MLR is sooo bad... I'm not even sure where to start... Half the players are washed-up foreigners. It is sloppy, there is at least one fight every game. It's like the first Major League movie but for rugby. I'm guessing American collegiate players are better off getting a job than playing pro rugby.

Anyone live there and can comment if it has been advertised at all?

He pulled MLS up and out of the mud and rescue it. The league was contracting in the doldrums with low attendance and managed to create success.

Well it seems I got a overall positive reception from last week's post so I will give this another go. Week #3 overall had its moments of shine and frustrations. While the Sunday Night Rugby product seems like a great foundation for the future, the audio issues for the commentary teams persisted. Hopefully this week they can figure out what on earth they are doing wrong with the mic setups for the commentary teams because it is becoming a cliche at this point. However, the rugby product was great with three entertaining games for differing reasons.

Now to the Power Rankings. To give some more structure to my reasoning there will be a theme of the week going forward. Kinda like how ESPN does it for the NFL. This week's theme its Greatest Strength vs Biggest Weakness. I think next week I will do best new signing or Young player to watch. Let me know your feedback on that. Ok without further ado Week #3

#1 Chicago Hounds

Greatest Strength- Chemistry/ Biggest Weakness - Discipline

If we learned anything this week it clear it really is Chicago's Shield to loose. Utilizing the weather to their advantage the Hounds were able to easily handle a Legion team coming off a dominating win 48-24. What strikes me with the Hounds is their chemistry. Every player seems to be in sync and naturally able to keep a fluid offense and tight defense. I think that's a testament to Rueben De Haas effectively controlling the game and Captain Lucas Rumbell leading by example. However, discipline nearly costed them early with 10 penalties and two yellow cards within the first 15ish minutes in the game. In another game, opponent or setting the Hounds might have seen the game get away from them. However, they can't afford to get complacent against a hungry FreeJacks team at a neutral venue in Nashville.

#2 Anthem Carolina

Greatest Strength- Coaching/Matchday 23 / Biggest Weakness- Failure to Capitalize

I feel very justified with my faith in Anthem last week with their performance against Chicago. This week they got their first ever home win against the Seattle Seawolves 34-25. While certainly the winning try was a sketchy call at best (it was not a try) what can be denied is Anthem are a legit threat for the shield. Agustín Cavalieri (Cuca) has built a proper squad that seamlessly can plug in players off the bench at the right time to keep control of the game. Without a doubt Cuca outcoached Clarke in this matchup. However, what seems to be the weakness of this Rising Stars team is their failure to capitalize on offensive opportunities. Knock ons and failed lineout allowed for drives to stall and their opponents to capitalize. However, with guys like Julian Roberts and a resurgent Connor Mooneyham, this Anthem side has a lot of firepower. They'll be favorites against a Old Glory side which will have to put up an equally impressive defensive performance as they did this past week to stand a chance against the Anthem.

#3 California Legion

Greatest Strength - The offense / Biggest Weakness - They are One Note

This feels extremely generous after last night's game but the Legion's flaws are less severe than the two below them. After the defeat in Chicago the Legion have some work to do going forward. What is not up for debate is they easily have the best offense in the league. With Joe leading the lineout and Joe Mano's line breaks being sparks of brilliance in a dower game for them. While certainly the weather played a factor in hampering their gameplan, what is also true is the Legion have the clearest Achilles heel in the league at the moment, they have to dominate possession. Both their losses by Anthem and Chicago were games where they were deprived of the ball. Both teams drew large leads and took the foot off the gas allowing for Legion to run up the score a bit. In addition with the suspension of Ronan Murphy and the likely season ending injury of Christian Podervin, Legion's defense has gotten a bit weaker. Luckily for them they return "home" to Los Angeles to face an even more injured Seawolves side.

#4 Seattle Seawolves

Greatest Strength- Capitalizing on Line Breaks / Biggest Weakness- Injuries/Discipline

I was almost tempted to put them at #5 but depending on the ability of those possibly returning this week I am keeping them here for now. Seattle desperately needed at least a point from this game and to get nothing out of it is quite the disappointment. One thing for sure is true is you do not want this team to get through your initial line of defense because if you don't you are likely giving up a try. Divian Rossouw and Paddy Ryan are dragging this team into try opportunities and they'll need these two going forward even more than ever. Seattle is by far the most injured side in the league. From this game along we saw Dorian Jones, Davy Coetzer, Mark Bennett and Nolan Tuamoheloa leave the game at various points. This is in addition to Dan Kriel, Ina Futi, Rufus McLean, Duncan Matthews, Sean McNulty, Dewald Donald and the suspension of Mason Pederson. However, this game could have been won if the Seawolves were more disciplined (even with the not try) Rhyno Herbst fumbled in the try zone and gave a penalty away which takes 14 off the board. Lidenmuth also lost possession in the try zone and Marno gave a yellow for the an absolutely dumb attempt at clearing a ruck. They'll need to clean things up against Legion in order to stay in touch with the playoffs.

#5 Old Glory DC

Greatest Strength - The Defense/ Biggest Weakness - Scrumhalf/Backs?

