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San Diego continued their perfect run to start the new campaign with a comfortable 31-12 result over the Miami Sharks on Saturday night. The Legion started slowly but once they found their groove they had little trouble securing the bonus point win, their fifth consecutive victory.
Miami were on the front foot when Shane O’Leary looked to have dummied and stepped his way through for a try, but a TMO review showed an obstruction and the points were wiped off the board. Instead it was the home side who scored first. Payton Telea-Ilalio burst through the middle and the ball was then sent to the left side where Christian Poidevin was loitering, the flanker swerving back inside to beat the cover.
Two tries in rapid succession made it 21-nil to the home side. Connor Tupai sniped and fended his way up the middle, and the ball was spun wide to Ryan James. One offload back inside and Rhian Stowers was into the corner. Two minutes later Stowers plucked a high ball from the air and sprinted upfield, with an inside pass sending Tomas Aoake in for a third legion try.
The Sharks hit a purple patch on either side of halftime. Tomás Cubelli touched down on the edge of a ruck to finally get Miami on the board before the intermission. A few minutes into the second half Aoake saw yellow a high tackle, and then Tavite Lopeti was binned for cynical play at the breakdown. With San Diego now down to 13 men, O’Leary again slipped through a half-gap and this time the flyhalf reached out of a tackle to score, converting his own try to make it 21-12.
That would be the last say for the visitors. Jed Holloway bashed in from short range just a few minutes later. Ethan Grayson’s long range penalty attempt fell short, but Miami were reduced to 14 was Damian Morley was dispatched to the bin for a high tackle. Shilo Klein put the finishing touches on the win when he broke to the short side of a maul and slid into the corner.
It’s a week off to rest and regroup for the Sharks, who return to action on the road against the Free Jacks on April 6. The Legion face a fellow Western Conference contender next Saturday, putting their unbeaten streak on the line against the SaberCats in Houston.
| SCORING |
SAN DIEGO 31
Tries (5) – C. Poidevin (23′), R. Stowers (31′), T. Aoake (33′), J. Holloway (57′), S. Klein (77′)
Cons (3) – L. McClutchie 3/4 (24′, 32′, 34′), E. Grayson 0/1
Pens (0) – E. Grayson 0/1
YC (2) – T. Aoake (49′), T. Lopeti (50′)
MIAMI 12
Tries (2) – T. Cubelli (37′), S. O’Leary (52′)
Cons (1) – S. O’Leary 1/2 (53′)
YC (1) – D. Morley (75′)
| LINEUPS |
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio (18 Oliver Kane 65′), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Shilo Klein 65′), 3 Brook To’omalatai (17 Nathan Sylvia 53′), 4 Jed Holloway, 5 Vili Helu, 6 Christian Poidevin (19 Charlie Hewitt 71′), 7 Brad Wilkin (capt.), 8 Jimmy Hokafonu (20 Paddy Ryan 53′), 9 Connor Tupai (21 Inoke Waqavesi 78′), 10 Lincoln McClutchie (22 Tiaan Loots 60′), 11 Ryan James, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Ethan Grayson, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Rhian Stowers (23 Marcel Brache 69′)
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Alec McDonnell (17 Ma’ake Muti 44′), 2 Sean McNulty (16 Tomás Bekerman 44′), 3 Tau Koloamatangi (18 Alex Tucci 58′), 4 Mauro Rebussone (19 Marques Fuala’au 58′), 5 Federico Gutiérrez, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Tomás Casares, 8 Ronan Foley (20 Chase Schor-Haskin 65′), 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.) (21 Damian Morley 62′), 10 Shane O’Leary, 11 Marcos Young (22 Guiseppe du Toit 67′), 12 Matías Orlando, 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Tomás Malanos, 15 Marcos Eliçagaray (23 Lautaro Soto Ansay 28′)
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 22
Venue: Torero Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: clear, 61°F (16°C), wind S 5-7mph (8-11km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Will Nelson (USA) & Fernando García (Mexico)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
