Major League Rugby

[LibrarIan]

I watched the Super Bowl last month because my city's team was in it for the first time in my whole life. Two things came out of this. I remembered how much I don't like football. But it also made me want to find a way to start watching rugby, which football was born from and which I played in high school. But I hadn't kept up with the sport in years.

Turns out there is a league in North America now called Major League Rugby which started a few years back and has grown to 13 teams. The league is trying hard to grow the audience for the sport, which is where this recommendation comes from. Matches are FREE to watch on The Rugby Network, which is a streaming app/channel available on basically every device in existence (I have it on my phone and Roku stick). I've been having a blast. It's the first time in years that I've gotten this into watching sports and it's fun to help out in some small way in growing a sport that isn't as popular as I'd like in the USA.

I feel like this league is doing it right. They have a great app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.publisherstoolbox.mlrapp&hl=en_US&gl=US) for keeping tabs on match times and standings, they show the matches free on The Rugby Network (https://www.therugbynetwork.com/) as well as highlights and some rugby-related shows, they have good Rugby 101 content to help new fans, and they're doing a lot of outreach with high schools, colleges and youth leagues to build the player base at a grassroots level.

I don't know how long TRN will remain free, but check it out while it is and enjoy.

I am not affiliated with the league or its apps. I'm just some dude.

[Dave1442397]

Thanks for the info! We'll have a visitor from Ireland staying with us next week, and I set YouTube TV to record any rugby content available. He's a big rugby fan, so I'll add this channel to Roku for him while he's here.

[NextTime]

I haven't checked in awhile, but ESPN Plus (I have it bundled with Hulu and Disney+) had most of the rugby international matches.
You may want to check on that.

[NorCal]

Thanks for sharing.  We just signed our kids up for Rugby, and they seem to be enjoying it. I’m kinda shocked, as they had no interest in other team sports.

Watching some games will help with understanding the game. Particularly for me, as I admit general ignorance of the game.

[Dave1442397]

Thanks for sharing.  We just signed our kids up for Rugby, and they seem to be enjoying it. I’m kinda shocked, as they had no interest in other team sports.

Watching some games will help with understanding the game. Particularly for me, as I admit general ignorance of the game.

It was my high school's official sport, and I still have no clue what the rules are :) My two takeaways from rugby were the kid in my class who was out of school for months with a severe concussion, and a 6' 4" neighbor who ended up in a wheelchair in his twenties after a rugby injury. I don't know if there's more protection these days, but it was a rough sport back then.

[NorCal]

Thanks for sharing.  We just signed our kids up for Rugby, and they seem to be enjoying it. I’m kinda shocked, as they had no interest in other team sports.

Watching some games will help with understanding the game. Particularly for me, as I admit general ignorance of the game.

It was my high school's official sport, and I still have no clue what the rules are :) My two takeaways from rugby were the kid in my class who was out of school for months with a severe concussion, and a 6' 4" neighbor who ended up in a wheelchair in his twenties after a rugby injury. I don't know if there's more protection these days, but it was a rough sport back then.

My wife played college rugby.  Her last game was when she was wheeled off the field in a stretcher and the doctor told her that she'd probably get her vertebrae fused if she continued playing.  There were a number of concussions as well.  I'm not aware of any new safety protocols. 

[Moonwaves]

Head injury assessment (HIA) is definitely something that is taken more seriously these days, although there does always seem to be lots of room for improvement. It certainly comes up fairly often in Irish newspapers.

[cool7hand]

Thanks for sharing!

[LibrarIan]

Just wanted to bump this and say that the 2023 season of MLR just started back up again this past weekend and all the games are still free on the The Rugby Network (with the exception of one or two per week that air on Fox Sports 1/2, but after a day lag they appear on the app free again). Go Seawolves!

[LibrarIan]

I'm back again to proselytize about Major League Rugby. The 2024 season starts this Saturday (3/2). Most matches are still FREE on the app with the exception every so often of one that airs on FS1/FS2 (to help get the league exposure). Go Seawolves!