California Legion

California Legion
FoundedJuly 30, 2025 (July 30, 2025)[1]
Location
RegionSouthern California
Grounds
CEOAdam Freier[1]
CoachStephen Hoiles
CaptainJason Damm
LeagueMajor League Rugby
2026Runners-Up
3rd in MLR
Official website
legion.rugby

The California Legion are a professional rugby union team based in Southern California that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was established in July 2025 following a merger between two former Southern Californian MLR teams: San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles.[1][2][3] The team began play in the 2026 Major League Rugby.[1]

History

During the months after the 2025 Major League Rugby season four teams from across the league had merged or disbanded. Beginning with the July 30 announcement of a merger between San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles of Southern California,[1][2][4] the same day New Orleans Gold announced it would not take part in the 2026 season.[2][5][4] Less than two months later, in September 2025 another MLR franchise, the Houston Sabercats, also announced they would not be taking part in the 2026 season.[6]

The San Diego Legion, for which the California Legion's logo is based on,[1] were a foundation team for the Major League Rugby (MLR). During their tenure they achieved one conference title, and made two Championship Final appearances (2019,[7] 2023).[8] The Rugby Football Club Los Angeles was established in late 2023 after being relocated from Atlanta.[9]

The California Legion made their on-field debut on March 28, 2026, losing to Anthem Rugby Carolina 39-26 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California.[10] California would win their first game the following week over the New England Free Jacks 45-3.[11] The Legion would finish their inaugural season with a record of five wins and five losses, finishing third in the standings and qualifying for the playoffs. In the 2026 semifinals, the Legion defeated the Seattle Seawolves 43-34, the highest scoring postseason game in MLR history to that point.[12] Legion fly-half Coby Miln set an MLR record for points in a post-season match with 23.[13] The Legion would lose to the Chicago Hounds in the 2026 MLR final. Scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou earned MLR Back of the Year honors for the second-consecutive season.[14]

Players and personnel

Current squad

The California Legion squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is:

2026 California Legion squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain.
Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for United States on residency or dual nationality.
Source: [15]

Head coach

Technical staff

The team's technical staff as of 2026 is as follows:[15]

  • Australia Dave Dennis, Assistant coach, Defence (2026–present)
  • Ireland Dave Clancy, Assistant coach, Backs (2026–present)
  • New Zealand Todd Thornley, Assistant coach, Forwards (2026–present)
  • Canada Sebastian Pearson, Performance lead (2026–present)

Records

Season standings

Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
2026 N/A 3rd 10 5 0 5 330 277 +53 8 28 2 1 1 60 69 -9 Lost MLR Championship Final (Chicago)
Totals 10 5 0 5 330 277 +53 8 28 2 1 1 60 60 -9 1 playoff appearance

Honors

Players

Honor Player Name Season Ref.
MLR Back of the Year Gonzalo Bertranou 2026 [14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Finley, Ryan (July 30, 2025). "San Diego Legion, L.A. club merge; new rugby team will play throughout SoCal". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Carosella, Vitas (August 7, 2025). "Major League Rugby Bullish About Rugby In U.S. Despite Clubs Folding". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
  3. ↑ Morton, Finn (July 30, 2025). "MLR confirms major shake-up impacting one of its biggest clubs". RugbyPass. Archived from the original on September 5, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Major League Rugby Down Two Teams for MLR 2026 Season". Americas Rugby News. July 30, 2025. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
  5. ↑ Urquhart, Spencer (July 31, 2025). "NOLA Gold future uncertain after competing in Major League Rugby for 8 seasons". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
  6. ↑ Young, Matt (September 12, 2025). "Houston SaberCats, the city's pro rugby team, will not compete in Major League Rugby in 2026". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications.
  7. ↑ Leonard, Tod (July 6, 2018). "In San Diego for title match, Major League Rugby reflects on inaugural season, future". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024.
  8. ↑ Sandalow, Brian (July 8, 2023). "MLR hoping championship match in Bridgeview is a celebration of rugby". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Public Media. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Snowden, Scott (December 21, 2023). "Los Angeles Major League Rugby team name, logo and roster revealed". Santa Monica Daily Press.
  10. ↑ News, Americas Rugby (March 29, 2026). "Anthem start 2026 in style with historic win over Legion". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved August 29, 2026. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ↑ "Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from Week 2 of the 2026 MLR Season". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Midweek Milestones: Standout Stats from the 2026 MLR Playoffs!". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Gonzalo Bertranou: Steering the Legion's Championship Run". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "California Legion". North American Rugby Database. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
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