Founded | 2017 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Location | Metairie, Louisiana | ||
Ground(s) | Gold Mine on Airline (Capacity: 10,000) | ||
Coach(es) | Cory Brown | ||
Captain(s) | Moni Tongaʻuiha | ||
Top scorer | JP Eloff (206) | ||
Most tries | Tristan Blewett (12) | ||
League(s) | Major League Rugby | ||
2024 | Conference Semifinals 2nd (Eastern Conference) | ||
| |||
Official website | |||
www |
The New Orleans Gold, stylized as NOLA Gold, is a professional rugby union team based in New Orleans. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby. [1] Since January 2020, French rugby power ASM Clermont Auvergne has owned a minority stake in the team. [2]
The team plays at the Gold Mine on Airline, formerly known as the Shrine on Airline and Zephyr Field, in Metairie, Louisiana, on the East Bank of the New Orleans metropolitan area. [3]
For the first two seasons of Major League Rugby in 2018 and 2019, the team played at Joe Zimmerman Stadium at Archbishop Shaw High School under the branding of Gold Stadium. The natural turf field with grandstand seating for up to 3,000 people is located on the West Bank at Marrero, Louisiana. [4]
Home games are shown on Cox Sports Television. Ian McNulty and Geoffrey Ormsby are the on air talent.
For the 2022 season, NOLA Gold partnered with local Louisiana, Port Orleans Brewing Company to make "GOLDen Ale". These 16-ounce cans will be available for purchase in the brewery's tap room and on tap at the start of the season. It will also be sold throughout the season in the team's home stadium, the Shrine on Airline. [3]
Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
2018 | XBlades | None |
2019 | Louisiana Tourism | |
2020 | Paladin Sports | None |
2021 | None | |
2022 | Louisiana Tourism | |
2023 | LCMC Health | |
2024 | LCMC Health |
The New Orleans Gold squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is: [5]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Season | Conference | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Pld | W | L | F | A | +/− | Result | |||
2018 | - | 6th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 209 | 291 | -82 | 5 | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
2019 | - | 5th | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 17 | 53 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
2020 [lower-alpha 1] | Eastern | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 135 | 102 | +33 | 4 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancelled | |
2021 | Eastern | 3rd | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 375 | 378 | -3 | 9 | 51 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
2022 | Eastern | 5th | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 358 | 517 | -159 | 6 | 25 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
2023 | Eastern | 4th | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 339 | 435 | -96 | 6 | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
2024 | Eastern | 2nd | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 410 | 349 | +61 | 10 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 45 | -24 | Lost Conference Semifinal (Chicago Hounds) 45–21 | |
Totals | 93 | 46 | 1 | 46 | 2,289 | 2,475 | -186 | 51 | 212 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 postseason appearance |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
January 20 | Capital Selects | Home | Won, 68–15 |
February 24 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 30–12 |
March 10 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Lost, 14–38 |
March 28 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Draw, 32–32 |
March 31 | Austin Elite | Home | Won, 48–17 |
April 7 | Austin Elite | Away | Won, 38–10 |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
April 21 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 35–26 |
May 3 | Austin Elite | Away | Lost, 17–30 |
May 12 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Lost, 29–31 |
May 19 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Won, 24–20 |
May 27 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 26–55 |
June 3 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Lost, 10–41 |
June 9 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 22–39 |
June 16 | Utah Warriors | Away | Won, 46–43 |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
December 8, 2018 | USA South Panthers | Home | Won, 45–10 |
December 15, 2018 | Stars Rugby [10] | Home | Won, 113–0 |
January 5, 2019 | Midwest Selects | Home | Won, 74–0 |
January 12, 2019 | Dallas Reds | Home | Won, 72–0 |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
January 26 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Won, 36-31 |
February 2 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Won, 40-31 |
February 10 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Won, 41-31 |
February 16 | Rugby United New York | Home | Lost, 24–27 |
March 2 | Utah Warriors | Away | Won, 21-19 |
March 16 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 49-11 |
March 23 | Austin Elite | Home | Won, 35–31 |
March 30 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Lost, 33-34 |
April 7 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won, 35-31 |
April 13 | Utah Warriors | Home | Won, 28-19 |
April 21 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 24–25 |
May 4 | Austin Elite | Away | Won, 26-14 |
May 11 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 19–26 |
May 18 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Lost, 20–27 |
May 26 | Rugby United New York | Away | Lost, 22-24 |
June 2 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 10-22 |
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] One week later (March 19), MLR announced that it had canceled the rest of the 2020 season. [12]
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
February 8 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 46–13 |
February 16 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 10–22 |
February 22 | Colorado Raptors | Away | Won, 27–20 |
February 29 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 21–25 |
March 7 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Won, 31–22 |
March 13 | Utah Warriors | Away | Postponed, later canceled |
March 28 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Canceled |
