MLR 2026 – California Legion vs New England Free Jacks

The three-time defending champion New England Free Jacks start their campaign on the road as they face California in San Diego on Saturday. Torero Stadium is the spiritual home of the Legion in years gone by, but how many of the former faithful turn out to support the amalgamated outfit remains to be seen. The home side were well-beaten by Anthem last week and can’t afford a similar performance.

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
8	Ed Timpson	Ben Houston
12	Billy Meakes	Nick Chan
15	Rory van Vugt	Steffan Crimp

MLR DEBUTS

	PLAYER	PREVIOUS CLUB
5	Tayne Hemopo	Tasman Mako (NZ)
6	Jacob Norris	Bay of Plenty Steamers (NZ)
8	Alex Mackenzie	Urayasu D-Rocks (JP)
11	Max Lehmann	South Sydney Rabittohs (AU)
12	Kienan Higgins	Edinburgh (UK)
14	Nathan Salmon	Northland Taniwha (NZ)
16	Sione Tupou	Bay of Plenty Steamers (NZ)
18	Filipe Vakasiuola	Bay of Plenty Steamers (NZ)
19	Ollie Aylmer	Gordon (AU)
23	Filimone Manu	American International College

NOTES

Injured / unavailable – (Legion) Jurie van Vuuren, Corbin Smith; (Free Jacks) Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, Wayne van der Bank
Billy Meakes jumps straight into the California lineup after returning this week from Australia… Declan Leaney makes his first appearance of the season on the bench, with ex-Houston loose forward Ronan Murphy also among the reserves
only six players in the Free Jacks 23 were part of last year’s title-winning squad… MLR veterans making their club debuts include Maliu Niuafe (ex-LA), Joel Hodgson and Bailey Wilson (Utah), Nate Sylvia (San Diego), Ethan McVeigh (DC), and Line Latu (Anthem)
Wilson joins brother Mitch Wilson in an MLR lineup for the first time… the latter returns to the Free Jacks after spending one season away with Anthem
San Francisco-born Max Lehmann makes the switch back to rugby union after several years playing rugby league in Australia… he had previously played for the Waratahs junior side

PREDICTION

Mild conditions are expected at game time. The Free Jacks are making the trip from the East Coast, but with only four ex-San Diego players in the lineup it won’t feel much like a home game for the Legion either. New England have done well with their off-season recruitment and there are high expectations for the likes of Kienan Higgins and Nathan Salmon in the backline. Expect a fast-moving contest with both teams favoring attacking rugby. New England are slight favorites on the road in San Diego.

TEAMS

CALIFORNIA LEGION
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Keni Nasoqeqe, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Ed Timpson, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Coby Miln, 11 Ryan James, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Cole Semu, 14 Joe Mano, 15 Rory van Vugt

Replacements: 16 Ben Sugars, 17 Declan Leaney, 18 Justus Tavai, 19 Ronan Murphy, 20 Chase Jones, 21 Steffan Crimp, 22 Tas Smith, 23 Cassh Maluia

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Kaleb Geiger, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Tayne Hemopo, 6 Jacob Norris, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Alex Mackenzie, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Max Lehmann, 12 Kienan Higgins, 13 Killian Coghlan, 14 Nathan Salmon, 15 Mitch Wilson

Replacements: 16 Sione Tupou, 17 Nate Sylvia, 18 Filipe Vakasiuola, 19 Ollie Aylmer, 20 Bailey Wilson, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Line Latu, 23 Filimone Manu

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 4
Venue: Torero Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 16:00 local (19:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 73°F (23°C), wind W 8-12 mph (13-19 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), NBC Sports Boston (Local)