Old Glory Adds Paul Mullen to 2026 Roster

By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
Dec 8, 2025 - 11:30am

Old Glory DC has added experienced tighthead prop Paul Mullen to the 2026 roster. The 34-year-old comes in with 88 MLR caps under his belt, as well as plenty of international experience. He played for the NOLA Gold last season and was left available when that team withdrew from the 2026 MLR season.

Born and raised in Ireland, he started playing rugby when he was 13 and continued to play through his school years. He was a part of the Munster academy and played for their age-grade teams until he left for the United States for college. He attended Texas A&M, earning bachelor's and master's degrees, while also play local club rugby.

When MLR launched in 2018, he signed with his local team, the Houston Sabercats. His play in that season got him noticed by the Eagles coaching staff, leading to him being called up for the national team. He earned his first three caps in the summer tour that year and started in the USA's historic win over Scotland.

His rapid rise also saw him get a shot in Europe with the Newcastle Falcons in the English Premiership. That opportunity was short-leved, however, as he only earned one cap with Falcons and two caps with Doncaster Knights in the Championship before returning to the US.

His MLR success continued, though, as he played one more season with Houston in 2019 and the pandemic-shortened 2020 with San Diego before he settled in with the Utah Warriors. He spent four seasons in Utah before moving to the NOLA Gold last season. He also continued to see success on the international stage, earning 36 international caps total, including 4 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

While the thighthead prop position is still largely a question mark for Old Glory, we can make some clear guesses based on the trends at other positions. Head Coach Simon Cross has shown a strategy of finding a top-level, experienced starter to anchor each position, then filling in with up-and-coming American players behind them. Mullen quite obviously fits the bill as an experienced starter, making it likely that we'll see him in the number three jersey more often than not.