Sunday will mark 238 days since the San Diego Legion last played an official game.
However, the place and opponent remain the same. While the sting of the championship game loss to the Seattle Seawolves remains for players and fans, the Legion will attempt to use that as fuel for this season.
“Championship, that’s the expectation. We’re not out here training for anything less than that. As a team we’re just making sure we’re raising our standards each and every day, each and every week and going above and beyond from last year,” assistant captain Nate Augspurger said on the expectations for the 2020 season.
Major League Rugby (MLR) awarded three Legion members with 2019 league awards.
Rob Hoadley took home the Coach of the Year award leading San Diego to a 12-3-1 record and top of the table to finish the regular season.
Forward of the Year selection was Legion prop Paddy Ryan. Ryan was more than just a physical presence, he was also the leader of the forwards giving San Diego the push they needed in their championship run.
JP Du Plessis was instrumental in the Legion’s late-season push toward the top of the table and scored critical tries in each of the last three games to include the playoffs to win the Back of the Year award.
Las Vegas will host five Major League Rugby five games in the 2020 campaign. One game opening weekend, and four games February 15-16.
San Diego will play the featured game on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. PST. MLR gained several new sponsorships during the offseason.
Paladin is the new on-field kit provider while Rhino Rugby becomes the official ball and equipment supplier. Catapult will expand GPS capabilities to improve training and performance metrics.
Legion secured the biggest signing of the offseason, and MLR history. New Zealand All Blacks superstar center Ma’a Nonu has joined San Diego for their third season.
“Experience, you just can’t buy it. There’s the obvious things, Ma’a’s won two World Cups, played many years for Super Rugby in France and the experience is invaluable. But as a man, his standards, he’s here to develop the game and help those around him. He’s a consummate professional, and as well as his rugby knowledge it’s how he approaches daily life, his habits and how professional he is that our guys just can’t fail to learn from being around him and it’s great to have him here in San Diego,” head coach Rob Hoadley said on what Nonu will bring to the team.
Also joining the Legion this year is Tira Patterson, a young Fiji star who impressed during the 2020 World Rugby Pacific Challenge by scoring six tries in three games. Patterson also played in two U20 tournaments for Fiji, winning the World Rugby Trophy in 2018.
Tevita Tameilau, a Redwood City, Calif. native, returns to the US after limited action for the Glasgow Warriors. He has also played for the USA Eagles since 2016 and played three games in the MLR with the Utah Warriors in 2018.
Pete Malcolm and Ben Mitchell join the team from the Austin Elite (now Austin Gilgronis).
“Both of them are bringing a lot to the club. They’re working hard, they’ve got the right attitude and right mindset that fits our Legion standard. Those two guys have been really exciting and I can’t wait for them to crack into a red and black jersey this year,” Augspurger said.
“Everyone we’ve brought in has a role to play, every single player in our group is going to contribute and have their moments to support the team through the year. Depth is absolutely critical this year because there’s only one bye week, so it’s about the collective effort and that’s what we’re looking forward to the most,” Hoadley said on the new additions to the team.
Also joining the team for the 2020 season are Malon Al Jiboori (USA Eagle, USA 7’s), James Dever (Houston SaberCats) and Luke Burton (Super Rugby, Western Force).
Returning to the Legion will be many of the same faces from the regular-season first-place team. Team Captain Joe Pietersen, Nate Ausburger, JP du Plessis, Psalm Wooching, Josh Furno, Aaron Mitchell, Save Totovosau, Ryan Matyas, Nathan Sylvia, Jasa Veremalua, Devin Short, Faka’osi Pifeleti, Keni Nasoqeqe, Dean Muir, Siaosi “CC” Mahoni, Dylan Audsley, Devereaux Ferris (DNP 2019) and Derreck Broussard (DNP 2019).
Mikey Te’o also rejoins the Legion in 2020, but in a limited role as he has been named to the USA 7’s team following an outstanding performance for the USA Eagles in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Marcus Tupuola will also split time with the Legion while also playing for the USA 7’s.
The 2020 season will kick off Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. PST at Torero Stadium. While the Legion defeated the Seattle Seawolves in both games of the 2019 regular season, it was Seattle that came away in the title game to claim back-to-back championships.
Hoadley said playing Seattle in the opening game “is a fantastic way to open the season. Obviously, it’s great for the supporters and great for the whole of MLR and everyone watching around the world. We’re preparing as we would for any other team. It’s the first step of many for the long season. I guess it’s probably a little bit of an extra edge between ourselves and Seattle. But we’re focusing on what we want to do in that game and very much looking forward to the opener.”
Nate Ausburger was a little more spirited, “We can’t wait, it’s circled, it’s got a big circle on our calendar. Not only is it going to be our first game of the season, but obviously to go against those guys who took it from us last year. We’re looking forward to it.”