019 season: Seattle Seawolves, San Diego Legion, Glendale Raptors, Utah Warriors, Houston SaberCats, Rugby United New York, and Toronto Arrows.
• Rugby United New York joined as an expansion team, bringing professional rugby to the New York metropolitan area for the first time.
• The regular season spanned 14 rounds, with each team playing 12 matches—six home and six away—between January and April.
• Seattle Seawolves became the first repeat champions in MLR history after defeating San Diego Legion 26–23 in the final on July 7, 2019.
• The championship match was held at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, drawing over 3,500 fans and marking the first MLR final held on the East Coast.

How It Works

The 2019 MLR season followed a structured format designed to balance competitive integrity with logistical feasibility across a geographically diverse league.

• Regular Season Format: Each of the seven teams played 12 matches—six at home and six away—over 14 weeks, with teams earning 4 points for a win and 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or fewer.
• Scoring System: Teams earned 4 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 0 for a loss, and a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match.
• Playoff Qualification: The top two teams in the overall standings advanced to the final, eliminating conference-based playoffs used in 2018.
• Travel & Scheduling: Despite teams spread from Toronto to Houston, the league minimized travel costs by clustering games into regional blocks during specific weekends.
• Player Rosters: Each team maintained a squad of 30–35 players, with at least 75% being U.S. or Canadian nationals to promote domestic talent development.
• Championship Final: The final was a single, neutral-site match hosted at Iona College, chosen to boost visibility in a major media market.

Comparison at a Glance

Here’s how the 2019 MLR season compared to the inaugural 2018 season across key metrics:

The table shows that while the number of teams remained the same, the 2019 season featured a full round-robin schedule, increasing total matches by 14. The removal of conference playoffs streamlined the path to the final, and average attendance rose by nearly 17%, reflecting growing fan interest. Hosting the final in New York also marked a strategic shift toward major urban centers.

Why It Matters

The 2019 season was pivotal in establishing Major League Rugby as a sustainable professional sports league in the U.S., demonstrating both on-field excitement and organizational growth.

• Seattle's back-to-back titles validated the team’s dominance and helped build a loyal regional fan base in the Pacific Northwest.
• The inclusion of Rugby United New York expanded MLR’s footprint into one of the largest media markets in North America.
• Increased average attendance to over 2,100 per match signaled growing grassroots support and marketing success.
• The league’s emphasis on 75% domestic player quotas supported the development of U.S. talent ahead of World Cup qualifying efforts.
• Neutral-site finals introduced a Super Bowl-style event model, aiming to boost national exposure and sponsorship appeal.
• MLR’s partnership with ESPN for broadcast coverage in 2019 significantly increased visibility, reaching millions of households weekly.

Overall, the 2019 season laid the groundwork for future expansion, including the addition of teams in Los Angeles and Atlanta in 2020, and reinforced MLR’s role in growing rugby’s popularity in a competitive American sports market.