April 5 | Rugby ATL | Away | Canceled |
April 11 | Old Glory DC | Away | Canceled |
April 18 | Rugby United New York | Home | Canceled |
April 25 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Canceled |
May 3 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Canceled |
May 9 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Canceled |
May 17 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Canceled |
May 23 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Canceled |
May 30 | Rugby United New York | Away | Canceled |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
March 21 | Old Glory DC | Home | Draw, 26–26 |
March 27 | Rugby United New York | Home | Won, 51–28 |
April 10 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Lost, 15–18 |
April 17 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Won 30-29 |
April 24 | Rugby ATL | Away | Lost, 28-38 |
May 2 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Won, 22-14 |
May 8 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 28-26 |
May 15 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 17-43 |
May 22 | Utah Warriors | Home | Won, 29-24 |
June 5 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 7-8 |
June 12 | Old Glory DC | Away | Won, 25-21 |
June 20 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won, 18-12 |
June 27 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Won, 17-9 |
July 4 | LA Giltinis | Away | Won, 21-20 |
July 11 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 6-30 |
July 17 | Rugby United New York | Away | Won, 35-32 |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
---|---|---|---|
February 5 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Lost, 13-24 |
February 12 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 9-14 |
February 19 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Lost, 23-24 |
March 4 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Won, 25-24 |
March 12 | Dallas Jackals | Away | Won, 32-26 |
March 19 | Rugby New York | Home | Lost, 19-30 |
March 26 | Old Glory DC | Away | Won, 31-22 |
April 2 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 29-33 |
April 9 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 17-34 |
April 16 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Lost, 36-53 |
April 23 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Lost, 10-32 |
May 1 | Rugby United NY | Away | Lost, 28-36 |
May 14 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 50-21 |
May 21 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 12-42 |
May 29 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 5-57 |
June 3 | Rugby ATL | Away | Lost, 19-45 |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
February 17 | New England Free Jacks | Home | The Gold Mine | Lost, 36-12 |
February 25 | Houston SaberCats | Away | SaberCats Stadium | Lost, 35-14 |
March 4 | Rugby ATL | Away | Silverbacks Park | Lost, 29-16 |
March 12 | New York Ironworkers | Home | The Gold Mine | Won, 31-5 |
March 18 | Utah Warriors | Home | The Gold Mine | Won, 37-14 |
March 25 | Old Glory DC | Away | Segra Field | Won, 20-17 |
April 2 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | The Gold Mine | Lost, 36-35 |
April 15 | Rugby ATL | Home | The Gold Mine | Lost, 23-7 |
April 23 | Chicago Hounds | Away | SeatGeek Stadium | Won, 37-24 |
April 30 | Toronto Arrows | Home | The Gold Mine | Won, 40-24 |
May 7 | New York Ironworkers | Away | Memorial Field | Lost, 54-19 |
May 13 | San Diego Legion | Home | The Gold Mine | Lost, 26-12 |
May 21 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Veterans Memorial Stadium | Lost, 50-3 |
June 3 | Old Glory DC | Home | The Gold Mine | Lost, 28-15 |
June 10 | Dallas Jackals | Away | Choctaw Stadium | Won, 15-10 |
June 17 | Toronto Arrows | Away | York Lions Stadium | Won, 26-24 |
NOLA Gold played 16 games in the 2024 regular season, with all eight home games played at the Gold Mine. The team finished the regular season 10–6 and qualified for its first playoff berth, losing to the Chicago Hounds 45-21 in the Eastern Conference semifinal. [13]
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 2 | Old Glory DC | Home | Gold Mine | Won, 18-6 |
March 9 | Anthem RC | Home | Gold Mine | Won, 34–19 |
March 16 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Veterans Memorial Stadium | Lost, 27–21 |
March 23 | Dallas Jackals | Away | Choctaw Stadium | Won, 35–22 |
April 4 | Chicago Hounds | Home | Gold Mine | Lost, 38–21 |
April 14 | San Diego Legion | Away | Snapdragon Stadium | Lost, 33–20 |
April 20 | Miami Sharks | Home | Gold Mine | Lost, 42–27 |
April 27 | Anthem RC | Away | Truist Point | Won, 40–5 |
May 11 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Gold Mine | Won, 32–31 |
May 18 | Utah Warriors | Home | Gold Mine | Won, 21–14 |
May 26 | Chicago Hounds | Away | SeatGeek Stadium | Won, 25–13 |
June 1 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Gold Mine | Lost, 21–7 |
June 9 | Miami Sharks | Away | Chase Stadium | Won, 20-13 |
June 16 | RFC Los Angeles | Away | Dignity Health Sports Park | Won, 38-21 |
June 22 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Gold Mine | Won, 27-17 |
June 29 | Old Glory DC | Away | Maryland Soccerplex | Lost, 27–24 |
Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
July 21 | Chicago Hounds | Home | Gold Mine | Lost, 45-21 |
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 2010 and 2017. 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 (MLR) 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.
Nate Osborne is an Australian-American rugby union coach. Who is regarded as one of the best American rugby coaches. Although being born in Australia he considers himself as an American, when it comes to rugby. He was the head coach of the New Orleans Gold before moving in 2022 to Old Glory DC, both of Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States.
Isaac Arapata Salmon is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a prop for Tasman 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 based in San Diego, California, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 season.
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. The team has won two MLR shields after defeating the San Diego Legion in 2023 and the Seattle Seawolves in 2024.
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.