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Winning Time As MLR Semis Hit Glendale

Winning Time As MLR Semis Hit Glendale

The Major League Rugby playoffs are here, and kudos to the league for getting to this point.

Jun 29, 2018 by Alex Goff
Dolan: How I Fell In Love With Rugby
USA Rugby's Cam Dolan: Accomplish Something Bigger Than Yourself5:24

By just about any measure of success, Major League Rugby has succeeded in 2018 and gets to run its victory lap these next two weekends—take the lap, you deserve it.

The professional league has accomplished much by just getting off the ground, and by completing the season. Fans showed up, no one ended up hating the teams for being jerks, and the level of play got a big endorsement from USA Men's 15s head coach Gary Gold when he picked MLR players over some overseas pros for the Eagles' three Summer Series tests.

Round two might be a different story as owners and investors look at the money. While new teams are slated to join the league, and the season is going to expand as well in 2019, long-term financial survivability will be the question every year.

Whatevs. We've got playoffs to think about. Four teams remain heading into this Saturday's semifinals in Glendale, CO: the Seattle Seawolves, San Diego Legion, Glendale Raptors, and Utah Warriors. Here's a look at how they match up this weekend.

Hot-dale?

Not as catchy as Hotlanta, but it's worth pointing out that the Denver area, including Glendale, has been very warm this week and today's high is set to be 98. That could be tough to play in, but the forecast for Saturday is cloudy and possible rain, with a high in the 70s. That's much more manageable.

What's not manageable is thunderstorms, and the Denver area loves it some summer T-storms. Hopefully, the game won't be delayed or stopped for that.

Eagles Return

The USA players are back for the playoffs and just in time, too. Glendale lost its final game of the season 23-5 to San Diego last week. Both teams were missing national team players, but the Raptors were missing more. The loss did nothing to hurt Glendale's No. 1 seed, but it did ruin the Raptors' perfect season.

No matter, the upshot is that Glendale takes on Utah and gets Dyland Fawsitt, Shaun Davies, Will Magie, and Bryce Campbell. In addition, the team welcomes back John Quill, who suffered a nasty leg injury against Scotland, one that saw him on crutches and in a wheelchair after the game. But Quill was soon on both feet and is now healthy to play—good news for him, the USA, and Glendale.

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Fawsitt, who had a very strong game at hooker for the Eagles against Canada, comes in at flanker because Zach Fenoglio is a pretty good hooker, too. Davies, Magie, and Campbell combine for an all-Eagle 9-10-12 combination. This is a very skilled team out wide that punishes you up front.

More Eagles Return

Paul Lasike comes back for the Utah Warriors and will captain the side, and if Utah is going to upset Glendale, he will have to have a big game.

Cam Dolan and Nate Augspurger return to a San Diego Legion team that is on the upward swing, while the Seattle Seawolves welcome mostly Canadian players back from international duty (player-coach Phil Mack, but Vili Toluta'u got his first cap and showed some flashes of why he deserved it). The Seawolves are in good shape.

It's Not Just About The Eagles

It's about everything and everyone. Glendale's main capped contingent might be in the backs, but it's up front where the game will be won.

“We’re looking to get ascendency in the set piece,” said Glendale assistant coach Ted Browner. “We look for that in every game but we think it will be particularly important on Saturday. They’re a big, physical side, so we need to match that physicality in order to play our game.”

And it's about teamwork. What San Diego has been able to do is create a cohesive team. Saturday, that, and a strong goalkicker (San Diego has one of the best in Ben Cima), could carry them through.

“Since the start, the goal we put in front of us as a coaching staff and playing group was to end up in the Major League Rugby Playoffs and be in a good place entering postseason,” said San Diego GM Matt Hawkins. “We knew we would grow in confidence and competitiveness through the season and this has been a part of the planning process."

Who Wins?

It's hard to bet against Glendale, playing at home, and even with the Warriors on a tear. The Raptors slipped up last week but most will see that as an anomaly. San Diego vs. Seattle could be a very close one. Against the top two teams in the league, San Diego was 1-2 but it was a close loss to Glendale in its first outing and a close game with Seattle, too. Could the Legion be on a roll?


Major League Rugby Semifinals
Infinity Park, Glendale, CO
Saturday, June 30

7 PM EDT: Seattle Seawolves (No. 2 seed) vs. San Diego Legion (No. 3)
9:30 PM EDT: Glendale Raptors (No. 1) vs. Utah Warriors (No. 4)

MLR Championship
Torero Stadium, San Diego
Saturday, July 7

 9 PM EDT: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner