Major League Rugby has announced a revamped, expanded format for its 2020 season.
A two-conference system will be adopted for the third season of the American tournament, which will include three new teams – the New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC (in Washington DC) and Atlanta’s Rugby ATL.
The 12 teams will be divided into the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference.
The Western Conference will comprise Austin, Houston, Glendale, San Diego, Seattle and Utah. The Eastern Conference will feature Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, New Orleans, New York and Toronto.
The 96-match regular season kicks off on 5 February 2020.
Each team will play the other teams in their conference, home and away for a total of 10 games, plus six cross-conference games, three home and three away.
The season will conclude with a five-match Championship Series across three consecutive weekends from 13 June 2020.
The second- and third-placed teams in each conference will face off for a place in the Conference final, where they will play the top team in their conference.
The MLR final between the conference winners will take place on 28 June 2020.
❗BREAKING | #MLRugby growth continues with Season 3 expansion.
Read more on the 2020 League format, here: https://t.co/7Z0HR2zThi pic.twitter.com/0owOdf4hPw
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) April 11, 2019
