After their 2020 season was cut short by Covid-19, Major League Rugby announced it’s 2021 schedule on Wednesday, December 8th, 2020. This upcoming season marks the 4th for the prestigious league, which has players starting to take the field on March 20th, 2021.
“We are very excited to return to the pitch for Major League Rugby’s fourth season in North America,” said MLR Commissioner George Killebrew. “The 2021 season will be a celebration, with a focus on the fans and their passion for the game.”
MLR began its inaugural season in 2018 with seven teams which quickly expanded each year and now stands at thirteen. Teams are split into two conferences – the eastern conference which features six teams – Rugby ATL, New England Free Jacks, NOLA Gold, Old Glory DC, Rugby United New York, Toronto Arrows – and the western conference which features seven teams – Austin Gilgronis, Dallas Jackals, Houston SaberCats, LA Giltinis, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, Utah Warriors. This year’s “newcomers” are Los Angeles and Dallas, which are set to faceoff to start the 2021 season. Each of the 13 teams will compete throughout North America over 18 weeks and will culminate with a Championship Final on August 1st, 2021.
“Getting back to some sense of normalcy, is what I’m looking forward to,” said Lucas Rumball, flanker for the Toronto Arrows. “It’s simply going to be training and working hard with the guys, it’s been a while since we have been able to do that and I’m really just excited to get back into it.”
Lance Williams, flanker for the Utah Warriors and one of the top players in the league agrees, “I was just happy to see the schedule come out, it was like butterflies going through my body. It’s been 6 to 7 months that we haven’t touched a ball…and it’s good to see rugby back”
With the 2020 season-ending abruptly after five weeks due to Covid-19, safety is top priority on everybody’s mind for the upcoming season.
“Everything we have done leads towards safety for our players, coaches, staff and fans,” said Killebrew. “In sports, if you follow any of the leagues, you know that it pretty much changes daily. We are watching the people who have gone before us, like the NFL and college football and we are trying to gain the best practices from those. We have a Covid task force at MLR that meets weekly, so we are just doing our best to stay up to speed and really try to get ready for 2021”
MLR has partnered with CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and ESPN+, among other national and local market platforms that will be televising the matches. All matches are also available on Facebook Live for international viewers. Fans can check out the full MLR season schedule linked here.
