MLR Nationality Breakdown By Position: Colorado Raptors

So where do Major League Rugby players come from, and which positions do they play? Let's look at the Colorado Raptors.

Jul 1, 2020 by Alex Rees

MLR Nationality Breakdown By Position: Colorado Raptors

The other day I was thinking about fly-halves in the MLR -- since that is my position -- and I got to thinking how few American players there are playing fly-half in Major League Rugby. The only ones I could think of off the top of my head were Ben Cima (SEA), Scott Dean (SEA), Tadgh Leader (NE) and Zinzan Elan-Puttick (AUS) -- and it's worth noting that both Leader and Elan-Puttick grew up playing rugby in Ireland and South Africa respectively.

So then I started thinking about positions in general, and which ones American players seem to occupy the most frequently in the MLR. To make it easier, I only looked at starting rosters from the first five weeks of the shortened 2020 season, but I think that's enough quantifiable data to get an idea of where American-eligible players are playing.

*I used players' nationality of eligibility rather than their place of birth because the former of those two bits of information is much more easily attainable.

I've decided to go through and do each team one by one, starting alphabetically, so second up are the Colorado Raptors.

Colorado Raptors

Props: Samoa (9 starts); USA (1 start)

Week 1: Sakaria Taulafo (SAM) & Marco Fepulea'i (SAM)
Week 2: Kelepi Fifita (USA) & Marco Fepulea'i (SAM)
Week 3: Sakaria Taulafo (SAM) & Marco Fepulea'i (SAM)
Week 4: Sakaria Taulafo (SAM) & Marco Fepulea'i (SAM)
Week 5: Sakaria Taulafo (SAM) & Marco Fepulea'i (SAM)

Hooker: USA (5)

Week 1: Chad Gough (USA)
Week 2: Chad Gough (USA)
Week 3: Chad Gough (USA)
Week 4: Chad Gough (USA)
Week 5: Chad Gough (USA)

Locks: Australia (5); New Zealand (1); USA (4)

Week 1: Michael Curry (NZL) & Luke White (AUS)
Week 2: Luke White (AUS) & Brendan Daly (USA)
Week 3: Luke White (AUS) & Kody O'Neill (USA)
Week 4: Luke White (AUS) & Kody O'Neill (USA)
Week 5: Luke White (AUS) & Kody O'Neill (USA)

Flankers: USA (4); New Zealand (6)

Week 1: Brendan Daly (USA) & Mike Stewart (NZL)
Week 2: Mike Stewart (NZL) & Michael Curry (NZL)
Week 3: Brendan Daly (USA) & Mike Stewart (NZL)
Week 4: Connor Cook (USA) & Michael Curry (NZL)
Week 5: Connor Cook (USA) & Michael Curry (NZL)

No. 8: New Zealand (5)

Week 1: Samuel Slade (NZL)
Week 2: Samuel Slade (NZL)
Week 3: Samuel Slade (NZL)
Week 4: Samuel Slade (NZL)
Week 5: Samuel Slade (NZL)

Scrum-half: South Africa (3); USA (2)

Week 1: Carlo de Nysschen (RSA)
Week 2: Nick Boyer (USA)
Week 3: Nick Boyer (USA)
Week 4: Carlo de Nysschen (RSA)
Week 5: Carlo de Nysschen (RSA)

Fly-half: Ireland (3); USA (2)

Week 1: Thomas Quinlan (IRE)
Week 2: Thomas Quinlan (IRE)
Week 3: Thomas Quinlan (IRE)
Week 4: Ata Malifa (USA)
Week 5: Ata Malifa (USA)

Centers: USA (3); South Africa (4); New Zealand (3)

Week 1: Robbie Petzer (RSA) & Chad London (RSA)
Week 2: Chad London (USA) & Rene Ranger (NZL)
Week 3: Robbie Petzer (RSA) & Chad London (USA)
Week 4: Robbie Petzer (RSA) & Rene Ranger (NZL)
Week 5: Robbie Petzer (RSA) & Rene Ranger (NZL)

Wings: USA (10)

Week 1: John Ryberg (USA) & Mika Kruse (USA)
Week 2: John Ryberg (USA) & Mika Kruse (USA)
Week 3: John Ryberg (USA) & Mika Kruse (USA)
Week 4: John Ryberg (USA) & Mika Kruse (USA)
Week 5: John Ryberg (USA) & Mika Kruse (USA)