Major League Rugby: Q&A with MLR commentator Dallen Stanford
With the first regular season of Major League Rugby now complete, we had a Q&A with former USA Sevens representative and current MLR broadcaster Dallen Stanford, who chatted about the promise of the new league and the continued development of rugby in the United States – plus who to look out for in the Major League Rugby playoffs.
Dallen can be found on Twitter at @therugbycorner and on his website.
RugbyPass: How much promise does this competition have moving forward and what do you think will be the key to its longevity?
Dallen Stanford: The key to its longevity is the ownership model, with seven different groups involved in year one.
The previous attempt at professional rugby in the US was owned by one entity, hence the Major League Soccer (MLS) model used today is proving extremely successful.
The fact that expansion is already in the works bodes well for the league: Rugby United New York (2019), potentially Washington, D.C. and Dallas (2020) plus interest from other cities including Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver.
Vitally important is engaging the community, especially the sports fan that doesn’t know rugby, which will help sustain the competition’s growth. Many of the franchises have done some impressive work in their communities, showcasing rugby’s positive values.
The local media attention has been extremely exciting to witness in the various markets, including broadcasting all Major League Rugby (MLR) matches. Having a match each week on national television (CBS Sports Network) has been gold for the growth of the game. MLR has also broadcast the rest of the fixtures via ESPN, AT&T SportsNet/ROOT Sports and Facebook Live for overseas viewers.
The Seattle Seawolves sold out all four of their home matches at the 4,500 seater Starfire Stadium, while strong attendance numbers were recorded at the other venues at times throughout the season. The match I called at Torero Stadium in San Diego this past weekend had 3,000 fans with a wonderful atmosphere seeing hundreds of kids getting autographs and kicking a rugby ball around after the game. Infinity Park should have a very strong crowd yet again this weekend for the MLR Playoffs as they do a fantastic job promoting the game in RugbyTown USA.
Do you think this competition has increased America’s interest in rugby?
DS: Definitely. But before answering that, several performances and results have garnered more interest in rugby in North America:
– Top 4 finish at 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup
– USA 15s Men going 8-0 in 2018, including back-to-back Americas Rugby Championship titles and the 30-29 thriller against Scotland
– Winning the USA 7s in Las Vegas (Men) and Perry Baker being named World Rugby’s 7s Player of the Year
– Silver (Dubai) and Bronze (Langford) for Women’s 7s.
Major League Rugby has unearthed plenty of new fans over the past three months, evidence being strong attendance numbers at many of the matches and increased social media fan engagement.
There will always be the loyal rugby fan attending in person, watching on television or online, posting on social media – but capturing the non-rugby fan is the key to success. The league and the franchises have been doing an excellent job in this regard, and I expect it to elevate year on year.
Who are the teams to watch in the playoffs?
MLR Playoffs – June 30, Infinity Park, Glendale, CO
7.00PM ET Seattle Seawolves (2) vs. San Diego Legion (3)
9.30PM ET Glendale Raptors (1) vs. Utah Warriors (4)
DS: All four sides will be quality, with plenty of attacking weapons across the board. My prediction is a Glendale Raptors v San Diego Legion final.
The Glendale Raptors topped the table, their only defeat in the competition came during the final regular season fixture against the San Diego Legion. The Raptors host the MLR Playoffs and will be tough to stop at Infinity Park this Saturday June 30th, especially with several USA Eagles returning to action following a historic unbeaten summer.
Amongst those players, key will be tacticians Shaun Davies and Will Magie, alongside big forward Ben Landry, the physical Bryce Campbell and livewire hooker Dylan Fawsitt.
The same for the Legion who welcome back USA hat-trick hero Number 8 Cam Dolan, sleek sensation Dylan Audsley and chatterbox Nate Augspurger.
For the Utah Warriors, it’s the missile back in the midfield Paul Lasike, who often requires three or four defenders to bring him down.
Seattle Seawolves bolster their pack with the hammer Vili Toluta’u and powerful scrummager Olive Kilifi.
Which player has impressed you the most over the course of the season?
DS: The USA Eagles in MLR have impressed, but two finishers that stand out for me are wingers Tonata Lauti (Utah Warriors) and Harley Davidson (Glendale Raptors). Lauti tops the try-scoring table so far with eight tries, followed by Davidson with six.
How much of an impact do you think this competition has had on the national team/development of USA Rugby – especially now they’ve just beaten Scotland?
DS: This year was the first time that a USA Head Coach was able to select a squad that consisted 100% of professional players. Gary Gold and his staff were able to watch every single MLR match, liaise with the various coaches on which players were on the radar or would be needed in various Test matches, and this open communication was positively received by the teams. An average of 12 MLR players were selected in the USA match 23 across the June Internationals.
The result against Scotland is extremely rewarding for all those involved in the Eagles setup, and those that have sacrificed so much elevating the program throughout the years. I expect the Eagles to finally challenge teams ahead of them on the World Rugby rankings, but it will be several years before beating another side in the top 10 (outside of Fiji).
Much like when Japan shocked the Springboks at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the world now takes them seriously in every single clash.
Additionally, we won’t have to send all our top players overseas, much like when Todd Clever played in Japan, strengthening that domestic competition. Players that prefer to live in the States now have seven teams to choose from, with a couple more being added next season.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to comments