# San Diego Legion

The San Diego Legion are an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team plays its home games at Torero Stadium. The Legion began play in the league's inaugural 2018 season.

## History

Established in 2017, the San Diego Legion have represented San Diego since their inception. The Legion are one of seven founding teams in Major League Rugby. The Legion began play at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego for the 2018 season.
On February 2, 2022, the Legion announced Snapdragon Stadium to be their new home beginning in 2023. On November 19, 2024, the team announced plans to leave Snapdragon Stadium to return to Torero Stadium. Playoff games may be hosted at Snapdragon Stadium depending on demand.
The Legion were runner-ups in the 2019 and 2023 season championships.

## Sponsorship

| Season | Kit Manufacturer | Front of Jersey Sponsor |
| 2018 | XBlades | Sharp Business Systems |
| 2019 | XBlades | None |
| 2020 | Paladin Sports | None |
| 2021–2022 | Paladin Sports | Ballast Point Brewing Company |
| 2023 | Paladin Sports | Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. |
| 2024 | Kappa | Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. |

## Players and personnel
### Current squad

The San Diego Legion squad for the 2025 Major League Rugby season is:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Cyrille Cama* | Hooker | Fiji |
| Liki Chan-Tung | Hooker | United States |
| Shilo Klein | Hooker | United States |
| Hugh Roach | Hooker | Australia |
| Darcy Breen | Prop | Australia |
| Oliver Kane | Prop | United States |
| Alejandro Pradillo | Prop | Mexico |
| Djustice Sears-Duru | Prop | Canada |
| Nathan Sylvia | Prop | United States |
| Payton Telea-Ilalio | Prop | United States |
| Brook To’omalatai | Prop | Samoa |
| Brandon Harvey | Lock | United States |
| Charlie Hewitt | Lock | United States |
| Jed Holloway | Lock | Australia |
| Jamie Rivers* | Lock | Hong Kong |
| Chris Turori | Lock | United States |
| Brendan Amiatu-Tanoi | Back row | United States |
| Vili Helu | Back row | United States |
| Jimmy Hokafonu | Back row | Tonga |
| Christian Poidevin* | Back row | Australia |
| Paddy Ryan | Back row | United States |
| Tevita Tameilau | Back row | United States |
| Jay Tuitivati | Back row | New Zealand |
| Brad Wilkin | Back row | Australia |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Richard Judd | Scrum-half | New Zealand |
| Aidan Konja | Scrum-half | United States |
| Connor Tupai | Scrum-half | New Zealand |
| Inoke Waqavesi | Fly-half | United States |
| Lincoln McClutchie | Fly-half | New Zealand |
| Harris Rutherford* | Fly-half | Scotland |
| Marcel Brache | Centre | United States |
| Nick Jooste | Centre | Australia |
| Ethan Grayson | Centre | England |
| Tiaan Loots* | Centre | South Africa |
| Tavite Lopeti | Centre | United States |
| Cassh Maluia | Centre | United States |
| Tomas Aoake | Wing | New Zealand |
| Ryan James | Wing | United States |
| James Vaifale | Wing | United States |
| Steffan Crimp | Fullback | United States |
| Rhian Stowers | Fullback | Australia |
* Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
* * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
* MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

### Head coaches

* Rob Hoadley (2018–2020)
* Zack Test (2020)
* Scott Murray (2020–2021)
* Danny Lee (2022–2024)
* John Manenti (2025–present)

### Captains

* Nate Augspurger (2018)
* Joe Pietersen (2019)
* Nate Augspurger (2020–present)

## Records
### Season standings

| Season | Conference | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason |
| Season | Conference | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Pld | W | L | F | A | +/− | Result |
| 2018 | - | 3rd | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 214 | 201 | +13 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 38 | -14 | Lost Semifinal (Seattle Seawolves) 24–38 |
| 2019 | - | 1st | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 457 | 296 | +161 | 12 | 61 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 48 | -1 | Won Semifinal (Rugby United New York) 24–22 Lost Major League Rugby final (Seattle Seawolves) 23–26 |
| 2020 | Western | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 161 | 108 | +53 | 3 | 23 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancelled |
| 2021 | Western | 4th | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 430 | 464 | -34 | 14 | 38 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify |
| 2022 | Western | 5th | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 475 | 428 | +47 | 8 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 43 | -24 | Lost West Conference Eliminator (Seattle Seawolves) 19–43 |
| 2023 | Western | 1st | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 554 | 285 | +269 | 14 | 74 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 56 | 35 | +21 | Won Conference Final (Seattle Seawolves) 32–10 Lost Major League Rugby final New England Free Jacks 25–24 |
| 2024 | Western | 3rd | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 421 | 374 | +47 | 11 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 38 | -2 | Lost West Conference Eliminator (Seattle Seawolves) 28–30 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 93 | 62 | 1 | 30 | 2,412 | 2,056 | +356 | 66 | 318 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 174 | 202 | -28 | 5 playoff appearances |