Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French champions in 2009-10 and 2016-17. The rugby section is a part of a multi-sport club called AS Montferrand, which was founded in 1911 and adopted that name in 1919. Although the rugby section changed its name to the current ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004, it is still frequently referred to as Montferrand both within and outside France.
Gold Mine on Airline, formerly Shrine on Airline, is a 10,000-seat stadium in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. It is home field for the New Orleans Gold team in Major League Rugby. Known as Zephyr Field when built in 1997 as the home ballpark for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the stadium was renamed when the Minor League Baseball team's name changed from Zephyrs to Baby Cakes in 2017. Shrine on Airline had been an unofficial name for Zephyr Field used by the public address announcer since the stadium opened and it became the new name.
Matthew James Giteau is an Australian rugby union professional player who plays for San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR).
New Orleans is home to a wide variety of sporting events. Most notable are the home games of the New Orleans Saints (NFL) and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA), the annual Sugar Bowl, the annual Zurich Classic and horse racing at the Fair Grounds Race Course. New Orleans has also occasionally hosted the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal game and the NCAA college basketball Final Four.
Kane Gregory Thompson is a New Zealand-born rugby union coach and former player who played for the Samoa national rugby union team. He played professionally for several teams in New Zealand and in Europe during his 19-year playing career. He retired from playing in 2021, and has since served as head coach for NOLA Gold in Major League Rugby (MLR).
Dougie Fife is a Scottish rugby union player who currently plays for the New Orleans Gold of Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for Edinburgh Rugby and the New England Free Jacks.
The Austin Huns Rugby Football Club is a Men's Rugby Club American rugby union team based in Austin, Texas. In June 2017 they became U.S. Division 1 National Champions beating New York Athletic Club RFC 27-23 in the final match.
Major League Rugby is a professional rugby union competition for clubs in North America. In the 2023 season it was contested by twelve teams: eleven from the United States and one from Canada. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned by USA Rugby—a member union of Rugby Americas North (RAN)—and is consequently part of World Rugby. The league was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its first season in 2018. The SaberCats organization was born from one of the founding amateur rugby clubs that pooled resources to emerge professionally, and were the first in MLR membership to build a rugby-specific stadium intended for MLR competition.
Toronto Arrows R.F.C. was a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that played in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team was an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and was funded by a group of private investors and supporters. They are currently on hiatus following the 2023 season.
Isaac Arapata Salmon is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a prop for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship. He also plays for New Orleans Gold in Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States. Salmon was educated at Nelson College from 2011 to 2014.
The San Diego Legion are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR), based in San Diego, California. The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 season. The team plays their home games at Snapdragon Stadium.
The New England Free Jacks are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) based in the Greater Boston area. They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018. They competed in their first season in MLR in the 2020 season. On July 8, 2023, they became the MLR Champions for the 2023 season, after defeating San Diego Legion in a closely fought match.
Old Glory DC RFC is a professional rugby union team based in the Washington, D.C., area that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). Old Glory was founded in 2018, played some exhibition games in 2019, and began regular-season MLR play in 2020.
Tim Maupin is a rugby union player who plays for NOLA Gold in Major League Rugby (MLR) and for the United States men's national team internationally. He also has played for the USA Selects.
Paul Ciulini is a Canadian rugby union player who plays for the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby (MLR). The position he plays is lock.
Eric Gerald Howard is a Canadian rugby union player. He plays as a hooker for the NOLA Gold of Major League Rugby (MLR) and the Canadian national team.
Kyle Baillie is a Canadian rugby union player. He plays as a flanker or lock for the Canadian national team and Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby (MLR).
The New Orleans Breakers were a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Breakers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the league's South division.
