It has been 979 days since the dreadful day that saw the San Diego Legion seconds away from winning their first Major League Rugby (MLR) championship before B. Tucker and the defending champ Seattle Seawolves scored a post-80-minute try that gave them a 24-23 lead. The conversion gave them a three-point lead, and after kicking to touch, won their second consecutive championship.
Every Legion fan remembers that day, especially those at Torero Stadium.
The history:
San Diego and Seattle are at a split 4-4 record in the biggest rivalry in the MLR. After losing the first two games in 2018, including the MLR semi-finals, the Legion won the two regular-season matches between the two clubs before the championship loss in 2019.
San Diego opened the 2020 season with a big rematch victory, but their second match was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, in front of empty crowds, the Legion and Seawolves split the season series in a year that saw both teams take a step back.
The Seawolves own a (2-0) record in the postseason, but the Legion have a (4-2) advantage in the regular-season, and it will be the first match between the two teams in over two years with fans in the crowd.
This season:
The Legion (2-0, 10 pts) began the season with the Utah Warriors in Round 1, but after a penalty-filled first half with many mistakes, the Legion had a 26-point second-half to win by two.
Last week, the Legion faced many injuries, but despite the circumstances, San Diego defeated the expansion club Dallas Jackals, 37-29, in the second home match of the season.
On the other hand, the Seawolves (2-0, 8 pts) opened the season with a 21-8 victory over the Toronto Arrows in front of their home crowd.
Their 20-17 win over the Utah Warriors last week gave them their first ever (2-0) start in the fifth season of MLR, despite being the winningest side in MLR.
It will be a big match for both sides as only one club will come out of the Sunday afternoon matchup unbeaten, and the two teams will be fighting for the higher seed in MLR’s West Conference.
Notable:
Pete Malcolm (no. 2), Chris Robshaw (6), Dan Pryor (7), Will Hooley (10) and Tiaan Loots (13) do not appear on San Diego’s gameday roster after starting last week’s match. They will be replaced by Matt Moulds, Chris Turori, Michael Smith, Joe Pietersen and Thomas Morani, respectively.
Pietersen was part of the original starting lineup last week and showed up to the SDSU Sports Deck, but did not play and was not dressed out for the match.
Ma’a Nonu will captain the Sunday match with Nate Augspurger named the vice captain.