Dallas Jackals promise fun in the scrum

By David Mullen

The roads surrounding Globe Life Field have been cleared of the confetti from the Texas Rangers World Championship parade. The shiny $1.2 billion dome is being prepared for Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, March 28, a World Series ring ceremony two days later and a week of MLB All-Star Game festivities in July.

Across the street, at Choctaw Stadium, formerly known as Globe Life Park, another team is planning their season debut. On Saturday, March 10, the Dallas Jackals open their third season as the area’s professional rugby team. Unlike the Rangers practicing pitches, the Jackals have gathered a team of world-class players to practice on the pitch.

With apologies to longtime Rangers PA announcer Chuck Morgan and his signature greeting, “It’s rugby time in Arlington.” 

“With the Rangers, Stars, Mavericks and Cowboys, you pretty much know what you’re going to get. Most people in America, if they haven’t played baseball, they have a sibling who did or they’ve at least been to a game,” said Bill Yates, director of Top Tier Sports and partner at Sports Advisory Group. “With rugby, it’s not the same.”

The Jackals are members of the seven-year-old, 12-team Major League Rugby (MLR), the highest rugby competition in North America. The league is divided into a six-team Western and Eastern Conference. The teams play a 16-game schedule (eight home and eight away games) and a six-team playoff format, culminating with a Championship Game in early July.

Originating in England, organized rugby has been played around the world for nearly 200 years. The MLR plays rugby union football or simply rugby, comprised of two 15-player teams playing a close-contact sport based on running with the ball in hand. 

Teams are made up of multiple rows of forwards, called props, hookers, flankers and locks. The backs, conveniently referred to as backs, tend to create scoring opportunities because of their speed and smaller size, although every player practicing on the Choctaw pitch looked like someone you would want on your side in a bar fight.   

Most novice fans, while not familiar with the intricacies, know that rugby is action-packed, extremely physical, played without pads and helmets, requires non-stop running for nearly two hours and often results in a pileup of players, called a scrum.

“Education is just one extra challenge, but it’s something that is fun,” Yates said. “It’s so much fun to introduce [fans] to something that they’ve never seen before and that they are so excited to learn more about. You can hear the players on the field and you can sense the game. 

“Even though we’re in a large stadium, we try to provide an intimate experience,” said Yates. “With a 40,000 seat Major League Baseball stadium, it sometimes feels empty, but at the same time you are closer to the action. You’re in on the action. It’s different when you’re here.” 

“This year, the team right here is completely different. We have much more experienced than we had last year,” said Jackals Head Coach Augustin Cavalieri, an Argentina native who played rugby for more than a decade in Italy in European league competition. After a winless inaugural season, the Jackals were 2-14 in the 2023 season.

“I have my philosophy,” Cavalieri said, “but modern rugby requires [the players] to react and understand the game. There are so many different situations in the game, so possession is very important. But we must know when to possess the ball, kick the ball and run.” In his second year, Cavalieri has worked on building team chemistry through small group meetings.

The roster is comprised of a melting pot of players, representing the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Wales, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Second row lock Sam Golla was born in Arlington, raised in Denver and played collegiately at rugby powerhouse University of California — Berkeley.

“I never played any contact sports when I was younger,” Golla said. “I swam, played soccer, lacrosse, baseball and basketball. I was good, but I never really got hooked. Then my oldest sister brought me to East High School [Denver] for the rugby state championship game. I was in eighth grade and I was hooked. I was like, ‘This is it!’” Golla was the MLR Rookie of the Year last season.

In 2023, MLR experienced an 18 percent surge in fan attendance, adding an average of 2,600 fans in stadiums and a 70 percent increase in MLR’s digital media platform subscribers. MLR claims rugby is the second fastest-growing sport in the U.S.  

The Jackals first home match on Sunday, March 10 is at 3 p.m. against the Miami Sharks. On Saturday, March 16, Dallas hits the road to play the in-state rival Houston SaberCats. The team flies to all road games except for Houston, where they take a team bus. All players are paid professionals and hold no other jobs.

On Saturday, March 23, the MLR’s 2023 Champions, New England Free Jacks, visit Arlington. Friday and Saturday home matches begin at 7:30 p.m. A calendar of promotional events, game tickets and more information is available at dallasjackals.com

“We try to offer affordable family entertainment,” Yates said. “A place where people can bring their kids, share in a new experience and see live sports.“