The Cali Cup will be on the line when RFC Los Angeles welcomes the Legion to Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Saturday in the first match of a double-header ahead of the Women’s Eagles test against Japan. Both sides are also looking to end a losing skid, with the home side falling for a second time in New England during the week while San Diego are already on a franchise-record four straight defeats.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
4-5-0 (L2) West 4th
5-4-0 (L4) West 3rd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Jurie van Vuuren | Lucas Bur |
| 8 | Ben Houston | Jason Damm |
| 9 | Gonzalo Bertranou | Tas Smith |
| 10 | Christian Leali’ifano | Sean Nolan |
| 12 | Billy Meakes | Matias Jensen |
| 14 | Andrew Coe | Will Leonard |
| 15 | Reece MacDonald | Vaughen Isaacs |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Vili Helu | Charlie Hewitt |
| 7 | Brad Wilkin | Paddy Ryan |
| 9 | Connor Tupai | Richard Judd |
| 13 | Marcel Brache | Tavite Lopeti |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(6) – Kunatani (Fiji), Bertranou (Argentina), Leali’ifano (Samoa), Coe, Heaton (Canada), Sosene-Feagai (USA)
(10) – Telea-Ilalio, Helu, James, Brache, Klein, Sylvia, Tameilau, Lopeti (USA), Holloway (Argentina), To’omalatai (Samoa)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(0) – none
(1) – Crimp
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Dane Zander (LH), Jason Damm (LO), Christian Dyer (WI)
– Zak Farrance (LO)
| PREDICTION |
The Legion were reasonably comfortable winners when the two sides met in March, but LA have clearly improved considerably since then. While regular skipper Jason Damm is unavailable, the home side has restored their star-studded backline to full strength while athletic back row Ben Houston also returns. The most notable change to San Diego’s lineup is the return of Brad Wilkin from an HIA. Los Angeles are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Alessandro Heaney, 2 Ben Sugars, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Tim Anstee, 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Semi Kunatani, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 11 Andrew Coe, 12 Billy Meakes (capt.), 13 Nick Chan, 14 Rory van Vugt, 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 Mike Sosene-Feagai, 17 Franco van den Berg, 18 Justus Tavai, 19 Mikaea Wynyard, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Ben Strang, 22 Tas Smith, 23 Seth Purdey
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Hugh Roach, 3 Darcy Breen, 4 Jed Holloway, 5 Vili Helu, 6 Christian Poidevin, 7 Brad Wilkin (capt.), 8 Jimmy Hokafonu, 9 Connor Tupai, 10 Lincoln McClutchie, 11 Ryan James, 12 Cassh Maluia, 13 Marcel Brache, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Ethan Grayson
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Brook To’omalatai, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Tevita Tameilau, 21 Richard Judd, 22 Tavite Lopeti, 23 Steffan Crimp
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 26
Venue: Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles
Kickoff: 15:00 local (18:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 61°F (16°C), wind SW 14-21mph (22-34km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fan Duel SoCal, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Shanda Assmus (Canada) & Will Nelson (USA)
TMO: Chris O’Malley (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (6) – San Diego 4, LA/ATL 2
2025-03-08 – San Diego Legion 38, RFC Los Angeles 28 (Torero Stadium)
2024-05-26 – RFC Los Angeles 19, San Diego Legion 27 (Dignity Health Stadium)
2024-03-16 – San Diego Legion 19, RFC Los Angeles 18 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2023-03-18 – Rugby ATL 10, San Diego Legion 35 (Silverbacks Park)
2022-04-24 – San Diego Legion 17, Rugby ATL 30 (SDSU Sports Deck)
2021-04-03 – Rugby ATL 41, San Diego Legion 22 (Lupo Family Field)
The post MLR 2025: RFC Los Angeles vs San Diego Legion – ARN Guide appeared first on Americas Rugby News.
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