The San Diego Legion opened their preseason slate with a slow start followed by a dominant three quarters in their 40-31 victory over Rugby FC Los Angeles at the California State University, Long Beach campus.
The preseason match was played in four 25-minute quarters to allow for the large roster of players on both teams to play.
It was the Legion’s first time back on the field since last season after the preseason training camp opened in early-January.
It also marked their first look against a league opponent under head coach John Manenti against a Los Angeles team who had already played a preseason match on Jan. 23 in the first-ever match between a MLR and a Super Rugby Pacific team.
“I thought we did a good job to sort of recover from giving up a couple tries early and we got some time with the ball,” Manenti said. “Overall, for a day one game, I was pleased.”
It was a good match for the coaching staff in terms of looking where the team needed to work more, scrum coach Alex Corbisiero said.
“You can take what you need and it highlights a couple of things that you probably are doing well and definitely highlights a lot of things that you need to continue working on,” returning outside center Marcel Brache said. “There’s certainly some aspects that we’re happy about but there’s even more things that we can continue to get better, which is what the quality of a preseason can get you.”
Los Angeles had three tries in the match’s first 30 minutes and ran through San Diego’s backs to take a 19-7 lead.
The Legion responded with 28 consecutive points on four tries that gave them a 35-19 lead through the 65th minute.
Fly-halves Harris Rutherford and Lincoln Mcclutchie split the kicking duties and made five of six conversion attempts.
The match was part of a California Festival of Rugby hosted by the Los Angeles club to celebrate local rugby. The Legion and LA concluded the four-match event that featured Division I and Division II college rugby teams.
More than 1,500 people attended the event throughout the day, according to Rugby FC Los Angeles, although the majority of people left before the final match.
Up next: The Legion hosts the Utah Warriors in their second and final preseason match at noon on Friday, Feb. 7, at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center. They begin the regular season against the defending Western Conference champion Seattle Seawolves on Sunday, Feb. 16 at Snapdragon Stadium.