The San Diego Legion has come painfully close to a championship twice, including last year, following a record-breaking campaign.
Will 2024 be different? The team opens its new season at 7 p.m. Saturday, on the road against the Seattle Seawolves. They play their first home game March 16 at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Legion is coming off a historic season, having set records for the most wins and longest winning streak in Major League Rugby history, while also scoring the most points in a season on the way to becoming conference champions.
But they couldn’t bring home the Shield, falling in the MLR Championship game against the New England Free Jacks.
And mark your calendars – there’s a rematch coming up, as the Legion hosts New England on May 19.
Legion games are set to be nationally televised several times, on Fox Sports 1 or 2 – March 31 (Miami), April 21 (Utah), May 26 (Los Angeles), June 9 (Charlotte), June 15 (Chicago) and June 29 (Seattle). Locally, they will air on Fox5 San Diego.
One change: in its seventh season, MLR teams will not play in two conferences but will compete in a single table, playing six opponents twice in the season and four opponents once. The top eight teams qualify for the Championship Series.
It’s also a time of flux around the league as one team, the New York Ironworkers, despite having won a championship, folded in December. But the game has expanded to Miami and Charlotte, N.C., and a team, Rugby ATL, relocated to Los Angeles.
“Major League Rugby remains strong, and the owners across the league are committed to success heading into 2024 and beyond,” Nic Benson, the league’s CEO, said in a statement in December.
For the Legion, team captain Blair Cowan has re-signed for the 2024 season. Two other veterans retired – Will Hooley and Ryan Matyas.
But here’s one big addition: The team welcomes Australian Matt Giteau, a three-time World Cup veteran. He brings loads of championship experience to the club, with two Super Rugby titles with ACT Brumbies, three European Championships with Toulon and the 2021 MLR Championship with Los Angeles.
“He is a world-class player who will bring an incredible wealth of knowledge, a competitive attitude, and a drive to succeed with him that will no doubt spread throughout the squad,” head coach Danny Lee said in a news release.