MLR Kickoff

 Dan and Pete review the landscape of MLR following the Eliminator round. They discuss the mental aspects around preparing for a game on short notice as a player when you believe your season is done. 

They then look ahead to the Conference Championships examining the strengths and weaknesses of the top seed Houston and New England and also the challengers Seattle and New York.

Johan Momsen joins Pete to discuss his journey as a Rugby player in the United States over the past three seasons with Rugby ATL. He digs into the coaching change and how the squad used the adversity to go forward and embrace the cultural foundation that had been established under Scott Lawrence.  

James Paterson joins the show with Dan to examine the final round of the regular season, touching on major news, and then previewing the Eliminator Matchups. 

Rugby 101- How to react as a player when there's a coaching change mid-seaso

Description- Malon Al Jiboori rose to prominence in the US scene playing for Lindenwood University rising through the age grade systems as a US U20, Collegiate All-American, and eventually achieving his Eagles debut.

He made his Eagles 7s debut in 2016 and would make nine appearances on the HSBC 7s World Series. He became Eagles #520 on February 15th, 2018 against Chile. He began his MLR career with the San Diego Legion and then Colorado Raptors. In 2020 he made the decision to play in the RFU Championship for the Ealing Trailfinders. Eventually he made the decision to return to the US and signed for the Houston SaberCats where he's bad a banner season. 

Rugby 101- Three Things a Franchise must have.

Benjamin Bonasso was born in Connecticut but grew up in Argentina. He sits down with Pete on the decision to come back to a home he hadn't really known to well and the process in which he went through to play for New York. First hoping to join the SaberCats his path led to New York when Greg McWilliams was coaching the side ahead of the 2021 season. 

Pete breaks down the business end of the season and the narrowing playoff scenarios.