Rugby Football Club Los Angeles

Professional Rugby Union Team from Los Angeles, California, United States

Rugby team

Rugby FC Los Angeles

Founded| 2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Location| Los Angeles, California
Ground(s)| Dignity Health Sports Park (Capacity: 27,000)
Coach(es)| Stephen Brett
Captain(s)| TBA
League(s)| Major League Rugby
2023| 5th (Eastern Conference)

1st kit

2nd kit

|

Official website
rugbyfcla.com

Rugby FC Los Angeles (RFCLA) is a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) from Los Angeles. The team began play in 2020 as Rugby ATL, based in Atlanta, Georgia but announced they would relocate to Los Angeles for the 2024 season, under new ownership.

## History[edit]

On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Atlanta was one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season.[1] The team name Rugby ATL was revealed on February 26, 2019.[2] The team was unofficially known as the Rattlers and in 2021 an alternate logo with a rattlesnake was unveiled.[3] Rugby ATL played its first three seasons at Lupo Family Field on the campus of Life University in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta. The field was damaged by flooding in September 2021 and the team moved to Silverbacks Park ahead of the 2022 season.[4]

On August 2, 2023, Major League Rugby announced that Rugby ATL would be relocating to a yet-to-be announced location for the 2024 season.[5] On August 17, it was announced the team would relocate to Los Angeles.

On December 21, it was announced that the team would be renamed to Rugby FC Los Angeles, abbreviated to RFCLA.[6][7] On the same day, it was announced that RFCLA would play out of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA.

## Sponsorship[edit]

Season  | Kit manufacturer  | Shirt sponsor  | Other Shirt sponsor(s)

|
|
|

2019  | Canterbury | None  | None
2020–2023  | Paladin Sports | Barbour Orthopedics and Spine  | None
Terrapin Beer Co.
Body Armor Sports Drink

## Roster[edit]

For player movements before and during the 2024 season, see List of 2023–24 Major League Rugby transfers § Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is:[8]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

| Player  | Position  | Union

|
|

Bruce Kauika-Petersen | Hooker |  New Zealand
Ben Strang | Hooker |  United States
Connor Grindal* | Prop |  Australia
Alessandro Heaney | Prop |  United States
Alex Maughan | Prop |  United States
Lincoln Si'i | Prop |  United States
Conor Young | Prop |  Canada
Dane Zander | Prop |  Australia
Liam Antrobus | Lock |  United States
Matt Gelhaus | Lock |  United States
Reegan O'Gorman | Lock |  Canada
Theo Vukašinović | Lock |  England
Michael Amiras | Back row |  South Africa
Jason Damm | Back row |  United States
Matt Heaton | Back row |  Canada
Max Katjijeko | Back row |  Namibia
Semi Kunatani | Back row |  Fiji
Jurie van Vuuren | Back row |  South Africa
| Player  | Position  | Union

|
|

Nick Hartley | Scrum-half |  United States
Niall Saunders | Scrum-half |  Ireland
Tas Smith | Scrum-half |  United States
Matt Anticev | Fly-half |  United States
Jordan Chait | Fly-half |  South Africa
Dan Hollinshead | Fly-half |  New Zealand
Sam Walsh | Fly-half |  United States
Jason Emery | Centre |  New Zealand
Will Leonard | Centre |  Ireland
Seth Purdey | Centre |  Canada
James Stokes | Centre |  England
Andrew Coe | Wing |  Canada
Jack Shaw | Wing |  Canada
Caleb Strum | Wing |  United States
Austin White | Wing |  United States
Rory van Vugt | Fullback |  New Zealand

* Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
* * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
* MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

### Head coaches[edit]

* Scott Lawrence (2020-2022)
* Stephen Brett (2022–)

### Assistant coaches[edit]

* Stephen Brett (Attack, 2020–2021)[9]
* Blake Bradford (2022–)

### Captains[edit]

* Matt Heaton (2020–present) (co-captain)
* Ryan Nell (2020–present) (co-captain)

