Old Glory obviously will have a chance in their inaugural season to go to the Major League Rugby playoffs now that there has been expansion in the postseason format. The question as to whether they can be one of the three teams to advance to playoffs for the chance to win the championship at the end of the season will be answered once the regular season finishes, but they will at least have the opportunity to do so. So, in order to look at their chances, you have to look at Old Glory's schedule to further analyze the outcome.
Old Glory will play in the Eastern Conference in 2020 and have to play two matches against each of their conference foes, 10 games overall. When they play squads in the Western Conference, it will be six matches overall. That comes out to 16 matches played, so there really isn't that much margin for error for any team. That being said, the Eastern Conference is a bit of a wild card in the sense that there are three expansion sides, including Old Glory, making it a little unpredictable. While some see the Western Conference as more predictable, Eastern is a conference where playoff spots are up grabs and seen as the more competitive one. However, two of the teams in the Eastern Conference went to the playoffs last season and another one who barely missed out which makes it more difficult. Plus, the two expansion sides have built up pretty talented squads which could make it even more difficult. So, how will Old Glory's schedule look in 2020? Let's take a look.
In February, Old Glory will play against three Western Conference squads as they face Austin and Houston on the road and host Seattle. Their first match is against Eastern Conference foe New Orleans Gold. In March, they host two Eastern Conference rivals Rugby ATL and Rugby United New York, then play Colorado at home and San Diego on the road. However, April and May will prove to be very important as seven of their final eight matches will be against their Eastern Conference foes as they play New Orleans, New England, and Toronto at home, while playing New England, RUNY, Rugby ATL, and Toronto on the road. During that stretch they will play Utah at home. Actually, starting March 29-May 31 it will be eight of nine matches against the Eastern Conference sides. That stretch of rugby will be so important for making the playoffs as those matches will essentially determine who makes the MLR playoffs.
Now, looking at the other clubs in the conference, this is where it gets tricky. RUNY made it to the playoffs last year as having the best defense in the league, but their scrappy play on offense made it difficult to know what they were going to do with the ball. Toronto also made it to the playoffs, but their fast and high powered offense made it difficult for defenses to keep up with and the team also had the third best defense in the league. Toronto also has a strong scrum which could make them even more difficult to face. Lastly, New Orleans fell just short of making the playoffs last season, but their high powered offense proved to be hard to defend and also had a solid scrum, plus the Gold have a lot of depth. Those three teams are expected to be the strongest contenders to make it to the playoffs in 2020. Those will be the teams that Old Glory will need to beat if they want any chance of making the playoffs. Rugby ATL and New England have also brought in some strong and talented players which makes it even more difficult for Old Glory to make the playoffs. New England has such great players like Anthony Purpura, Kensuke Hatakeyama, Simon Courcoul, Tadhg Leader, and Ahmad Harajly which make them a force to be reckoned with. Rugby ATL has brought in a lot of young and exciting players who could play for the USA Eagles one day such as Duncan van Schalkwyk, Zac Mizell, Jeremy Misailegalu, Chance Wenglewski, Alex Maughan, Harley Davidson, Amro Gouda, Jamie Ferrante, Julian Montes, and Harley Wheeler as they could be a dark horse team, though they do lack some experience.
With all those factors, one has to wonder if Old Glory will make the playoffs. The team has brought in a lot of talented and experienced players, but actually playing the games will matter more in the long run. Realistically, Old Glory will have to win as many games in their conference as possible if they want to make the playoffs. Do they have a realistic shot? Of course they do, but the margin for error is small if they lose some matches. RUNY, New Orleans, and Toronto should be fully expected to be the top teams in the conference and to fill the three playoff spots, beating those three in particular will be crucial for Old Glory's chance of advancing to the MLR postseason.
It will be hard to really know whether Old Glory will absolutely make the playoffs, but with the teams that are in the Eastern Conference, it's going to be extremely difficult. RUNY's defense will make it hard to score on them, Toronto's scrum and high powered offense will be hard to contain, and New Orleans' depth will be hard to go up against. Whether Old Glory will finish on top of the conference might not be likely, but finishing for the three seed is more probable. Either way, it will be a difficult schedule for them.
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