San Diego hand Glendale record defeat

The San Diego Legion handed the Glendale Raptors their heaviest-ever defeat in Major League Rugby with a 46-15 win at Torero Stadium on Saturday. Glendale’s defense struggled to deal with the speed and clever moves of the San Diego attack.

Joe Pietersen and Will Magie each knocked over routine penalty goals to leave the score level after 10 minutes. A second penalty from Pietersen on the 15 minute mark tilted the scales and they were thrown completely in San Diego’s favor soon after.

An overthrown Glendale lineout ended in the hands of Jasa Veremalua and the Fijian flyer flew through the line and stepped two defenders to score a wonderful individual try from 40 meters. Next it was a first phase backline move that saw Mike Te’o cutting back across the grain to sprint home from halfway.

A third San Diego try before halftime came against the run of play. Dylan Taikato-Simpson broke through on a counter-attack with Nate Augspurger just catching him from behind. Glendale recycled quickly and moved it left but Robbie Petzer’s pass bounced off the turf and into the waiting arms of Nick Boyer for a 70 meter dash to the line.

Peter attempted to make amends with his own line break just before halftime, with Te’o’s no-arms tackle earning him a trip to the bin. After repeated phases the Raptors finally got a reward as Marco Fepulea’i drove in under the posts for a seven-pointer.

Glendale overcame adversity against Houston but it was not to be in San Diego. This time Magie’s pass was off-target, instead picked off by Te’o with his offload giving Pat Blair an easy run under the posts. A poor clearance kick was to blame next as Te’o connected with Augspurger, with subsequent input from Conor Kearns, Jordan Manihera, and finally Psalm Wooching who got the honors with the touchdown.

The Legion took advantage of almost every opportunity. Te’o was stopped short of the line and his offload attempt ricocheted off Mika Kruse in-goal, giving the attacking scrum to San Diego. Simple hands from the scrum caught the Raptors defense pinching and Te’o this time got his double, dotting down in the corner.

With the game now hopelessly lost, Glendale would get a consolation try from their league-leading try scorer John Ryberg. The powerful winger had just enough strength to hold off the tackle of Ryan Matyas and reach down for the score. There would be no bonus point, however, as the clock ticked over and Boyer sent the ball into the stands.

San Diego take their show on the road to Houston next Sunday where they will try to make it five wins in a row. Glendale trudge back to Infinity Park where they face another difficult opponent in Rugby United New York with their playoff hopes possibly resting in the balance.

SCORING

SAN DIEGO 46
Tries – J. Veremalua (23’), M. Te’o 2 (26’, 69’), N. Boyer (32’), P. Blair (57’), P. Wooching (61’)
Cons – J. Pietersen 5/5 (24’, 27’, 33’, 58’, 62’), N. Boyer 0/1
Pens – J. Pietersen 2/2 (5’, 15’)
Drop goals – J. Pietersen 0/1
Yellow cards – M. Te’o (40’)

GLENDALE 15
Tries – M. Fepulea’i (40’), J. Ryberg (75’)
Cons – W. Magie 1/2 (40’)
Pens – W. Magie 1/1 (10’)

TEAMS

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Nathan Sylvia HT), 2 Dean Muir (16 Kapeli Pifeleti 22’ {19 Pat Blair 52’}), 3 Aaron Mitchell (18 Paddy Ryan HT), 4 Louis Stanfill, 5 Jasa Veremalua, 6 Psalm Wooching (20 Drew Gaffney 65’), 7 Devin Short, 8 Jordan Manihera, 9 Nate Augspurger (23 Kyle Rogers 67’), 10 Joe Pietersen (capt.) (21 Tai Enosa 67’), 11 Conor Kearns, 12 Dylan Audsley (22 Nick Lupian 65’), 13 Ryan Matyas, 14 Nick Boyer, 15 Mike Te’o

GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Noah Barker (17 Max Lum 65’), 2 Zach Fenoglio (16 Chad Gough 56’), 3 Marco Fepulea’i (18 Kelepi Fifita 60’), 4 Luke White (19 Kody O’Neil 44’), 5 Will Munro (21 Malon Al-Jiboori 37’), 6 Brendan Daly, 7 Peter Dahl (20 Connor Cook 35’-HT, 51’), 8 Murphy Taramai, 9 Shaun Davies (capt.) (22 Carlo de Nysschen 60’), 10 Will Magie, 11 Harley Davidson, 12 Robbie Petzer (23 Mika Kruse HT), 13 Chad London, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Scott Green (USAR)
Assistants: Sam Grove-White (SRU) & Marquise Goodwin (USAR)