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The San Diego Legion have been very quiet in the Major League Rugby off-season but behind the scenes there are signs of life. Multiple media sources in Fiji have now confirmed that Olympic Gold Medalist Jasa Veremalua has signed a two-year contract with the Legion. The deal will also see him take up a role as a coach with the new Legion Academy alongside Zack Test.
Among the world’s very best sevens players, Veremalua has been in the Fijian team since 2012. To date he has appeared in 38 stops on the HSBC Sevens Series. He has also appeared in two Rugby World Cup Sevens and won Silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Due to his sevens commitments Veremalua has played little XV-a-side rugby over the past decade. Standing 6’5″ (1.95m), he appeared as a flanker with Lautoka briefly in 2010 but has split his time on the HSBC circuit between prop and the wing. It’s at the latter position where he was pursued by Toulouse in 2016, though he ultimately did not sign a contract with the Top 14 club.
Veremalua is renowned for his speed, which can be deceiving with his long strides, and world class offloading ability. If he is indeed employed on the wing it would give the team an added dimension in attack with his height also very useful in a cross-kick scenario.
The 30-year-old is the fourth senior Fijian international to join the new American professional competition. Long-time teammate Osea Kolinisau and Josua Vici play for the Houston SaberCats, while William Rasileka won the inaugural MLR title in 2018 with the Seattle Seawolves.