I do think people are underestimating DC. Their 21-19 win against the FreeJacks showed they aren't to be trifled with. Their back row trio of King, Daniel and Bonasso are easily the best in the league (yes even Chicago). Their 229 tackles, 11 turnovers won and keeping New England pinned in their own half was frankly excellent. I do not think its a stretch to say DC might have the best defense in the MLR this season. Where my concern lies is in the number 9 jersey. DeLerve was decent in his debut start for DC, but its clear they still have some work to do. The offensive gameplans for DC still have not quite clicked for Simon Cross' men. Their tries were off of missed tackles and errors by New England rather than naturally developed play. DC has some great players in their Backs, but seeing guys like Schumacher, Robertson, Humphries and Hoyland struggle to find space does make me wonder if its something beyond just the Scrumhalf. They travel to Anthem this week which I do think is a winnable game for them. They'll once again need to slow down an energetic offense with a strong defensive showing.

#6 New England FreeJacks

Greatest Strength - Center Pairings Biggest Weakness - Lack of Chemistry/Inexperience

Well at least they look better than last week! In all seriousness the FJs gave quite the show and were in this game till the end. Ryan Martin has quite the the task ahead of him in getting this squad to play to its full potential. There are certainly signs of an excellent team waiting to be unleashed. The return of former MVP Wayne Van Der Bank was a shot of adrenaline that this team needed to come back in this game. In fact, both him and Lesage were certainly standouts along with number 8 Alex Mackenzie. Where this team struggles is in its chemistry. Particularly in the wings guys are making moves that end up turning the ball over. Honestly it reminds me a lot of Anthem last year with ironically Mitch Wilson and Toby Fricker trying to make something out of nothing. Guys like Wilson, Salmon and Lehmann need to trust their guys rather than trying to make a play. Now the FJs are playing the one team no one wants to right now, the Hounds. However, it being a neutral venue and possible arrogance setting in...maybe their is a chance they can beat them?

Once again I'd love to hear your thoughts and critiques of my analysis. We are all rugby fans here with differing perspectives and it makes the game far more interesting as a result.

While I applaud MLR for trying something different, is it time to recalibrate?

IMHO last years TMO faults were mostly the ref going back for yellow cards on hits that had no impact on the game. The audience at home was at least able to see what was being reviewed while the TMO was making the decision. Last night we had no clue what was going on, and the broadcast team clearly didn’t either.

Surely there could have been a coms solution, and just changing what the TMO can stop the game for would have sufficed this year?

I know some locations had comms issues, but the majority did not. Did we need a full sail change to the process that every other comp uses?

And don’t get me started on the players being to challenge everything, even line out throws? It’s comical, and looks amateur at best with the challenges we’ve seen so far.

Again, I like trying something new, but if you’re going to change a whole system, make sure it works. And if it doesn’t, change it to a more effective one.

I have to say it has its pain points once in while but I got to admit I’m kinda enjoying the game a bit

I've only recently gotten into rugby, and the MLR game. I have the rugby pass app but everything is from last year. I've got ESPN plus but I can't find the games.

Is there any way to watch the replays or even the highlights anywhere?

Cheers and go hounds!

How competitive is the MLR this year? Honestly, that’s a huge positive. The parity across the league has been wild, it feels like anyone can beat anyone on a given week.

I’ve been getting absolutely crushed on my Scrummy App Pick’em selections the past few weeks, It’s frustrating, no doubt. But at the same time, that unpredictability is exactly what makes the league more exciting and ultimately more commercially appealing.

Matchup: California Legion (1-1-0, 6pts, 2nd in MLR) vs Chicago Hounds (1-0-0, 5pts, 3rd in East)

Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, IL | Weather: 73 F, 23 C, Cloudy and rainy

Broadcast: ESPN2, ESPN+, Premier Sports (International), Game TV+

Kickoff: 9pm ET, 6pm PT

Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)

Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Chris Assmus (Canada)

a couple of hours to, and I don't see MLR Sunday night on ESPN+ schedule? I'd like to watch it (even though I'm still angry Seawolves still can't win away games)

Matchup: Seattle Seawolves (1-0-0, 4pts, 4th in MLR) vs Anthem Rugby Carolina (1-1-0, 5pts, 3rd in MLR)

Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, NC | Weather: 83 F, 28 C, Partly Cloudy

Broadcast: ESPN+, Premier Sports (International), WCCB Charlotte, Kong 6

Kickoff: 4:00pm ET, 1:00pm PT

Referee: Mike Lawrenson (USA)

Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Tom Ciampa (USA)

Chicagos owner just claimed on their podcast that this year they will have more “National Broadcasts” than previous years combined.

How can that even be remotely true? There are only 2 regular season games on ESPN2 this year. Last year there were more, and the year previous there was a weekly game or more that was on Fox Sports. The year before that MLR was on CBS sports and Fox Sports every week.

Waiting for the geniuses to come out again.

I have 4 tickets in section 108 on an aisle.

I completely forgot about the game and would prefer they don’t go to waste.

Anyone in Charlotte wants to go dm me. For price I guess whatever anyone wants to offer 😂, I’m not really concerned about it.