MLR Wellness
At Major League Rugby, we believe in fostering a healthier community by leveraging our platform to inspire fans, athletes, and stakeholders to lead balanced and healthier lifestyles. Together, we can achieve this by focusing on three essential pillars of wellness: Mental Wellness, Physical Wellness, and Nutritional Wellness.
MLR is dedicated to promoting mental well-being through partnerships with Onrise, the league’s Official Mental Health Provider and Official Mental Fitness Partner, LooseHeadz. Together, they provide valuable resources to emphasize the importance of mental fitness while working to destigmatize conversations around mental health within the rugby community.
Through fitness challenges powered by Stepathlon, MLR will bring fans and players together in shared wellness journeys. By highlighting the routines of professional athletes, we can motivate everyone to stay active.
Nutrition plays a vital role in overall health. MLR Wellness showcases the nutritional habits of athletes to provide insights for making healthier daily choices.
MENTAL WELLNESS
MLR has partnered with mental health provider Onrise to offer comprehensive mental health care and support to players, coaches, and referees.
The first-of-its-kind partnership will provides comprehensive mental health care designed specifically for athletes.
Onrise’s athlete-specific resources are accessible to MLR players, coaches and referees, spanning from peer support delivered by retired athletes, in addition to therapy, psychiatric care and 24/7/365 crisis services.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ONRISE ATHLETE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Since 2022, LooseHeadz has been the league’s Official Mental Fitness Partner. The organization works to place a mental health lead at every rugby team and provide them with a toolkit of resources to support players’ mental fitness. During the 2025 season, LooseHeadz and Onrise will collaborate around these initiatives.
Each May, MLR recognizes #MLRMentalFitness, through a month long campaign where fans hear directly from MLR athletes on what Mental Fitness means to them.
In 2024, 43 LooseHeadz Ambassadors, including coaches, referees, and athletes from across the league, volunteered to lead efforts to #TackleTheStigma and uplift their communities from the inside out. MLR players use their platform to drive conversations around mental fitness and, in turn, strengthen the community. By leading this effort, they’re supporting other athletes and helping to create a positive, lasting difference in mental well-being.
Learn more at: https://looseheadz.co.uk/
Physical Wellness
MLR Wellness champions physical health by offering engaging opportunities for fans, players, and stakeholders to stay active together. Through initiatives like Stepathlon, MLR has fitness challenges that unite the MLR community, allowing everyone to participate in daily physical activities alongside their favorite athletes.
Nutritional Wellness
MLR Wellness emphasizes the importance of nutrition by spotlighting the healthy eating habits of its athletes and providing fans with practical advice on making better dietary choices. By sharing insights into how players fuel their bodies for peak performance, we can offer inspiration for our community to adopt nutritious eating patterns that support overall wellness.
