MLR announces the San Diego Legion as the first team to clinch a playoff spot
Salt Lake City, UT; May 21, 2019: It took until Week 17, but the San Diego Legion became the first team to clinch a playoff spot in Major League Rugby’s Championship Series with their 31-21 victory over the Utah Warriors on Saturday night.
The Legion punched in five tries against the Warriors to secure the bonus-point victory and remain in the driver’s seat atop the MLR table. Saturday’s victory improved San Diego’s record to 11-3-1 and gives them 57 total points on the season with one match to play. They hold a five-point lead over the second-place NOLA Gold – the Legion’s final regular-season opponent. The victory over Utah helped the Legion take one more step to potentially hosting one of the two semi-final matches in the MLR Championship Series.
After starting the season with a 25-23 home loss to Rugby United New York, the Legion rattled off four-straight victories before a two-game slide that included a loss to the Toronto Arrows and a draw with the Glendale Raptors. San Diego went on to win five-straight matches before dropping a match on the road to the Arrows. The Legion responded with two gritty road victories over the Gold and the Warriors to become the first team to secure a playoff spot in 2019.
Major League Rugby’s Championship series will consist of two semi-final games and the MLR Championship game over the course of two weekends. One semi-final will be played at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 8 and the other at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 9. Both semi-final matches will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The highest remaining seed will host the lower remaining seed in the MLR Championship game at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 16. The MLR Championship will be broadcast on CBS.