## Records[edit]

### Season standings[edit]

Season  | Conference  | Regular season  | Postseason

|
|
|

Pos  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | F  | A  | +/−  | BP  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | F  | A  | +/−  | Result
2020[a] | Eastern  | 5th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 116 | 110 | +6 | 4 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancelled
2021 | Eastern  | 2nd | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 420 | 321 | +99 | 13 | 57 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 40 | -13 | Won East Conference Final (Rugby United New York) 10–9
Lost Major League Rugby final (LA Giltinis) 17–31
2022 | Eastern  | 2nd | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 468 | 340 | +128 | 11 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 26 | -7 | Lost East Conference Eliminator (Rugby New York) 19–26
2023 | Eastern  | 5th | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 355 | 428 | -73 | 6 | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify
Totals | 53 | 29 | 1 | 23 | 1,359 | 1,199 | +160 | 28 | 126 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 46 | 66 | -20 | 2 postseason appearances

## 404 Rugby (2019)[edit]

Rugby ATL started with an exhibition side, called 404 Rugby. From September to November 2019, 404 Rugby played exhibition matches against Mystic River, NYAC, Old Blue, and USA Rugby men's club champions Life University.[10]

### 2019 roster[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

| Player  | Position  | Union

|
|

Alex Maughan | Hooker |  United States
Amro Gouda | Hooker |  United States
Barrington McNutt | Hooker |  United States
Sam Chaney | Prop |  United States
Nick Towns | Prop |  United States
Cullen Barelka | Prop |  United States
Sam Peri | Lock |  United States
Michael Young | Lock |  United States
Paris Hollis | Flanker |  United States
Josh Rieser | Flanker |  United States
Andre Potgieter | Flanker |  South Africa
Lordan Hinojosa | Flanker |  United States
Marthinus van Zyl | Number 8 |  South Africa
| Player  | Position  | Union

|
|

Kurtis Werner | Scrum-half |  United States
Sam Christmann | Scrum-half |  United States
Lucas Baistrocchi | Fly-half |  United States
Ryan Britain | Centre |  United States
Martini Talapusi | Centre |  United States
Richard Shore | Centre |  United States
Drew Moyes | Wing |  United States
Eamonn Mathews | Wing |  United States
Sam Trammel | Wing |  United States
Tom Wallace | Wing |  United States
John Truax | Wing |  United States
Robert Mattison | Fullback |  South Africa

### 2019 season[edit]

All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the MLR standings.

Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result

|
|
|
|

September 7 | Mystic River | Away | Pine Banks | 50–25
September 14 | Old Blue | Home | Lupo Family Field | 45–6
September 28 | New York Athletic Club | Away | Travers Island | 42–17
October 5 | Life University | Away | Lupo Family Field | 22–21
October 12 | New Orleans | Away | Gretna Park | 55–24
October 19 | Old Blue | Away | Columbia Soccer Stadium | 17–25
November 2 | New York Athletic Club | Home | Lupo Family Field | 66–7
November 9 | Life University | Home | Lupo Family Field | 30–18

## 2020 season[edit]

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic.[11] It was cancelled the following week[12]

### Regular season[edit]

Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result

|
|
|
|

February 9 | Utah Warriors | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Won, 28–19
February 16 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Gold Mine | Won, 22–10
February 23 | Rugby United New York | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Lost, 19–22
March 1 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Lost, 18–28
March 8 | Old Glory DC | Away | Cardinal Stadium | Lost, 29–31
March 22 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Cancelled
March 28 | Austin Gilgronis | Away | Round Rock Multipurpose Complex | Cancelled
April 5 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Cancelled
April 10 | Rugby United New York | Away | MCU Park | Cancelled
April 19 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Lamport Stadium | Cancelled
April 26 | San Diego Legion | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Cancelled
May 2 | Colorado Raptors | Away | Infinity Park | Cancelled
May 10 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Cancelled
May 17 | Old Glory DC | Home | Life University Running Eagles Stadium | Cancelled
May 23 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Aveva Stadium | Cancelled
May 30 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Union Point Sports Complex | Cancelled

## 2021 season[edit]

### Regular season[edit]

Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result

|
|
|

March 20 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Won, 21–14
March 27 | Old Glory DC | Away | Lost, 23–30
April 3 | San Diego Legion | Home | Won, 41–22
April 11 | Rugby United New York | Home | Lost, 17–27
April 17 | Austin Gilgronis | Away | Lost, 15–17
April 24 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Won, 38–28
May 9 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won, 33–29
May 15 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Won, 33–18
May 23 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Won, 25–6
May 29 | LA Giltinis | Home | Won, 17–12
June 5 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Won, 8–7
June 13 | Rugby United New York | Away | Lost, 24–31
June 19 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Won, 33–15
June 26 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 32–12
July 10 | Utah Warriors | Away | Won, 41–31
July 18 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 19–22

