On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Atlanta was one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season.1 The team name "Rugby ATL" was revealed on February 26, 2019.2 The team was unofficially known as the Rattlers and in 2021 an alternate logo with a rattlesnake was unveiled.3 Rugby ATL played its first three seasons at Lupo Family Field on the campus of Life University in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta. The field was damaged by flooding in September 2021 and the team moved to Silverbacks Park ahead of the 2022 season.4
Following the death of their original team owner, S. Marcus Calloway, the ownership of the team was placed into an investment group, acquiring control of the franchise on an interim basis. The move kept Rugby ATL operational, until a permanent ownership group was acquired in 2023.5
On August 2, 2023, Major League Rugby announced that Rugby ATL would be relocating to a yet-to-be announced location for the 2024 season.6 On August 17, it was announced the team would relocate to Los Angeles. On December 21, it was announced that the team would be renamed to Rugby FC Los Angeles, abbreviated to RFCLA.78 This marked the return of Major League Rugby back to Los Angeles since the removal of the former LA Giltinis in October 2022. On the same day, it was announced that RFCLA would play out of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA.
For player movements before and during the 2024 season, see List of 2023–24 Major League Rugby transfers § Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles squad for the 2025 Major League Rugby season is:9
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Rugby ATL started with an exhibition side, called 404 Rugby. From September to November 2019, 404 Rugby played exhibition matches against Mystic River, NYAC, Old Blue, and USA Rugby men's club champions Life University.12
All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the MLR standings.
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic.13 It was cancelled the following week14
See also: 2022 Major League Rugby playoffs
"Major League Rugby confirms Boston and Atlanta for 2020 – Americas Rugby News". www.americasrugbynews.com. September 21, 2018. http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2018/09/21/major-league-rugby-confirms-boston-atlanta-2020/ ↩
"ATLANTA'S NEW MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY TEAM PICKS A NAME". USMLR.com. February 26, 2019. https://www.usmlr.com/news/atlantas-new-major-league-rugby-team-picks-a-name/ ↩
"Rugby ATL unveil new logo for 2021 season". Americas Rugby News. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2023. https://www.americasrugbynews.com/2020/08/09/rugby-atl-unveil-new-logo-for-2021-season/ ↩
"Rugby ATL relocate to Silverbacks Park for 2022". Americas Rugby News. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2023. https://www.americasrugbynews.com/2021/12/06/rugby-atl-relocate-to-silverbacks-park-for-2022/ ↩
"Major League Rugby's Atlanta Team to Relocate". Major League Rugby. Retrieved 2023-08-03. https://www.majorleague.rugby/news/major-league-rugbys-atlanta-team-to-relocate/ ↩
"Major League Rugby Officially Announces Rugby FC Los Angeles for 2024". Major League Rugby. https://www.majorleague.rugby/news/major-league-rugby-officially-announces-rugby-fc-los-angeles-for-2024/ ↩
"Major League Rugby Officially Announces Rugby Football Club Los Angeles for 2024". Rugby FC LA. Retrieved 22 December 2023. https://rugbyfcla.com/major-league-rugby-officially-announces-rugby-football-club-los-angeles-for-2024/ ↩
"RFC Los Angeles". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 12 January 2025. https://www.americasrugbynews.com/competitions/2025-major-league-rugby/mlr-2025-rfc-los-angeles/ ↩
"Rugby ATL adds Stephen Brett to coaching staff". Americas Rugby News. 2020-12-31. Retrieved 2022-02-24. https://www.americasrugbynews.com/2020/12/31/rugby-atl-adds-stephen-brett-to-coaching-staff/ ↩
2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. /wiki/COVID-19_pandemic ↩
"Schedule". http://www.404rugby.com/schedule/ ↩
Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020 https://www.majorleague.rugby/news/major-league-rugby-suspends-2020-season-for-30-days/ ↩
"Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020. https://sports.yahoo.com/major-league-rugby-cancels-remainder-2020-campaign-144516941--spt.html ↩