NEWS

News Jul-22-2025

This week the Major League Rugby End of Year Awards are being announced.

Written by Joe Harvey

The very best that the league has to offer have been recognized for their efforts on and off the field, with the Player of the Year, Forward of the Year, Back of the Year, and Coach of the Year all being confirmed.

Selections were voted on by a group made up of MLR media, referees, and stats specialists.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR | PAULA BALEKANA, NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS

If it were not for Paula Balekana, you can question whether or not the New England Free Jacks would have lifted a third successive Major League Rugby title.

That is how important the wing is to his team.

In the Eastern Conference Final, the Fijian’s last-ditch tackle to dislodge the ball from the hands of Chicago Hounds center Bryce Campbell went a long way to hand New England momentum in the contest as they registered a 21-20 win.

In 2025, the 32-year-old was in electric form for Ryan Martin’s team, scored 15 tries in 14 appearances, and made 921 meters from 130 carries.

Such was Balekana’s unerring ability to have an impact on any game he played that his coaches felt little choice but to build wing abilities into the way they played.

“He’s been crucial,” Ryan Martin, New England head coach, said ahead of the Championship Final. “We’ve made a high priority around maximizing his involvement in our team.

“There’s no hiding the fact that we design a lot of our strike plays around what he can bring for us.

“We just need him to express his personality on the field. He plays aggressively, and we just back that.”

The wing joins Free Jacks teammates past and present, Beaudin Waaka, Jayson Potroz, and Wayne van der Bank, in winning the award.

It is also the fourth year in a row that a New England player has taken the prize.

Part of the furniture for the entirety of the Free Jacks’ time as North American champions, anything that Balekana tried came off stupendously and has received the most coveted individual prize in the competition due to this.

FORWARD OF THE YEAR | FRANK LOCHORE, UTAH WARRIORS

For the entirety of his two years with the Utah Warriors, Frank Lochore has been consistency personified.

The New Zealander’s debut season at Zions Bank Stadium resulted in an All-MLR First XV at the end, before doubling down in 2025.

This season, the 24-year-old made 18 appearances (17 starts) for Greg Cooper’s team as they returned to the postseason for the first time in four years and progressed to the Western Conference Final.

To say each of his performances was impressive is putting things mildly.

Most impressive of all is that Lochore completed an all-time season record 303 tackles and surpassed the previous record set by Old Glory DC flanker Cory Daniel in 2024.

If an average of 16.8 tackles a game was not quite enough, the second-row was the most-relied upon lineout receiver in the league with 128 takes and combined effectively with lineout throwers with Liam Coltman, Tu Vugakoto and Phil Bradford.

In addition to those league-leading numbers, Lochore also carried the ball on 118 occasions for 305 meters and arrived at 194 rucks.

All of this has contributed to the combative Kiwi being named MLR Forward of the Year and the first Utah player to receive that recognition.

BACK OF THE YEAR | GONZALO BERTRANOU, RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB LOS ANGELES

Before Gonzalo Bertranou even set foot in California, there was an air of excitement around the Argentina international.

The 31-year-old was a marquee signing for Rugby Football Club Los Angeles after spending the past five years of his career in Wales, and he seamlessly settled into life in the MLR.

In total, the scrum-half made 16 league appearances for LA and scored six tries as the club reached the Playoffs for the first time in their history.

Where Bertranou excelled was providing the final touch in 2025. He led the league with 15 try assists, as he combined well with dual-international fly-half Christian Leali’ifano to direct play around the field.

Bertranou also got to display the skill set that has allowed him to represent Los Pumas for a decade and at the past two Rugby World Cups.

Overall, the Argentine kicked for 2481 meters, and made 685 meters from 183 carries, in a dazzling display of half-back competency.

These performances yielded tangible results. Along with making it to the postseason for the very first time, Bertranou managed to make every player around him better.

Billy Meakes was the most used ball carrier in the league, while Rory van Vugt enjoyed his best personal campaign to date. Others, such as Tim Anstee, Jason Damm, and Ed Timpson, also thrived.