Legion overwhelm Elite in San Diego

It was déjà vu in San Diego as the Legion overwhelmed Austin Elite by a score of 45-15 at Torero Stadium on Sunday evening. The result was almost identical to that seen at Dell Diamond in the first meeting between the two sides in February.

Austin were first on the board as Andres Vilaseca’s long-range penalty kick had just enough legs to creep over the bar. By the time they would score again there was 17 points on the board for San Diego.

A double tackle on Aidan McMullan dislodged the ball and two quick passes later Save Totovosau had the easiest of scores. He looked to be in for a second soon after but a confusing sequence of play was brought back for a San Diego scrum instead.

The Elite managed to win possession but couldn’t clear their lines. Marcelo Torrealba’s kick went straight down the pipe and with no chase behind it, all Ryan Matyas had to do was catch the ball and sprint straight ahead for the touchdown.

Another poor kick, this time from Rodrigo Silva, failed to find touch with Totovosau taking it under no pressure. San Diego shifted the attack to the left side of the field and Mike Te’o was left with no-one in front of him for a simple run-in.

Travis Larsen got the Elite on the front foot from a free kick and a penalty gave them a lineout in scoring position. Moe Abdelmonem tore off the back of the maul, followed by Ben Mitchell on the charge and finally LaRome White went through a hole and spun over for Austin’s first try.

San Diego wasted no time offering a reply. Austin’s discipline faltered and from an attacking lineout the Legion went through the phases until Nate Augspurger stepped his way over for the bonus point try. Ryan Matyas looked to have crossed just ahead of the break but the officials spotted an invisible knock-on in the build-up to negate the effort.

The unusual calls did phase the home side. Jasa Veremalua took clean ball at the lineout and JP du Plessis ran straight past the outstretched arms of three Austin defenders to stretch the lead. Next it was Psalm Wooching, enjoying a fine match for the men in red, who ran a smart line off Jordan Manihera with his legs pumping through the tackle attempt of White to make the line.

As the two sides emptied their benches the continuity suffered but there was still time for two more scores. Maikeli Naromaitoga used his bulk to barge over from close range in debut for Austin, and Nick Boyer again showed his attacking prowess with a hard line off a scrum to become the seventh San Diego try scorer on the evening.

Austin have now dropped 12 straight dating back to the 2018 season and will have to travel to Toronto next week to face the frustrated Arrows. San Diego also take their show on the road as the roller coaster ride of MCU Park awaits with Rugby United New York waiting in the foreground.

 

SCORING

SAN DIEGO 45
Tries – S. Totovosau (7’), R. Matyas (15’), M. Te’o (21’), N. Augspurger (33’), J. du Plessis (44’), P. Wooching (49’), N. Boyer (78’)
Cons – J. Pietersen 4/6 (16’, 34’, 45’, 50’), D. Audsley 1/1 (79’)

AUSTIN 15
Tries – L. White (28’), M. Naromaitoga (72’)
Cons – A. Vilaseca 1/2 (29’)
Pens – A. Vilaseca 1/1 (3’)

 

TEAMS

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Nathan Sylvia HT), 2 Dean Muir (16 Kapeli Pifeleti 50’), 3 Paddy Ryan (18 Aaron Mitchell 50’), 4 Louis Stanfill (19 Siaosi Mahoni 50’), 5 Jasa Veremalua, 6 Psalm Wooching, 7 Devin Short, 8 Jordan Manihera (20 Drew Gaffney 62’), 9 Nate Augspurger (23 Kyle Rogers 62’), 10 Joe Pietersen (capt.) (22 Tai Enosa 53’), 11 Ryan Matyas, 12 JP du Plessis (21 Nick Boyer 59’), 13 Dylan Audsley, 14 Savenaca Totovosau, 15 Mike Te’o

AUSTIN ELITE
1 LaRome White (18 Brendan Rams 63’), 2 Tiaan Erasmus (17 Chris Schade HT), 3 Juan Echeverría, 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Josh Larsen (20 Rikus Zwart 50’), 6 Kyle Breytenbach (19 Maikeli Naromaitoga 63’), 7 Moe Abdelmonem (16 Dom Bailey 50’), 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Marcelo Torrealba (21 Mickaël Romera 50’), 10 Rodrigo Silva, 11 Sione Fangaiuiha, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Aidan McMullan (22 Zinzan Elan-Puttick 24’), 15 Soheyl Jaoudat (23 Reece Czarnecki 63’)

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Paul-Henri Courbier (USAR)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Lee Bryant (USAR)