Ashley-Cooper has been weighing up several offers after making his Test swansong at the World Cup in Japan. He played his 12th and final season of Super Rugby with NSW last year but has been lured to the US for a season in Austin. Mitchell's last year of professional rugby was 2017. The 71-Test winger said he was yet to formally sign with RUNY and had received offers from two other clubs, keen to enlist his services in coaching or the back office. "It's an exciting competition the MLR," he said. "Having spoken to a number of representatives from different teams, I'm weighing up potential opportunities on and off the field. Drew Mitchell at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Credit:PA "The ultimate decision will come down to the opportunity I want to chase and which one I'm

more comfortable doing at this time. If I play this year, it will be two-and-a-half years since my last game, so there's a bit to weigh up." The MLR is the second iteration of professional rugby in the US, but is rapidly building a reputation as a sustainable competition gaining a foothold in the populous but sports-saturated country. It started with seven teams, which all bought a stake in the competition, expanded to nine in 2019 and will feature 12 teams in two conferences (Eastern and Western) this year when it kicks off on February 8. The three new teams are Old Glory DC (Washington DC), Rugby ATL (Atlanta) and the New England Free Jacks (Boston).

Loading Each team will play the other teams in its conference home and away, for a total of 10 games, plus six cross-conference games, three home and three away. The second- and third-placed teams in each conference will play for a spot in the conference final, where they will face the top-ranked side. The eastern and western conference winners will play in the final on June 28. The signings follow a flurry of private capital injection from around the world, including Australia. One of the foundation teams, San Diego, is co-owned by Australian Darren Gardner. Australian group Loyals LLC, led by F45 co-founder Adam Gilchrist, has bought Ashley-Cooper's team Austin, renaming them from the Herd to the Gilgronis - after a yet-to-be-released cocktail. Gilchrist is expanding the F45 business in the US and last year welcomed Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg as an investor. Another Australian, former Waratahs squad member, James Godfrey, is setting up the Los Angeles Loyals who, along with a Dallas team, will join MLR in 2021. Godfrey most recently headed up NSW Rugby's philanthropic arm the Positive Rugby Foundation.