NEWS

News Jun-3-2019

Seattle Seawolves, Toronto Arrows and Rugby United New York Clinch Playoff Spot in MLR Championship Series

MLR announces the Seattle Seawolves, Toronto Arrows and Rugby United New York as the three teams to clinch a playoff spot in Week 19

Salt Lake City, UT; June 3, 2019: it took until the very last day of the season, but the table for Major League Rugby’s Championship Series is set. The Seattle Seawolves, the Toronto Arrows, and Rugby United New York all punched their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday to join the San Diego Legion in the semi-final round set to kick off on Sunday, June 9.

The Seawolves, the winners of the Championship Shield in 2018, defeated Austin Elite Rugby 38-26 at home to earn the opportunity to defend their title. After starting the season with a 2-2 record, the Seawolves didn’t drop more than one game in a month for the rest of the season. Sunday’s win over the Elite improved the Seawolves’ record to 11-4-1. They finished the season with 58 points in the table to secure the second seed heading into the MLR Championship Series.

While the top half of the table consists of two teams that competed in the inaugural MLR Championship Series, the bottom half of the table consists of two teams in their inaugural season. Both the Toronto Arrows and Rugby United New York finished their first season in the MLR with 11-5 records to head into the semi-final round as the third and fourth seed, respectfully. The difference in seeding was decided by a 22-20 Arrows victory over RUNY on Sunday afternoon. The Arrows finished the season with 57 points while RUNY finished right behind them with 54 points in the table.

Major League Rugby’s Championship series will consist of two semi-final games and the MLR Championship game over the course of two weekends. Both semi-final matches will be played on Sunday, June 9 with the San Diego Legion hosting Rugby United New York at Torero Stadium at 5 PM ET and the Seattle Seawolves hosting the Toronto Arrows at Starfire Stadium at 9 PM ET. Both semi-final matches will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The highest remaining seed will host the lower remaining seed in the MLR Championship game at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 16. The MLR Championship will be broadcast on CBS.

Find San Diego v RUNY tickets here.

Find Seattle v Toronto tickets here.

About MLR

MLR is a professional rugby league launched in April of 2018. It’s an initiative of the North American rugby community, in partnership with private investors, who believe that North American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level. MLR will be the pinnacle of North American rugby, and provide a rallying point for local communities, a focal point for North American rugby fans, and an aspirational destination for young athletes. There are already over 40 internationals and players from more than 15 countries playing in the MLR. Twenty-two MLR stars represented the USA Eagles and Canada national teams in the opening round of the 2019 Americas Rugby Championship, with more than 30 called up over the course of the tournament.

The teams competing in MLR Season 2 are Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors, Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, Utah Warriors plus new additions Rugby United New York and Toronto Arrows. In 2020, New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC and Rugby ATL will bring the total to 12 teams for MLR Season 3.