First-place San Diego Legion host fourth-place Rugby United New York in a 2019 Major League Rugby Semifinal on Sunday, June 9 at 2 pm (5 pm ET) at Torero Stadium in San Diego. The teams split their regular season matches.
Tickets are available for the match and for those who can’t attend, it will be broadcast of CBS Sports Network. Fans outside the U.S. may view the match on the Major League Rugby Facebook page.
Match Comments
Rugby United New York Head Coach Mike Tolkin has made one change in the starters with Mark O’Keeffe at wing. Three changes were made in the reserves with Chris Sullivan, a tighthead prop, Marcus Walsh at scrumhalf, and Luke Hume a back three.
San Diego Legion Head Coach Rob Hoadley has made one change in his starters with Tai Enosa at fullback instead of Mike Te’o. In the reserves, Dean Muir is back in the matchday roster at hooker and Kyle Rogers in the back three.
Both teams play expansive rugby and are among the best in counterattacks. The match pits the Legion’s number one defense against the Number 2 RUNY team. A slight edge goes to the Roosters in scrummaging, while the Legion has the better offensive attack, averaging 26 points to the Roosters 22.
The match will likely be won by the team that commits the fewest errors. Both teams elect to score tries first, but Joe Pietersen is one of the League leaders in kicking. Cathal Marsh and Chris Mattina have also been effective. Both teams also like to set up a scoring platform from lineouts from close range.
The teams split their regular season matches and look for a close and exciting semifinal.
Squads with Player Article Links
San Diego Legion: 1 Faka’osi Pifeleti 2 Kapeli Pifeleti 3 Paddy Ryan 4 Lou Stanfill 5 Josh Furno 6 Jasa Veremalua 7 Psalm Wooching 8 Jordan Manihera 9 Nate Augspurger 10 Joe Pietersen (C) 11 Nick Boyer 12 JP Duplessis 13 Ryan Matyas 14 Conor Kearns 15 Tai Enosa16 Dean Muir 17 Nathan Sylvia 18 Dino Waldren 19 Siaosi Mahoni 20 Pat Blair 21 Kyle Rogers 22 Save Totovosau 23 Will Holder+ Head Coach Rob Hoadley
Rugby United New York: 1 James Rochford 2 Dylan Fawsitt 3 Paddy Ryan 4 Trevor Cassidy 5 Nate Brakeley 6 John Quill 7 Matt Hughston 8 Ross Deacon 9 Mike Petri (C) 10 Cathal Marsh 11 Connor Wallace-Sims 12 Will Leonard 13 Chris Mattina 14 Mark O’Keeffe 15 Ben Foden 16 Callum Mackintosh 17 Chance Wenglewski18 Chris Sullivan 19 Alex MacDonald 20 James Denise 21Marcus Walsh 22 Harry Bennett 23 Luke Hume + Head Coach Mike Tolkin
Other Articles
DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.