### Post season[edit]

Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result

|
|
|

July 24 | Rugby United New York | Home | Won, 10–9
August 1 | LA Giltinis | Away | Lost, 17–31

## 2022 season[edit]

### Regular season[edit]

Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result

|
|
|

February 5 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 55–22
February 12 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Won, 14–9
February 19 | Rugby New York | Home | Lost, 31–36
March 5 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Won, 29–22
March 12 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Won, 29–14
March 20 | Old Glory DC | Away | Won, 27–13
March 26 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Lost, 27-41
April 2 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won 20-14
April 9 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Won, 34-17
April 24 | San Diego Legion | Away | Won, 30-17
April 30 | LA Giltinis | Home | Lost, 19-31
May 7 | Utah Warriors | Away | Lost, 26-44
May 13 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 10-15
May 22 | Rugby New York | Away | Won, 38-3
May 28 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Won, 34-23
June 3 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Won, 45-19

### Postseason[edit]

See also: 2022 Major League Rugby playoffs

Round | Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result

|
|
|
|

East Eliminator | June 11 | Rugby New York | Home | Lost, 19–26

## 2023 season[edit]

### Regular season[edit]

Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result

|
|
|
|

February 17 | Rugby ATL | Home | Silverbacks Park | Won, 17–10
February 24 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Starfire Sports Complex | Lost, 28–22
March 4 | NOLA Gold | Home | Silverbacks Park | Won, 29–16
March 18 | San Diego Legion | Home | Silverbacks Park | Lost, 10–35
March 25 | Houston SaberCats | Away | SaberCats Stadium | Lost, 40–28
April 2 | New York Ironworkers | Away | Memorial Field | Lost, 31–20
April 8 | Old Glory DC | Home | Silverbacks Park | Won, 35–27
April 15 | NOLA Gold | Away | The Gold Mine | Won, 23–7
April 22 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Veterans Memorial Stadium | Lost, 23–13
May 6 | Chicago Hounds | Home | Silverbacks Park | Won, 27–12
May 12 | Toronto Arrows | Away | York Lions Stadium | Draw, 34–34
May 20 | Dallas Jackals | Home | Silverbacks Park | Lost, 27–19
May 27 | Utah Warriors | Away | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 28–12
June 2 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Silverbacks Park | Lost, 35–14
June 10 | New York Ironworkers | Home | Silverbacks Park | Lost, 39–24
June 17 | Old Glory DC | Away | Segra Field | Lost, 36–28

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Major League Rugby confirms Boston and Atlanta for 2020 – Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. September 21, 2018.
2. ^ "ATLANTA'S NEW MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY TEAM PICKS A NAME". USMLR.com. February 26, 2019.
3. ^ "Rugby ATL unveil new logo for 2021 season". Americas Rugby News. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
4. ^ "Rugby ATL relocate to Silverbacks Park for 2022". Americas Rugby News. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
5. ^ "Major League Rugby's Atlanta Team to Relocate". Major League Rugby. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
6. ^ "Major League Rugby Officially Announces Rugby FC Los Angeles for 2024". Major League Rugby.
7. ^ "Major League Rugby Officially Announces Rugby Football Club Los Angeles for 2024". Rugby FC LA. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
8. ^ "RFC Los Angeles". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
9. ^ "Rugby ATL adds Stephen Brett to coaching staff". Americas Rugby News. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
10. ^ "Schedule".
11. ^ Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
12. ^ "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* Rugby United New York 31-24 Rugby ATL (photo gallery) at Rugbychampagneweb

* v
* t
* e

RFC Los Angeles

* Founded 2018
* Based in Los Angeles, California

Coach(es)|

* Stephen Brett
* Kurt Coleman (Assistant)
* Neil Tunnah (Assistant)

Players|

* Team captain: TBA
* Current squad

Stadiums|

* Lupo Family Field (2020–2023)
* Dignity Health Sports Park (2024–present)

