2019 Major League Rugby Final

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2019 Major League Rugby Final
Event2019 Major League Rugby season
San Diego Legion Seattle Seawolves
23 26
DateJune 16, 2019
VenueTorero Stadium, San Diego, California
Man of the MatchJP Smith
RefereeScott Green (United States)
Attendance6,000
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2021 →

The 2019 Major League Rugby Final was the championship match of the 2nd season of Major League Rugby (MLR), a rugby union club competition in the United States. It was played on June 16th 2019, at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California, between the San Diego Legion and the Seattle Seawolves.

San Diego and Seattle finished first and second in the regular season, respectively, and advanced to the final after defeating New York and Toronto in the semifinals. The Seattle team was the defending champion, having won the 2018 final. Seattle defeated San Diego 26–23 in the 2019 final to take their second championship title.

Background[]

The 2019 Major League Rugby season began in January 2019 with nine teams all playing each other home and away. The Seattle Seawolves won the previous season's championship, defeating the Glendale Raptors at Torero Stadium in San Diego.[1]

Seattle and San Diego played each other twice during the regular season, ending in 17–13 and 28–22 victories for the Legion.[2]

Venue[]

Torero Stadium, home field of Major League Rugby team San Diego Legion, was selected as the venue for the final after the team finished as the top seed in the regular season.[3] The stadium with a seating capacity of 6,000 on the campus of the University of San Diego is also home to the various athletics teams of the university.[4]

Broadcasting[]

The match was broadcast nationally on CBS.[5] It received a rating of 0.34 (510,000). [6]

Match[]

Details[]

June 16 San Diego Legion 23–26 Seattle Seawolves Torero Stadium, San Diego, California hide 
1:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) Try: Boyer 52’ c Manihera 65’ c
Con: Pietersen 2/2 (53’, 66’)
Pen: Pietersen 2/2 (6’, 21’)
Drop: Pietersen 1/2 (78’)
 ARN Report Try: Coetzee 22’ c Smith 32‘ c Hattingh 71’ m Tucker 80’ c
Con: Staller 3/4 (23’, 33’, 82’)
 Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Scott Green (United States)

Man of the Match: JP Smith

hideTeam details
FB 15 United States Tai Enosa Substituted off 42'
RW 14 United States Conor Kearns
OC 13 United States Ryan Matyas
IC 12 South Africa JP du Plessis
LW 11 United States Nick Boyer
FH 10 South Africa Joe Pietersen
SH 9 United States Nate Augspurger (c)
N8 8 New Zealand Jordan Manihera
OF 7 United States Psalm Wooching
BF 6 Fiji Jasa Veremalua Substituted off 61'
RL 5 Italy Joshua Furno
LL 4 United States Louis Stanfill Substituted off 61'
TP 3 Australia Paddy Ryan Substituted off 61'
HK 2 United States Kapeli Pifeleti Substituted off 57'
LP 1 United States Faka’osi Pifeleti Substituted off 40'
Replacements:
HK 16 South Africa Dean Muir Substituted in 57'
PR 17 United States Nathan Sylvia Substituted in 40'
PR 18 United States Dino Waldren Substituted in 61'
LK 19 United States Siaosi Mahoni Substituted in 61'
FL 20 United States Pat Blair Substituted in 61'
FB 21 United States Kyle Rogers
WG 22 Fiji Save Totovosau
OB 23 United States Will Holder Substituted in 42'
Coach:
England Rob Hoadley
FB 15 England Mathew Turner
RW 14 Canada Brock Staller
OC 13 Canada George Barton Substituted off 57'
IC 12 United States Shalom Suniula (c)
LW 11 Canada Jeff Hassler
FH 10 United States Ben Cima Substituted off 57'
SH 9 South Africa JP Smith
N8 8 United States Riekert Hattingh
OF 7 Canada Nakai Penny Substituted off 62'
BF 6 United States Samu Manoa Substituted off 53'
RL 5 New Zealand Brad Tucker
LL 4 Fiji Api Naikatini Substituted off 62'
TP 3 Australia Tim Metcher Substituted off 50'
HK 2 South Africa Stephan Coetzee Substituted off 75'
LP 1 Canada Djustice Sears-Duru  Substituted off 50'
Replacements:
HK 16 United States Daniel Trierweiler Substituted in 75'
PR 17 United States Kellen Gordon Substituted in 50'
PR 18 Canada Jake Ilnicki Substituted in 50'
LK 19 Belgium Jérémy Lenaerts Substituted in 62'
LF 20 United States Eric Duechle Substituted in 62'
SH 21 Canada Phil Mack Substituted in 57'
OB 22 United States Roland Suniula Substituted in 57'
LF 23 United States Vili Toluta’u Substituted in 53'
Coach:
New Zealand

Most Valuable Player:
JP Smith

Assistant Referees:
Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Elgan Williams (Wales)

Television Match Official:
Davey Ardrey (United States)

Post-match[]

The defending champion Seattle Seawolves was once again awarded the "America's Championship Shield", which was changed to a 20-pound (9.1 kg) metal shield in the shape of the MLR logo. Seawolves scrum-half JP Smith was named the MLR Championship Series "man of the match".[citation needed]

References[]

  1. ^ Monahan, Terry (July 7, 2018). "Seawolves win inaugural Major League Rugby championship". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  2. ^ Saul, John (June 15, 2019). "Seawolves hoping third time's a charm vs. San Diego in quest for repeat Major League Rugby title". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Strickler, Colton (June 7, 2019). "Legion Host RUNY to Kick Off MLR Championship Series". San Diego Legion. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Leonard, Tod (July 6, 2018). "In San Diego for title match, Major League Rugby reflects on inaugural season, future". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  5. ^ Benjamin, Cody (June 11, 2019). "Major League Rugby championship: How to watch Seattle vs. San Diego on CBS". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  6. ^ [1]
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