San Diego Legion

The San Diego Legion are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR), based in San Diego, California.^[1][2] The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 season. The team plays their home games at Snapdragon Stadium.

San Diego Legion

Full name	San Diego Legion
Founded	2017; 7 years ago (2017)
Location	San Diego, California
Ground(s)	Snapdragon Stadium (Capacity: 35,000)
President	David Haigh
Coach(es)	Danny Lee
Captain(s)	Blair Cowan
Top scorer	Joe Pietersen (177)
Most tries	Mike Te'o (9)
League(s)	Major League Rugby
2023	Runner-up 1st (Western Conference)
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.sdlegion.com
Current season

History

 

Luke Burton goal kicking

Established in 2017, the San Diego Legion have represented San Diego since their inception. The Legion are one of seven founding teams in Major League Rugby.

The Legion were runner-ups in the 2019 and 2023 season championships.

Sponsorship

Season	Kit Manufacturer	Front of Jersey Sponsor
2018	XBlades	Sharp Business Systems
2019		None
2020	Paladin Sports	None
2021–2022		Ballast Point Brewing Company
2023		Kings & Convicts Brewing Co.

Players and personnel

Current squad

For player movements before and during the 2024 season, see List of 2023–24 Major League Rugby transfers § San Diego Legion.

The San Diego Legion squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is:^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Cyrille Cama* Hooker   Fiji Chris Mickleson Hooker   Australia Hugh Roach Hooker   Australia Lolenisi Veimau Hooker   United States Chris Baumann Prop   United States Darcy Breen Prop   Australia Luke Green Prop   England Oliver Kane Prop   United States Fakaʻosi Pifeleti Prop   United States Djustice Sears-Duru Prop   Canada Nathan Sylvia Prop   United States Payton Telea-Ilalio Prop   United States Brandon Harvey Lock   United States Charlie Hewitt Lock   United States Greg Peterson Lock   United States Isaac Ross Lock   New Zealand Jay Tuitivati Lock   New Zealand Tupou Afungia Back row   Tonga Brendan Amiatu-Tanoi Back row   United States Blair Cowan (c) Back row   Scotland Vili Helu Back row   United States Finn Kearns Back row   Australia Christian Poidevin* Back row   Australia Paddy Ryan Prop   United States Tevita Tameilau Back row   United States Chris Turori Back row   United States

Player Position Union Nick Boyer Scrum-half   United States Danny Christensen Scrum-half   United States Connor Tupai Scrum-half   New Zealand Matt Giteau Fly-half   Australia Josh Henderson Fly-half   Scotland Lincoln McClutchie Fly-half   New Zealand Harris Rutherford* Fly-half   Scotland Marcel Brache Centre   United States Luke Burton Centre   Australia Ethan Grayson Centre   England Alex Horan Centre   Australia Tiaan Loots Centre   South Africa Ma'a Nonu Centre   New Zealand Tomas Aoake Wing   New Zealand Ryan James Wing   United States Matai Leuta Wing   United States James Vaifale Wing   United States Filimoni Waqainabete Wing   Fiji Chris Mattina Fullback   United States Mike Te'o Fullback   United States

• Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
• * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
• MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

Head coaches

•   Rob Hoadley (2018–2020) ^[4]
•   Zack Test (2020) ^[4]
•   Scott Murray (2020–2021) ^[4]
•   Danny Lee (2022–)^[5]

Captains

• Nate Augspurger (2018)
• Joe Pietersen (2019)
• Nate Augspurger (2020–present)

Records

Season standings

Season	Conference	Regular season										Postseason
		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/−	BP	Pts	Pld	W	L	F	A	+/−	Result
2018	-	3rd	8	5	0	3	214	201	+13	4	24	1	0	1	24	38	-14	Lost Semifinal (Seattle Seawolves) 24–38
2019	-	1st	16	12	1	3	457	296	+161	12	61	2	1	1	47	48	-1	Won Semifinal (Rugby United New York) 24–22 Lost Major League Rugby final (Seattle Seawolves) 23-26
2020^[a]	Western	1st	5	5	0	0	161	108	+53	3	23	-	-	-	-	-	-	Cancelled
2021	Western	4th	16	6	0	10	430	464	-34	14	38	-	-	-	-	-	-	Did not qualify
2022	Western	5th	16	8	0	8	475	428	+47	8	43	1	0	1	19	43	-24	Lost West Conference Eliminator (Seattle Seawolves) 19–43
2023	Western	1st	16	15	0	1	554	285	+269	14	74	2	1	1	56	35	+21	Won Conference Final (Seattle Seawolves) 32-10 Lost Major League Rugby final New England Free Jacks 25-24
Totals			77	51	1	25	1,991	1,682	+309	55	263	6	2	4	146	164	-18	4 playoff appearances

Notes

1. 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honors

• Major League Rugby
  • Runner-up: 2019
  • Playoff appearances: 2018, 2019

2018 season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 25	Austin Elite°	Away	Won, 24–32
April 7	Houston SaberCats°	Home	Lost, 17–33
April 22	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Lost, 23–39
April 29	Utah Warriors	Home	Won, 31–24
May 4	Houston SaberCats	Home	Won, 35–32
May 13	Glendale Raptors	Away	Lost, 27–31
May 25	Austin Elite	Away	Lost, 5–31
June 9	New Orleans Gold	Away	Won, 39–22
June 17	Austin Elite	Home	Won, 31–17
June 23	Glendale Raptors	Home	Won, 23–5
June 30	Seattle Seawolves°°	Neutral	Lost, 24–38

° = Exhibition game
°° = Playoff semifinals at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado.

