Josh Larsen Reaches 50 Caps

On Saturday, March 11th, Josh Larsen became the thirty-first player in Major League Rugby to appear in 50 matches. At six years old, Josh (Free Jack #1) began playing Rugby while attending Mount Albert Grammar School. Larsen was selected to represent Canada for the U-20s during the 2014 Junior World Trophy. While at the University of Otago, he played for Taieri RFC and joined the Northland Academy in 2016. In 2017 he was signed and played for the Northland Taniwha, helping the province reach the Mitre 10 Cup Championship Semi-Finals.

Photo by the New England Free Jacks

In 2017, Josh made his first senior appearance for Canada against the Maori All Blacks and would make his full test debut for Canada (#448) against Georgia on November 11th of that year. In 2018, he played provincially for the BC Bears in the Men's Canadian Rugby Championship and moved from Northland to Otago in the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership. Josh made his first appearance in MLR for the Austin Elite in 2019 alongside his brother Travis. Following the 2019 MLR season, Josh made his Rugby World Cup debut against Italy on September 26th, 2019. He has appeared 17 times for Canada. The Free Jacks signed Josh ahead of the 2020 season, and he has captained the club for all four of their seasons. As a senior club player, he played for Taieri RFC, Northland, Austin Elite, BC Bears, and Otago.

Photo by Griff Lacey

To date, he has scored 5 tries, made 328 ball carries, has 1,584 meters run, made 651 tackles, and 964 ruck arrivals in his MLR career. Major League Rugby is honoring the first 50 players to reach 50 caps and their role in building the legacy of MLR. The latest of the first thirty-one players to accomplish 50 caps for MLR includes Mikey Te'o of San Diego Legion, Andrew Quattrin of the New England Free Jacks, and Kevin Sullivan of NOLA Gold. Stay tuned for more announcements as players reach the 50 caps milestone, and cement their spot in Major League Rugby’s history.