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San Diego recovered from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat RFC Los Angeles 27-19 at Dignity Health Stadium on Sunday. In doing so the Legion secured a two-game sweep of their closest rivals to claim this season’s Cali Cup and pushed past Dallas for third place in the Western Conference.
A crunching tackle by Michael Amiras on Alex Horan set the tone for LA. The defensive pressure forced a loose pass from San Diego and Will Leonard hacked it ahead. Jack Shaw was quickest to the ball for the try, with Niall Saunders adding the conversion to make it a full seven.
LA’s injury woes were exacerbated when Theo Vukasinovic went down with a dislocated shoulder. Semi Kunatani was summoned from the bench, with Jason Damm moving up into the second row. The forwards earned a scrum penalty but the subsequent lineout drive was held up and San Diego cleared their lines.
Tupou Afungia saw yellow for a high tackle just after the hydration break, and a minute later Hugh Roach joined him in the bin for a cynical infringement. The Legion were down to just 13 men for 9 minutes and a try was inevitable, with Kunatani touching down in the middle of a maul. Remarkably San Diego’s forwards conjured a quick response, running hard and straight until Tiaan Loots bashed over the line.
Not to be outdone, LA’s forwards showed their skills to send Kunatani in for a seven-pointer before halftime. Short passes from Reegan O’Gorman, Ben Strang, and finally Alex Maughan set the Fijian clear to make the score 19-7 to the home side at the intermission.
The Legion came out with renewed purpose in the second half. A furious attack ended with Christian Poidevin crossing for five points. The flanker was initially stopped but Greg Peterson arrived to add his bulk and created enough momentum to get Poidevin over the line.
A knock-on with LA on attack handed San Diego another opportunity. Poidevin and then Loots hacked the ball downfield. The Legion were there in numbers to win the turnover and quick recycling found Jay Tuivaiti with a free lane, the big second row sprinting clear to close the gap to just two points.
Matt Giteau couldn’t deliver points off the tee when his scrum won a penalty, but he would redeem himself after a Marcel Brache chip-and-chase resulted in a breakdown turnover. Moments later Tevita Tameilau broke from a scrum and connected with Danny Christensen. The replacement scrumhalf offloaded to Connor Tupai who turned on the gets to capture the four-try bonus.
It’s a short turnaround for San Diego as they take on the Warriors in Utah next Saturday. Los Angeles will have a full week to prepare for their home game against the Miami Sharks on Sunday.
| SCORING |
LOS ANGELES 19
Tries (3) – J. Shaw (11′), S. Kunatani 2 (28′, 35′)
Cons (2) – N. Saunders 1/2 (12′), No kick (35′)
SAN DIEGO 27
Tries (4) – T. Loots (32′), C. Poidevin (45′), J. Tuivaiti (53′), C. Tupai (75′)
Cons (2) – M. Giteau 1/3 (33′), A. Horan 1/1 (76′)
Pens (1) – M. Giteau 1/2 (73′)
YC (2) – T. Afungia (23′), H. Roach (24′)
| LINEUPS |
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Dane Zander (17 Sam Buckley 55′), 2 Ben Strang (16 Bruce Kauika-Petersen 68′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Wilton Rebolo 44′), 4 Theo Vukasinovic (20 Semi Kunatani 18′), 5 Reegan O’Gorman (19 Liam Antrobus 73′), 6 Michael Amiras, 7 Max Katjijeko, 8 Jason Damm, 9 Niall Saunders (capt.), 10 Tas Smith, 11 Jack Shaw, 12 James Stokes, 13 Will Leonard, 14 Brooklyn Hardaker, 15 Andrew Coe (23 Austin White 17′-20′)
Not used: 21 Sam Walsh, 22 Seth Purdey
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio (17 Djustice Sears-Duru HT), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Cyrille Cama 74′), 3 Darcy Breen (18 Luke Green HT), 4 Jay Tuivaiti (19 Vili Helu 58′), 5 Greg Peterson, 6 Christian Poidevin (21 Paddy Ryan 54′), 7 Blair Cowan (capt.), 8 Tupou Afungia (20 Tevita Tameilau 58′), 9 Connor Tupai, 10 Matt Giteau (22 Danny Christensen 73′), 11 Ryan James (16 Cyrille Cama 24′-34′), 12 Tiaan Loots (23 Marcel Brache 58′), 13 Ethan Grayson, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Alex Horan
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 26
Venue: Dignity Health Stadium, Carson
Kickoff: 15:00 local
Weather: sunny, 68°F (20°C), wind SW 4-8mph (6-13km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Mike Lawrenson (USA) & Will Nelson (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