2019 season

Exhibition

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
January 6	Life West	Away	Won, 76–0
January 13	Glendale Raptors	Home	Lost, 31–38

Regular season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
January 27	Rugby United New York	Home	Lost, 23-25
February 2	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Won, 17-13
February 9	Houston SaberCats	Home	Won, 17-13
February 17	Utah Warriors	Home	Won, 21–10
February 23	Austin Elite	Away	Won, 45-17
March 10	Toronto Arrows	Home	Lost, 20-27
March 16	Glendale Raptors	Away	Draw, 28-28
March 31	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Won, 28-22
April 7	Austin Elite	Home	Won, 45-15
April 14	Rugby United New York	Away	Won, 29–19
April 20	Glendale Raptors	Home	Won, 46–15
April 28	Houston SaberCats	Away	Won, 41-19
May 5	Toronto Arrows	Away	Lost, 19-23
May 11	New Orleans Gold	Away	Won, 26-19
May 18	Utah Warriors	Away	Won, 31-21
June 2	New Orleans Gold	Home	Won, 22–10

Post season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
June 9	Rugby United New York	Home	Won, 24-22
June 16	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Lost, 23–26

2020 season

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic.^[6] It was cancelled the following week^[7]

Regular season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
February 9	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Won, 33–24
February 16	Colorado Raptors	Home	Won, 49–22
February 23	New England Free Jacks	Home	Won, 30–21
February 29	New Orleans Gold	Away	Won, 25–21
March 8	Rugby United New York	Home	Won, 24–20
March 15	Austin Gilgronis	Away	Cancelled
March 22	Old Glory DC	Home	Cancelled
March 27	Utah Warriors	Away	Cancelled
April 5	Houston SaberCats	Home	Cancelled
April 12	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Cancelled
April 26	Rugby ATL	Away	Cancelled
May 3	Austin Gilgronis	Home	Cancelled
May 10	Toronto Arrows	Away	Cancelled
May 16	Houston SaberCats	Away	Cancelled
May 25	Utah Warriors	Home	Cancelled
May 30	Colorado Raptors	Away	Cancelled

2021 season

Regular season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 20	Rugby United New York	Home	Lost, 29–36
March 28	Austin Gilgronis	Away	Won, 14–11
April 3	Rugby ATL	Away	Lost, 22–41
April 10	Houston SaberCats	Away	Lost, 32–34
April 17	Utah Warriors	Home	Won, 31-29
April 24	LA Giltinis	Away	Lost, 17-45
May 1	New England Free Jacks	Home	Lost, 17-33
May 9	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Lost, 15-21
May 15	New Orleans Gold	Home	Won, 43-17
May 29	Houston SaberCats	Home	Won, 39-11
June 6	Toronto Arrows	Away	Won, 40-30
June 12	Utah Warriors	Away	Lost, 41-45
June 20	LA Giltinis	Home	Lost, 13-19
June 26	Austin Gilgronis	Home	Lost, 14-33
July 3	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Won, 34-21
July 10	Old Glory DC	Away	Lost, 38-29

2022 season

Regular season

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
February 6	Utah Warriors	Home	Won, 39-21
February 12	Dallas Jackals	Home	Won, 37-29
February 20	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Lost, 28-31
February 26	Houston SaberCats	Away	Won, 31-20
March 6	Old Glory DC	Home	Won, 24-12
March 13	Rugby New York	Away	Lost, 23-26
March 19	LA Giltinis	Away	Lost, 13-26
April 1	Utah Warriors	Away	Won, 40-25
April 10	Austin Gilgronis	Home	Lost, 21-35
April 16	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Lost, 32-34
April 24	Rugby ATL	Home	Lost, 17-30
April 30	Dallas Jackals	Away	Won, 53-14
May 7	Houston SaberCats	Home	Lost, 24-34
May 14	LA Giltinis	Home	Won, 31-27
May 21	NOLA Gold	Awaay	Won, 42-12
May 28	Austin Gilgronis	Away	Lost, 28-44

Post season

See also: 2022 Major League Rugby playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
West Eliminator	June 12	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Lost, 19–43

2023 season

The San Diego Legion will play 16 games in the 2023 season. Home games will be played at Snapdragon Stadium.

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
February 18	Utah Warriors	Home	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 33-17
February 26	New England Free Jacks	Home	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 29-12
March 5	Houston SaberCats	Away	SaberCats Stadium	Lost, 31-26
March 11	Dallas Jackals	Home	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 22-0
March 18	Rugby ATL	Away	Atlanta Silverbacks Park	Won, 35-10
April 2	Old Glory DC	Home	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 48-26
April 8	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Starfire Sports Complex	Won, 23-20
April 16	Chicago Hounds	Home	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 48-24
April 22	Dallas Jackals	Away	Choctaw Stadium	Won, 47-38
April 30	Houston SaberCats	Home	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 29-16
May 6	Utah Warriors	Away	Zions Bank Stadium
May 13	NOLA Gold	Away	Gold Mine
May 28	Rugby New York Ironworkers	Home	Snapdragon Stadium
June 3	Chicago Hounds	Away	SeatGeek Stadium
June 11	Toronto Arrows	Away	York Lions Stadium
June 18	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Snapdragon Stadium

References

1. "Major League Rugby nears kick-off as next attempt to make US a union power". The Guardian. UK. November 17, 2017. from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
2. Nelson, Ronan (January 18, 2018). "MLRs San Diego Legion Holds Combine". Rugby Wrap Up. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
3. "San Diego Legion". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
4. "Coaching staff". San Diego Legion. from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
5. "San Diego Legion Names Danny Lee Head Coach & Director of Rugby". August 11, 2021.
6. . Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
7. . Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

External links

• Official website