2019 Major League Rugby final

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 16, 2019, at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California, between the San Diego Legion and the Seattle Seawolves.

2019 Major League Rugby final
Event2019 Major League Rugby season
DateJune 16, 2019
VenueTorero Stadium, San Diego, California
Man of the MatchJP Smith
RefereeScott Green (United States)
Attendance6,000
2018
2021

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

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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

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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

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

Match

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Details

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June 16 San Diego Legion 23–26 Seattle Seawolves Torero Stadium, San Diego, California  
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

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

Most Valuable Player:
JP Smith

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

Television Match Official:
Davey Ardrey (United States)

Post-match

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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

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  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. ^ "SKEDBALL: Weekly Sports TV Ratings 6.10-6.16.2019 | Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2022.