Legion pitch shutout against scrappy Jackals

San Diego got back to their winning ways with a 22-0 shutout win over Dallas at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday. While the Legion were the dominant side, scrappy defense from the Jackals denied their hosts a four-try bonus point that could prove costly at the business end of the season.

The first try came at the end of a well-drilled attacking sequence from a lineout. Ben Grant went clean through a gap and executed the two-on-one to perfection, sending Tupou Afungia in under the posts. A second would come via Sama Malolo on the end of a driving maul at the 20-minute mark.

Nearly the entire half was spent in Dallas territory as the Legion were in complete control. The Jackals, however, had the edge in the scrum and won three penalties that finally yielded an attacking opportunity. San Diego’s defense was put to the test and held out to halftime without conceding points.

A fourth scrum penalty to start the second half gave Marcos Moroni a shot at goal from halfway, but his strike wasn’t clean and the ball landed well short of the uprights. The game was then paused for several minutes after Jalen Tatum was knocked cold in a head-on-head collision with Malolo. Tatum was stretchered off but gave a thumbs up to the crowd on the way out.

Chris Baumann was summoned from the bench and seemed to sort out the Legion’s scrum. They won a penalty and Will Hooley knocked over three points. Next it was a set play from a scrum that yielded seven more points as Tomas Aoake took an inside ball from Hooley in for a converted try.

The Legion threw everything at the Jackals in the the final minutes of the match, desperate to grab their fourth try. Malolo was stopped inches short, and two other attacks were stopped by the Dallas defense. One last promising assault on the line came to a frustrating end thanks to an illegal clearout.

Both teams are on the road next Saturday. San Diego travel east to Atlanta, while Dallas head to Chicago. Barring a draw, one team will celebrate their first-ever Major League Rugby victory.

 

SCORING

SAN DIEGO 22
Tries (3) – T. Afungia (7′), S. Malolo (20′), T. Aoake (63′)
Cons (2) – No kick (7′), W. Hooley 1/2 (64′)
Pens (1) – W. Hooley 1/1 (57′)

DALLAS 0
Pens (0) – M. Moroni 0/1

 

TEAMS

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 64′), 2 Sama Malolo (16 Sean McNulty 68′), 3 Nathan Sylvia (18 Chris Baumann 49′), 4 Ben Grant, 5 Isaac Ross (19 Jale Railala 61′), 6 Dan Pryor, 7 Christian Poidevin (21 Malakai Latu 72′), 8 Tupou Afungia (20 Tevita Tameilau 58′), 9 Richard Judd (22 Jason Higgins 68′), 10 Will Hooley, 11 Tomas Aoake, 12 Ma’a Nonu (23 Tiaan Loots 58′), 13 Marcel Brache (capt.), 14 Ryan Matyas, 15 Mikey Te’o

DALLAS JACKALS
1 Nicolás Revol (17 Liam Murray 58′), 2 Dewald Kotze (16 Connor Robinson 72′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Kyle Steeves 58′), 4 Sam Golla, 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 7 Jalen Tatum (19 Carson Shoemaker 48′), 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Nazareno Valentini (21 Danny Christensen 75′), 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 James Vaifale (23 Aaron Gray 65′), 12 Alejandro Torres (22 Lui Sitama 64′), 13 Tomás Malanos, 14 Eric Naposki (20 Juan Pablo Aguirre 75′), 15 Marcos Moroni

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
Assistants: Benjamin Lebeaupin (USA) & Will Nelson (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)