Seasons|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022

Final appearances|

* (1) 2021

Championships|

* (0)

Other|

* Pathway 404

* v
* t
* e

Major League Rugby

Teams|

| Active Teams|

* Chicago Hounds
* Dallas Jackals
* Houston SaberCats
* New England Free Jacks
* New Orleans Gold
* Old Glory DC
* Rugby Football Club Los Angeles
* San Diego Legion
* Seattle Seawolves
* Utah Warriors

|

Future teams|

* Nuevo Léon

Former teams|

* Austin Gilgronis
* Colorado Raptors
* LA Giltinis
* Rugby New York
* Toronto Arrows

By year|

| MLR seasons|

* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
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|

MLR championships|

* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Player transfers|

* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023-24

Collegiate Draft|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

See also|

| MLR Virtual|

* 2020

|

* v
* t
* e

City of Los Angeles

By topic|

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* v
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Sports teams based in Greater Los Angeles

Baseball|

MLB
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Inland Empire 66ers
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Basketball|

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Los Angeles Clippers
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Ice hockey|

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Soccer|

MLS
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NISA
California United Strikers FC
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NPSL
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High Desert Elite FC
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UPSL
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Oxnard Guerreros FC
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WPSL
7 teams, Coastal Conference

Australian rules football|

USAFL
Los Angeles Dragons
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Roller derby|

WFTDA
Angel City Derby Girls
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West Coast Derby Knockouts
RDCL
Los Angeles Derby Dolls

Rugby union|

MLR
Rugby Football Club Los Angeles
SCRFU
Back Bay RFC
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Los Angeles RFC
Santa Monica Rugby Club

Team tennis|

WTT
Orange County Breakers

Ultimate|

AUDL
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WUL
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Esports|

Los Angeles Guerrillas
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College athletics|

| NCAA Division I|

* Cal State Fullerton
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* Pepperdine
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* UC Riverside
* UCLA
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|

NCAA Division II|

* Azusa Pacific
* Biola
* Cal Poly Pomona
* Cal State Dominguez Hills
* Cal State Los Angeles
* Cal State San Bernardino
* Concordia

NCAA Division III|

* Caltech
* Cal Lutheran
* Chapman
* Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
* La Verne
* Occidental
* Pomona-Pitzer
* Redlands
* Whittier

NAIA|

* Antelope Valley
* Hope International
* La Sierra
* Life Pacific
* The Master's
* Providence Christian
* Soka
* Vanguard
* Westcliff

Venues|

Current

* Acrisure Arena
* Anaheim Convention Center
* Angel Stadium
* BMO Stadium
* Crypto.com Arena
* Dignity Health Sports Park
* Dodger Stadium
* Kia Forum
* Galen Center
* Honda Center
* Indian Wells Tennis Garden
* Long Beach Arena
* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Pauley Pavilion
* Rose Bowl
* SoFi Stadium
* Toyota Arena
* Walter Pyramid

Former

* Gilmore Field
* Gilmore Stadium
* Grand Olympic Auditorium
* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
* Pan-Pacific Auditorium
* Wrigley Field

Future

* Intuit Dome (under construction)

Rivalries|

* El Tráfico
* Freeway Series
* Freeway Face-Off
* Lakers–Clippers
* UCLA–USC

* v
* t
* e

RFC Los Angeles - current squad

Forwards|

* Liam Antrobus
* Michael Amiras
* Jason Damm
* Matt Gelhaus
* Connor Grindal
* Alessandro Heaney
* Matt Heaton
* Max Katjijeko
* Bruce Kauika-Petersen
* Semi Kunatani
* Alex Maughan
* Reegan O'Gorman
* Lincoln Si'i
* Ben Strang
* Jurie van Vuuren
* Theo Vukašinović
* Conor Young
* Dane Zander

Backs|

* Matt Anticev
* Jordan Chait
* Andrew Coe
* Jason Emery
* Nick Hartley
* Dan Hollinshead
* Will Leonard
* Seth Purdey
* Niall Saunders
* Jack Shaw
* Tas Smith
* James Stokes
* Caleb Strum
* Rory van Vugt
* Sam Walsh
* Austin White

Coach|

* Stephen Brett

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