2018 Major League Rugby Final

The 2018 Major League Rugby Final was the championship match of the inaugural season of Major League Rugby (MLR), a rugby union club competition in the United States. It was played on July 7, 2018, at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California, between the Glendale Raptors and the Seattle Seawolves. Seattle won the match 23–19 to take their first title.

2018 Major League Rugby Final
Event2018 Major League Rugby season
Glendale Raptors Seattle Seawolves
19 23
DateJuly 7, 2018
VenueTorero Stadium, San Diego, California
Man of the MatchVili Tolutaʻu
RefereeScott Green (United States)
Attendance2,901

The Glendale and Seattle teams finished first and second in the regular season, respectively, and advanced to the MLR Championship Series, contesting the semifinals against San Diego and Utah.

Background

Major League Rugby was established in 2017 and began play in April 2018.

Seattle and Glendale played each other twice during the regular season, with Glendale winning both matches.[1]

Venue

Torero Stadium, home field of Major League Rugby team San Diego Legion, was selected as the venue for the final before the beginning of the Championship Series playoffs.[2] The stadium with a seating capacity of 6,000 on the campus of the University of San Diego is also home to the various athletics teams of the university.[2]

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast on CBS Sports Network.[3] Dan Power served as the play by play commentator for CBS and was joined by color analysts Brian Hightower and Peter Steinberg.[3]

Match

Details
July 7 Glendale Raptors 19–23 Seattle Seawolves Torero Stadium, San Diego, California  
9:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) Try: Fenoglio (2) 13' c, 50' m
Campbell 56' c
Con: Magie (2/3) 13', 57'
 Report Try: Barkwill 23' m
Rasileka 58' m, Hattingh 61' c
Con: Smith (1/3) 62'
Pen: Smith (2/3) 9', 67'
 Attendance: 2,901
Referee: Scott Green [4] (United States)
Glendale Raptors
Team details
FB15 Maximo de Achaval
RW14 Harley Davidson
OC13 Chad London 46'
IC12 Bryce Campbell
LW11 Mika Kruse
FH10 Will Magie
SH9 Shaun Davies (c)
N88 Sam Figg
OF7 John Quill
BF6 Peter Dahl 57'
RL5 Ben Landry 57'
LL4 Kody O'Neil 62'
TP3 Kelepi Fifita
HK2 Zach Fenoglio
LP1 Blake Rogers 68'
Replacements:
PR16 Luke White 68'
PR17 Nick Kwasniewski
HK18 Dylan Fawsitt 57'
LK19 Connor Cook 62'
FL20 Grigor Kerdikoshvili 57'
SH21 Mickey Bateman
CE22 Ata Malifa 46'
OB23 Nick Johnson
Coach:
David Williams
FB15 Mathew Turner
RW14 Sequoyah Burke-Combs
OC13 William Rasileka
IC12 Shalom Suniula (c)
LW11 Peter Tiberio
FH10 Peter Smith
SH9 Phil Mack
N88 Riekert Hattingh
OF7 Vili Tolutaʻu 76'
BF6 Eric Duechle
RL5 Cam Polson
LL4 Taylor Krumrei 57'
TP3 Tim Metcher 59'
HK2 Ray Barkwill 62'
LP1 Olive Kilifi 57'
Replacements:
HK16 Mike Shepherd 62'
PR17 John Hayden 59'
PR18 Kellen Gordon 57'
LK19 Cole van Harn 76'
LF20 Aladdin Schirmer 57'
FL21 Andre Coquillard
OB22 Jeremy Misailegalu
OB23 Mozac Samson
Coach:
Phil Mack

Most Valuable Player:
Vili Tolutaʻu (Seattle)

Assistant Referees:
Adam Leal (England)
Derek Summers (United States)
Television Match Official:
Marc Nelson (United States)

Highlights

The champion Seattle Seawolves was awarded the "America's Championship Shield", an oversized 80-pound (36 kg) metal shield of the MLR logo, which they hoisted. Seawolves flanker Vili Tolutaʻu was named the MLR Championship Series "MVP", equivalent to man of the match.[5] For his efforts, he received a Shinola Detroit American Made watch.

References
  1. "Seattle Seawolves use big second half to beat San Diego 38-24 for shot at Major League Rugby title". The Seattle Times. June 30, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  2. Leonard, Tod (July 6, 2018). "In San Diego for title match, Major League Rugby reflects on inaugural season, future". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  3. Benjamin, Cody (July 6, 2018). "Major League Rugby Championship: How to watch Seattle Seawolves vs. Glendale Raptors". CBS Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  4. "Seawolves stun Raptors to win inaugural MLR title". Americas Rugby News. 2018-07-08. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  5. Strickler, Colton (July 8, 2018). "Big Second Half Propels Seawolves Over Raptors in Inaugural MLR Championship". Major League Rugby. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
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