Rugby ATL
Rugby ATL were a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) from Atlanta that began play in 2020.
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Nickname(s) | Rattlers | ||
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Founded | 2018 | ||
Location | Atlanta, Georgia | ||
Ground(s) | Silverbacks Park | ||
Coach(es) | Stephen Brett | ||
Captain(s) | Matt Heaton | ||
League(s) | Major League Rugby | ||
2022 | Eliminator round 2nd (Eastern Conference) | ||
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Official website | |||
rugbyatl |
History
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]
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.[3] On August 17, it was announced the team would relocate to Los Angeles.
Sponsorship
Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Other Shirt sponsor(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Canterbury | None | None |
2020–2022 | Paladin Sports | Barbour Orthopedics and Spine | None |
2023 | Terrapin Beer Co. Body Armor Sports Drink |
Roster
The Rugby ATL squad for the 2023 Major League Rugby season is:[4]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- 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
Scott Lawrence (2020-2022)
Stephen Brett (2022–)
Assistant coaches
Stephen Brett (Attack, 2020–2021)[5]
Blake Bradford (2022–)
Captains
- Matt Heaton (2020–present) (co-captain)
- Ryan Nell (2020–present) (co-captain)
Records
Season standings
Season | Conference | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Pld | W | L | F | A | +/− | Result | |||
2020[lower-alpha 1] | 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)
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.[6]
2019 roster
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
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2019 season
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
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.[7] It was cancelled the following week[8]
Regular season
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
Regular season
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
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
Regular season
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
Round | Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
East Eliminator | June 11 | Rugby New York | Home | Lost, 19–26 |
Notes
- 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- "Major League Rugby confirms Boston and Atlanta for 2020 – Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. September 21, 2018.
- "ATLANTA'S NEW MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY TEAM PICKS A NAME". USMLR.com. February 26, 2019.
- "Major League Rugby's Atlanta Team to Relocate". Major League Rugby. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
- "Rugby ATL". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- "Rugby ATL adds Stephen Brett to coaching staff". Americas Rugby News. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "Schedule".
- Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
- "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- Rugby United New York 31-24 Rugby ATL (photo gallery) at Rugbychampagneweb