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The San Diego Legion came away 31-29 winners over the Utah Warriors in the first Major League Rugby game at the SDSU Sports Deck on Sunday afternoon. An eight-try blitz in the second half brought the game to life after a dour first 40 minutes that saw the halftime score just 5-3 in favor of the home side.
It was a largely uneventful opening quarter as both teams looked to find their rhythm. Joe Pietersen missed an early shot at goal, and then a breakdown penalty handed Cliven Loubser an opportunity from straight in front of the posts. The Utah flyhalf calmly gave his team an early lead.
Shortly after the hydration break the Legion produced an multi-phase attack from their own end that paid dividends. Chris Robshaw’s line break put the Warriors on the back foot, and then Ben Mitchell’s offload found Pietersen in support for the finish. The South African pulled his conversion attempt to leave it 5-3 for the home side.
Another missed penalty attempt at the half-hour mark left Pietersen scratching his head in disbelief. There would be no further scoring in the half.
The Legion came out fired up to start the second half. Again they tested the Warriors defense out wide and again they found success. Tiaan Loots put Bjorn Basson in space and the winger finished superbly, picking the gap between the cover to dive over in the corner. There was further disappointment for Pietersen as his kick again failed to find its home.
It wasn’t long before San Diego were in again. After working their way into position, Nate Augspurger caught the Warriors defense short-handed on the blindside and slipped through the gap to score. This time Pietersen would be all smiles as his kick from a tough angle sailed through the posts.
After a 10-minute stalemate Utah fired back with a try from Mike Te’o, but it was quickly erased as Peter Malcolm powered over from close range. Cliven Loubser stepped through a gap to score a second try for the warriors but again the Legion had an answer with Mitchell sprinting onto a Michael Smith offload from the deck.
With the clock winding down San Diego slipped into cruise control and Te’o snatched an errant pass to send Caleb Makene clear. Loubser’s kick missed but there was still a minute left on the referee’s watch. The Legion botched the restart and then conceded a series of penalties, with Tuvere Vugakoto peeling off the back of a maul to secure two losing bonus points with the clock now well beyond the 80-minute mark.
It’s a short turnaround for the Warriors, who will have to travel to Seattle to face the Seawolves for a rare Thursday night fixture. San Diego stay at home to play the expansion Dallas Jackals on Saturday.
SCORING
SAN DIEGO 31
Tries – J. Pietersen (23′), B. Basson (43′), N. Augspurger (47′), P. Malcolm (60′), B. Mitchell (72′)
Cons – J. Pietersen 3/5 (48′, 61′, 73′)
Pens – J. Pietersen 0/2
UTAH 29
Tries – M. Te’o (57′), C. Loubser (68′), C. Makene (78′), T. Vugakoto (80’+6′)
Cons – C. Loubser 3/4 (58′, 69′, 80’+7′)
Pens – C. Loubser 1/1 (10′)
TEAMS
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Hencus van Wyk (17 Thomas Reyes 77′), 2 Peter Malcolm (16 Matt Moulds 61′), 3 Chris Baumann (18 Paddy Ryan 71′), 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Ben Grant (19 Chris Turori 69′), 6 Chris Robshaw (20 Michael Smith 59′), 7 Dan Pryor, 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Nate Augspurger (capt.) (21 Nico Gilli 77′), 10 Will Hooley, 11 Bjorn Basson (22 Ryan Matyas 61′), 12 Tiaan Loots, 13 Thomas Morani (23 Ma’a Nonu 58′), 14 Matías Freyre, 15 Joe Pietersen
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Chad Gough (16 Tuvere Vugakoto 48′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 61′), 4 Saia Uhila (19 Puna Vuli 75′), 5 Jamie Lane, 6 Lance Williams (20 Mike Gieselman 58′), 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Danny Christensen (21 Niall Saunders 48′), 10 Cliven Loubser, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Mike Te’o, 15 Caleb Makene
Not used: 17 Emerson Prior, 22 Tomasi Tonga, 23 James Vaifale
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Jacob Gonzales (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
