The San Diego Legion were named the Major League Rugby Team of the Week after beating NOLA Gold 39-22 on Saturday and vaulting into a playoff spot.

The Legion got some of their USA call-ups back for the game, which was a much-needed boost. With recent SFGG (Pacific Rugby Premiership) standout Nathan Sylvia putting in a strong performance, San Diego improved to 3-3 and now sits in fourth place.

From the opening kick, it was clear the Legion were going to use the positioning battle to win the match and the final scoreline reflected that. San Diego spent almost 70 percent of the match in the Gold’s territory.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Seawolves edged Austin Elite for a 20-19 victory Friday on the road—not an easy thing to do—to improve to 6-1, just behind the 6-0 Glendale Raptors.

Glendale’s Harley Davidson earned Player of the Week honors. Davidson demonstrated his elite ability to finish with three tries in the Raptors' 37-24 win over the Houston SaberCats on Friday, including a cross-field kick from flyhalf Maximo De Achaval for a try. 

MLR also announced the First XV:

1. Loosehead Prop, Chris Schade, Austin Elite
2. Hooker, Dylan Fawsitt, Glendale Raptors
3. Tighthead Prop, Nathan Sylvia, San Diego Legion
4. Left Lock, Ben Mitchell, Austin Elite
5. Right Lock, John Sullivan, NOLA Gold
6. Blindside Flanker, Zach Fenoglio, Glendale Raptors
7. Openside Flanker, Nakai Penny, Seattle Seawolves
8. No 8., Kyle Sumsion, Houston SaberCats
9. Scrum-half, Nick Boyer, San Diego Legion
10. Fly-half, Maximo De Achaval, Glendale Raptors
11. Blindside Wing, Ryan Matyas, San Diego Legion
12. Inside Center, Shalom Suniula, Seattle Seawolves
13. Outside Center, William Rasileka, Seattle Seawolves 
14. Openside Wing,  Alex Elkins, Houston SaberCats
15. Fullback, Cam Troxler, NOLA Gold

For more news and notes from Week 8, visit usmlr.com.

2018 MLR Weekly Honors:
Week 1
Team of the Week: Seattle Seawolves
Player of the Week: Phil Mack

Week 2
Team of the Week: San Diego Legion
Player of the Week: Zach Fenoglio

Week 3
Team of the Week: Austin Elite
Player of the Week: Anthony Salaber

Week 4
Team of the Week: Glendale Raptors
Player of the Week: Marcus Walsh

Week 5
Team of the Week: NOLA Gold
Player of the Week: Vili Toluta'u

Week 6
Team of the Week: Utah Warriors
Player of the Week: Brock Staller

Week 7
Team of the Week: Austin Elite
Player of the Week: Will Magie