Major League Rugby lost its lone Canadian franchise when the Toronto Arrows folded after the 2023 season.
But with some 45 Canadians playing in the 11-team league, including 15 at the two-time defending champion New England Free Jacks, Canada is well represented as MLR kicks off its eighth season this weekend.
Canadians on the Free Jacks, who open play Saturday at RFC Los Angeles, are forwards Josh Larsen, Kyle Steeves, Andrew Quattrin, Kyle Baillie, Foster DeWitt, Conor Keys, Piers von Dadelszen and Ethan Fryer and backs Ben LeSage, Noah Bain, Isaac Olson, Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti, Jack Reeves, Brock Webster and Josiah Morra.
"It's pretty cool to have everyone down here," said Larsen, a 30-year-old lock who was the club's first-ever signing ahead of its 2020 inaugural season.
In taking on RFC LA, New England could face Canadians Matt Heaton, Andrew Coe, Reegan O'Gorman, Jack Shaw, Seth Purdey and Conor Young.
The league enters its eighth season with six teams in the Eastern Conference and five in the West, with the Dallas Jackals closing shop after last season.
Teams will play a 16-match regular season with eight home and eight away matches. The top four from each conference make the playoffs with the two conference winners facing off in the championship game.
New England defeated the Seattle Seawolves 20-11 in August to defend the title it won in 2023 by edging the San Diego Legion 25-24.
The Free Jacks went 11-5-0 during the regular season last year and 14 -2-0 the year before.
Keys, another lock forward, expects a target on New England''s back again this season.
"Knowing that everyone's going to be coming at us, same as it was last year," said the 28-year-old from Stittsville, Ont. "After the first year we won, everyone had their best game against us, I felt, and we had to show up every game. So it's probably even more so this year. We can't ever have a game off."
Coach Scott Mathie, named the MLR Coach of the Year in 2024 for the second time, has left New England to become attack and backs coach at Edinburgh Rugby. Ryan Martin returns as head coach after three seasons away as an assistant coach with the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby, Toyota Verblitz in Japan, and Northland in the New Zealand's National Provincial Championship (NPC).
New Zealand fullback Reece Macdonald, named the league's top rookie in 2023 and top back in '24, has left for RFC Los Angeles.
"A massive loss, for sure and LA's got a good one there," said Larsen.
But New Zealand fly half Jayson Potroz and South African centre Wayne van der Bank, both first-team all stars, are back with the Free Jacks, and the team added Argentine backrower Jeronimo Gomez Vara, named the league's top forward in 2024 with Dallas.
He credits the Free Jacks' culture for its success. Hungry, humble and hard-working are club values.
"We've had world-class coaching and players playing some of their best rugby in years," Larsen said.
Larsen, who was born on Vancouver Island and raised in Fiji, the Cook Islands and New Zealand, says the team has found a home in Quincy, a suburb south of Boston.
And in a league that has seen franchises come and go, New England has been a constant.
"When you come to the Free Jacks, you're going to get looked after. You're going to have quality human beings around you and you're going to be well-coached," said Larsen, who stands six foot four and weighs 235 pounds.
The Canadian content is the MLR is important with World Cup qualifying set for later this year via the Pacific Nations Cup under new Canada coach Steve Meehan. With more talent coming to the North American league, the battle for playing time increases, however.
"I'd love to see a Canadian team come back in the league, to be honest with you," said Larsen.
Larsen's father is a New Zealander, who fell in love with a Canadian on his travels. They got married and started a family in Parksville, B.C., with their dad playing rugby for the Nanaimo Hornets.
Josh was five when the family moved to New Zealand. His father was in hotel management so the family spent three years in Fiji and the Cook Islands along the way. His father now lives in New Zealand, as does Josh's older brother Travis, a former MLR player.
In 2019, Larsen opted to leave New Zealand for North America to be closer to Canada — and start his MLR career in Austin where he met his now-wife Sydney.
Larsen made headlines at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan when, after coming on in the 12th minute against South Africa as an injury replacement, he was red-carded in the 36th minute for a shoulder charge to the neck of prop Thomas du Toit at a ruck.
After the eventual champion Springboks won 66-7, Larsen drew worldwide praise for his sportsmanship in going into the South Africa locker-room afterwards to apologize and wish the Springboks well.
Larsen received a standing ovation from the South African party — and had a can of beer thrust into his hand.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
