The San Diego Legion on Sunday defeated the Seattle Seawolves 32-10 at Snapdragon Stadium to advance to their second Major League Rugby final.
The Legion (15-1, regular season), as Western Conference champs, will meet the New England Free Jacks (14-2, regular season) in a game that pairs two teams seeking their first MLR championship shield.
The finals start at noon Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill. and will air on Fox Sports network.
The Legion, which had a 13-game winning streak to conclude the regular season, had MLR’s best record. They dominated Seattle Sunday, leading 13-3 at halftime, then outscoring the Seawolves 19-7 in the second half to keep their home record perfect on the season.
It took them some time to break through, however. Ma’a Nonu put the Legion up 3-0 with a drop kick at the 10-minute mark. They spent nearly 20 minutes in the Seawolves half before their first try of the match, to lead 13-0.
Seattle finally had a try in the 66th minute, but the Legion’s Tomas Aoake scored immediately to put the match out of reach.
Legion tries were scored by Faka Pifeleti, 26’, Aoake, 58’ and 67,’ and Marcel Brache 62’.
With the win, the Legion closed the books on their matches against Seattle in 2023, going 3-0. The two-time MLR champion Seawolves had had their way with the Legion in the post-season leading up to Sunday, winning a 2018 semifinal, the 2019 Championship Final (a heartbreaker for the Legion) and the 2022 eliminator match.
The Free Jacks defeated Old Glory DC 25-7 Saturday to take the Eastern Conference crown.
