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The San Diego Legion have bolstered their staff with the hiring of long-time Scotland international Scott Murray as Forwards Coach ahead of the 2019 Major League Rugby season. A British & Irish Lions tourist in 2001, Murray is the fourth-most capped player for the Scots and is widely considered as one of their greatest forwards of the professional era. The 42-year-old takes over the role from former England Sevens player Chris Cracknell.
Murray represented Scotland for over a decade, making his debut as a 21-year-old in 1997. He would go on to win 87 caps in the second row, 84 of them as a starter. As a profession player he began his career with Bedford Blues, moving to Saracens in 1999 and then to his home club Edinburgh in 2002. Following the 2007 World Cup – his third – he moved to the Top 14 with first Montauban and then Castres, finishing his career as a player-coach with Mont-de-Marsan in the 2012-13 season.
Since his retirement as a player he has continued his move into coaching. He moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and coached the UCLA program along with former Canadian international Scott Stewart until taking over as Forwards Coach for the Santa Monica Dolphins of the Pacific Rugby Premiership in September 2017. He was also part of the USA Select XV staff that traveled to the 2017 Americas Pacific Challenge.
Meanwhile the Legion have said goodbye to Director of Operations Matt Hawkins, formerly of the USA Sevens program, who has opted to pursue business interests outside of professional rugby. Another move sees Ashley Otte appointed as Executive General Manager. Otte was formerly General Manager of TEN Media, a marketing firm based in Los Angeles.
