📰 HEADLINES

CHALLENGE CUP OF THE AMERICAS 

• Takeaway: The Jagures XV roster for this trip consists of players from a few different SLAR franchises. 

• American Raptors vs. Jaguares XV
  • 📅 Saturday
  • ⏰ 3PM ET
  • 💻 AmericanRaptors.com 
• UBCOB Ravens vs. Peñarol Rugby
  • 📅 Saturday
  • ⏰ 5:30 PM ET

MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY

• Takeaway: MLR suspended Austin Gilgronis loosehead prop Jake Turnbull four games for the red card he received for a head charge to a Houston SaberCats player in Round 18. 

• Return Date: "To be confirmed from follow-on competition."

PREMIER RUGBY SEVENS

• Takeaway: Madison Hughes, who is 6th all-time on the World Rugby Sevens scoring list, announced his return to rugby after taking time off after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

• PR7s Team: Not sure, but the Loonies held the first pick of the draft, which took place on June 7, so we'll know the results later this month. 

📊 MLR POWER RANKINGS REVIEW

• Takeaway: We had some big misses and some solid hits: toss out the DQs and we had four of the six playoff teams right. 

• Didn't See That Coming: Outside of the diehards in New England, very few could've predicted an MLR record win streak from the New England Free Jacks. 

• Nailed It: Though we didn't have them in the playoffs, we crushed the analysis on Houston's Round 1 win over LA...though we didn't pick them to win in Superbru 🤷‍♂️

1. LA Giltinis
   • Offseason moves bolstered their title defense claims. 
2. Rugby New York
   • Our readers seem to think Rugby New York is the team to beat in the East. Hard to argue against them.
3. Austin Gilgronis
   • A playoff team in the West this season.
4. Utah Warriors
   • A packed Zions Bank Stadium is always a tough test for away teams.
5. Toronto Arrows
   • The Arrows should compete for the No.1 spot in the East this season.
6. Rugby ATL
   • Can the team recover from the major changes in the last two weeks?
7. NOLA Gold
   • Could this be the most underestimated team in the East?
8. New England Free Jacks
   • Going to hear it from the Free Jacks fans on social when they see where we placed their team. You can let us know at @RugbyMorning.
9. Seattle Seawolves
   • The last two weeks of the 2021 season could be a sign of things to come in 2022. 
10. San Diego Legion
    • Was last year's 6-10 record an aberration?
11. Old Glory DC
    • Can they find replacements for Jason Robertson and Mungo Mason?
12. Houston SaberCats
    • Oh boy, could this team set the tone for the 2022 season by trying to use that imported South African beef to bully the defending champs on Saturday?
13. Dallas Jackals
    • Have to start somewhere. 

✅ MLR PICKS REVIEW

• 57 ✅  39 ❌
• Win Percentage: 59%

• 67 ✅  37 ❌
• Win Percentage: 64%

🇺🇸 USA RUGBY

• Details:
  • 📅 June 11 - 12
  • 📍 Cleveland, Ohio

🏉 MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY

• Quote: "Even this year, I don’t feel like we reached our potential at the beginning. Even when we started off the season, and won our first league games, it still felt like we weren’t fully there yet. I think that is why we let one or two slip early in the season," said Riekert Hattingh, who recently became the 11th player in MLR history to reach 50 caps. “Towards the end, we really started to get our identity as a team and the kind of rugby we wanted to play as a team and gelling together and everything was just clicking at the right time."

🏉 QUICK HITS

🎧 RUGBY PODCASTS

📆 THIS WEEK IN RUGBY

• Super Rugby
  • Semifinal #1
• United Rugby Championship
  • Semifinal #1

• Challenge Cup of the Americas
  • American Raptors vs. Jaguares XV
• Major League Rugby
  • Eastern Conference Eliminator 
• Pacific Four Series
  • USA vs. Australia 
• Premiership Rugby
  • Semifinals
• Super Rugby
  • Semifinal #2
• United Rugby Championship
  • Semifinal #2

• Major League Rugby
  • Western Conference Eliminator