Relative to the American sporting landscape, Major League Rugby is the new kid on the block.

But don’t let its relative infancy fool you.

Not only has the league experienced exponential growth in every key area, but four of its franchises are also at the forefront of sports performance technology.

The Tech Stack Overload

Technology is synonymous with sport and MLR is no different.

When it comes to objective performance monitoring, hardware is king - think GPS and VBT sensors, force decks, sleep trackers, and wearables.

For everything else, software reigns supreme. There are apps and programs for scheduling, communication, subjective load monitoring, medical management, S&C programming, team operations, and data management.

It sounds complicated because it is – and that’s the problem.

But there are four MLR franchises who have mastered their technology mix to create the league’s premier performance departments.

The NOLA Gold Effect

NOLA Gold was the first franchise to embed Lumin Sports in 2023.

Lumin Sports is an Australian sport-tech company that’s built a software platform for performance monitoring, medical management, S&C programming and team operations.

Through Lumin, NOLA Gold was the first MLR franchise with a central platform that housed all of its performance data, medical information, administration, and aligned all departments to keep pace within a rapidly evolving league landscape.

Tim Kettenring, the High Performance Director at NOLA Gold, said the club has benefited ever since.

‘’The MLR was accelerating as a league and we felt the need to find a solution that would scale with it,’’ Kettenring said.

‘’Lumin has been essential to our entire performance and medical staff, and the adoption from the players has been invaluable to roster management.”

San Diego Signs on

In sports, word travels fast.

But when a franchise successfully innovates, word travels even faster.

As NOLA Gold doubled down on Lumin for MLR24, the San Diego Legion jumped on board.

While reflecting on a season that saw the Legion make a deep playoff run, Head of Performance at SD Legion, Ryan Gallop, said Lumin was a key piece of the puzzle.

"Lumin has proven to be a diverse and invaluable tool within our organization, functioning as a home for all performance metrics and medical information while also serving as a platform for our team calendar and group communications,’’ Gallop said.

‘’The staff at Lumin have also been extremely helpful in customizing certain elements within the platform that specifically reflect the needs of an MLR team, leading us to recommend to colleagues around the league."

And They Listened!

Both the Chicago Hounds and RFC LA have turned to Lumin ahead of MLR25.

RFCLA Director of Performance, Lucas Baistrocchi, said Lumin Sports will help the club elevate its performance department.

‘’Lumin will help us take a massive step forward and bring synergy to all departments within our organization,’’ Baistrocchi said.

‘’The load monitoring tools, medical record keeping, and integrations with other software used throughout the league make this platform a must.’’

‘’On top of that, the scheduler & custom questionnaires allow our commercial and performance teams to be aligned so that we prioritize player welfare and present the very best product we can to our great fan base. ‘’

It’s a similar sentiment shared by Jamie Beamish, Head of Performance at Chicago Hounds, who said they’ll also use Lumin for their academy program.

‘’Every year we look to advance our performance department and Lumin will help us do that in 2025,’’ Beamish said.

‘’To have our performance, medical, and wellness data as well as S&C programming, and team operations within the same platform simplifies our processes and makes life easier for our athletes too.’’

‘’We’ll also use Lumin to manage our academy team prospects and create a sustainable pathway for them to reach the MLR.’’

The Future

As sports franchises, and performance departments within them, embed more technology in their programs to find a winning edge, it will be the teams who can successfully manage the data and make timely decisions that will rise to the top.

Equally, leagues that are determined to elevate their product in a competitive marketplace are considering league-wide deals to ensure all their franchises are supplied with technology that will promote the best product possible.

Head of US Sales at Lumin Sports, Blake Bender, believes MLR has the potential to rival the biggest leagues in the US.

‘’Sitting in the stands of Snapdragon Stadium, I’ve witnessed first-hand not only the quality of rugby but the outstanding gameday experience,’’ Bender said.

‘’That, coupled with the excitement and anticipation around the 2031 Rugby World Cup, the MLR has a golden opportunity to establish itself as a premier sports code in the US.’’

‘’We’re proud to be supporting that vision by working with four MLR franchises and giving them the tools they need to be at the forefront of the league’s rapid growth and development.’’

‘’We, like the MLR, are an emerging business and are uniquely positioned to develop our technology in line with what MLR teams want and that’s exciting.’’

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Learn More: https://www.majorleague.rugby/

Special Thanks to:

Tim Kettenring - High Performance Director, NOLA Gold
Ryan Gallop - Head of Performance, SD Legion
Jamie Beamish - Head of Performance, Chicago Hounds
Lucas Baistrocchi - Director of Performance, RFCLA

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