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A young coaching staff will take charge of the San Diego Legion for the 2018 Major League Rugby season. The team confirmed on Friday that Rob Hoadley will be Head Coach for its inaugural campaign with Chris Cracknell named forwards coach and Zack Test taking charge of the backs. Test will also oversee the club’s academy program. The team also revealed that Torero Stadium will indeed be the home field for 2018.
At 37 years young Hoadley is the oldest of the trio. It’s a return to San Diego for the former London Irish and Wasps midfielder, who acted as an assistant coach with the San Diego Breakers during the 2016 PRO Rugby season. Hoadley’s coaching career began at Wasps and saw him spend time in Japan with Ricoh before heading stateside to coach with Stanford University. He was appointed backs coach for the Eagles under John Mitchell in January of 2016.
Cracknell, 33, is a name many might remember from the HSBC Sevens Series. After playing in two Sevens World Cups, two Commonwealth Games tournaments, and 33 stops on the sevens circuit for England he was forced to retire prematurely due to injury in 2014. He did not remain idle for long, joining his England mentor Ben Ryan in Fiji to help coach the Olympic Champion men’s side and lead up the women’s program. An abrasive loose forward as a player, Cracknell will be tasked with sharpening the team’s breakdown skills.
One who needs no introduction to American fans is Zack Test. One of his country’s greatest ever sevens players, the 28-year-old appeared in 62 tournament on the HSBC Sevens Series and was named to the official HSBC Dream Team following the 2014-15 season. He holds the unique distinction of having played in the 2013 World Cup Sevens, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the 2016 Olympic Games. A series brain injury suffered while on Eagles duty during the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship forced Test to call time on his career, but like Cracknell he has quickly resurfaced on the coaching side of the game.
Matt Hawkins will act as President and General Manager of the team. The 34-year-old is another familiar name to Eagles fans having spent six years as a player for the USA sevens side and coaching the team during the 2013-14 season. Hawkins is also the founder and Director of Coaching at the San Diego Institute of Rugby, a development program that looks likely to be the foundation of the Legion’s academy.
The confirmation of Torero Stadium as home turf for the Legion comes as no surprise. It’s a venue familiar to San Diego rugby fans having housed the Breakers in 2016. With a capacity of 6,000 it’s an ideal size for the startup franchise and its location at the University of San Diego is easily accessible.
San Diego’s roster continues to take shape. An impressive eight players will be representing the club with the Eagles on Saturday, including the newest confirmation in loose forward Malon Al-Jiboori. The 20-year-old captained the Junior All-Americans in 2017 and also made his senior Eagles Sevens debut. He is now set to add his first Eagles XVs cap to his resume. USA Select XV back row Sione Tu’ihalamaka will play for the Legion and he could be joined by former Breakers teammate Takudzwa Ngwenya. The Eagles flyer is currently in training with the franchise though his signature is yet to by officially confirmed.
