Major League Rugby in crisis as LA and Austin disqualified from playoffs

Less than a month after the US was awarded the 2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cups, Major League Rugby, the US men’s professional competition, has pitched into crisis with the disqualification of LA and Austin, the top two teams in its Western Conference.

Sources across the US game said the expulsions from season-ending playoffs were for breaches of rules surrounding the salary cap.

LA and Austin ownership did not respond to Guardian requests for comment.

MLR said it had no comment to add to a brief statement on social media, which said: “Due to a violation of league rules, the LA Giltinis have been disqualified from the 2022 Major League Rugby competition.”

The Giltinis, who employ the former Australia fly-half Matt Giteau, are in their second season in the league, having won it in their first.

In a similar statement last week, MLR said: “Due to a violation of league rules, the Austin Gilgronis have been disqualified from 2022 postseason play. Championship Series fixtures will be announced as they are determined.”

Austin and LA are owned by Adam Gilchrist, an Australian entrepreneur in the personal fitness industry. Both teams are named for cocktails named after Gilchrist.

MLR is in its fifth season, having survived the coronavirus pandemic which cut short season three. This year, an expansion team in Dallas – which lost all 16 games – brought the league to 13 teams. Chicago and St Louis are widely reported to be the next expansion cities.

The league has lost one team previously, the Colorado Raptors withdrawing in 2020. Guardian reporting linked the foundation team’s exit to political shifts surrounding the arrival of powerful owners in LA, Gilchrist, and New England, Errik Anderson, a biotech investor.

The Raptors shifted