Pro rugby to get second chance at success in San Diego

California native Danny Barrett competed for Team USA during Rugby Sevens debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games. He scored 20 points in the United States' five matches. Photo by Eric J. Fowler

Fans have a chance to get in on a piece of history when the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby makes its local debut Saturday, April 7, with a preseason match at Torero Stadium.

The Legion will host the Houston SaberCats at 7 p.m. Prior to the game, San Diego State University will play Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in a Division IA college matchup at 5 p.m.

This will be the second preseason match for the Legion, which edged the Austin Elite, 32-24, on March 25 in Texas.

The Legion is one of seven teams that will be competing in Major League Rugby’s inaugural season. Other teams include the Seattle Seawolves, Utah Warriors, Glendale (Colo.) Raptors and New Orleans Gold.

The Legion roster features 26 active players and a coaching staff headed by Rob Hoadley, a 38-year-old native of Hammersmith, England, who served as the backs coach for the United States national team at the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship.

Backs coach Zack Test played in the 2013 World Cup Sevens, the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games while representing the United States.

Scrum-half Nate Augspurger, a member of the United States rugby Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, is among the more notable players on the Legion roster.

The Legion has four players off the San Diego Breakers, a pro rugby team that first attempted to cement the sport locally in 2016.

“San Diego Legion has been training hard to prepare for the first season of Major League Rugby,” Legion General Manager Matt Hawkins noted. “We’re thrilled to be hosting the initial championships right here in America’s Finest City, so it’s only appropriate that we do all we can to be a part of the post-season games. Our first preseason (game) was well played by both sides, and we expect to have the next game be another great performance from the San Diego Legion.”

Giveaways, halftime fun, a beer garden and culinary treats will be served to fans of all ages. A meet-and-greet with players will be hosted prior to kickoff where fans will have an opportunity to get autographs.

The Legion will play its first regular season game at Seattle on April 22, then host its first regular season game against Utah on April 29. Additional home games are against Houston on May 4, Austin on June 17 and Glendale on June 23.

All home games will be played at Torero Stadium, located on the campus of the University of San Diego.

The top four teams in the standings will qualify for postseason play. The playoffs will consist of two semifinal matches and a championship game.

For more information, visit the websites at sdlegion.com and usmlr.com.

Red and Black
The Aztecs will celebrate Senior Night with Saturday’s upcoming match against Cal Poly.

SDSU’s 2018 season began on Jan. 20 and included matches against teams such as Grand Canyon University, Santa Barbara City College, St. Mary’s, Cal, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, University of Arizona and BYU.

Playoffs are scheduled April 14, 21, 28 and May 5.

SDSU’s club team has been in existence since 1958. The Aztecs defeated Air Force to win the 1987 national championship.

An American player finds himself surrounded during competition in the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament March 2-4 in Las Vegas. Photo by Eric J. Fowler

World Rugby Sevens Series
The United States men’s Eagles Seven made history by defeating Argentina, 28-0, to claim the championship of the USA Sevens International Rugby Tournament March 2-4 in Las Vegas. The title game victory was only the second World Rugby Sevens Series Cup Final win — the first on American soil — in the 20-year history of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

With the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 set in San Francisco in July, American rugby is now primed for a major leap on the international stage, according to USA Rugby sources.

“It’s amazing, I am so pleased for the boys and all credit to the men in the arena; absolutely Gladiator performances,” said U.S. Sevens head coach Mike Friday explained. “I asked them to adjust tactically for that Fiji game then they had to adjust differently for the Argentinian game. And, the way they embraced that listening and then the way they went out and implemented was first class.”

The U.S. men’s Eagles Sevens residency program is based at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (formerly the U.S. Olympic Training Center-Chula Vista).

The Americans defeated Samoa (26-12), Australia (28-7), Spain (28-17), England (17-12) and Fiji (19-7) before defeating Argentina in the final.

Americas Rugby Championship
The USA Eagles defeated Uruguay, 61-19, to capture the Americas Rugby Championship title for the second straight year in competition ending March 3 in Monteviedo, Uruguay. The Eagles ran in nine tries to Uruguay’s three to become the first team in the short history of the ARC to go 5-0 in a campaign.

“It means a great deal,” Eagles head coach Gary Gold said. “It’s good to see all the hard work from the team and staff pay off. The group showed a lot of intent on how they want to play the game.”

The group will now break for the next few months before reassembling in June for the Emirates Summer Series in Denver.

Women’s Youth Olympic Games
A selection camp was held in January in Chula Vista for the upcoming U17 Youth Olympic Games Oct. 6-18 in Buenos Aires. The last Youth Olympic Games took place in 2014 in Nanjing, China. A hastily assembled U.S. team of high school players did not medal but there is optimism four years later.

Many of the girls who competed in 2014 Youth Olympic Games are now women playing in major college programs across the country such as Harvard, Dartmouth, Lindenwood, Penn State, Central Washington and Notre Dame.