2021 Major League Rugby final

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2021 Major League Rugby final
2021 Major League Rugby Championship Final
Event 2021 Major League Rugby season
Match details
DateAugust 1, 2021
Venue Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Man of the Match Matt Giteau (LA Giltinis) [1]
Referee JP Doyle (England)
Attendance7,389 [2]
WeatherSunny day
75.2 °F (24.0 °C)
54% humidity [3]
2019
2022

The 2021 Major League Rugby final was the third Major League Rugby championship match, held at the conclusion of the 4th season of the rugby union club competition in North America. It was played on August 1, 2021, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, between the LA Giltinis and Rugby ATL. [4]

Contents

Background

With the 2020 Major League Rugby season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [5] there was no Championship match, or series, held in 2020. Instead, the Championship series returned for the 2021 season, which featured the arrival of the LA Giltinis, [6] and the departure of the Colorado Raptors, [7] leaving 12 teams to take part over two conferences; the East and West.

The format for the regular season ensured that the top two teams of each conference would compete in a Conference Final, with the victors of each taking part in the Championship Final. The regular season ended with the LA Giltinis and the Utah Warriors as the top two teams in the Western Conference, and Rugby ATL and Rugby United New York as the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. This marked the first time in MLR history that the Seattle Seawolves would not contest the Championship Final.

On July 24, Rugby ATL ground out a narrow win over RUNY, 10–9, to become the Eastern Conference Champions. [8] They also became the first Eastern-based team to make it to the Championship Final (previous finals only had teams that would later be from the Western Conference.)

On July 25, LA Giltinis were able to secure the victory in the final few minutes, with a try by Ryan James in the closing 5 minutes. Their 17–13 score means that they would become Western Conference Champions, the first time a debuting franchise would claim the title. [9] This also ensured that the Championship Final would be contested against solely expansion franchises for the first time.

Venue

The venue was decided by which of the Conference Champions was ranked highest across both conferences. [4] LA, with 63 points, ranked above Atlanta on 57, and held the home advantage for the Championship Final. [10]

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast nationally on CBS. [4] It averaged 478,000 viewers. [11]

Match

August 1, 2021
16:00 EDT (UTC−04)
LA Giltinis 31–17 Rugby ATL
Try: Ryberg (2) 21′ c , 24′ m
Van der Merwe 53′ c
Con: Giteau (2/3) 22′, 54′
Pen: Giteau (3/3) 19′, 44′, 70′
Burton (1/1) 76′
Report Try: van Rensburg 36′ c
Deacon 78′ c
Con: Coleman (2/2) 37′, 79′
Pen: Coleman (1/1) 15′
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Attendance: 7,389 [12]
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
FB15 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke Burton
RW14 Flag of the United States.svg John Ryberg
OC13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adam Ashley-Cooper
IC12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Billy Meakes
LW11 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg D. T. H. van der Merwe
FH10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matt Giteau
SH9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Harrison Goddard
N88 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Corey Thomas
OF7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Christian Poidevin
BF6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Angus Cottrell
RL5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nathan Den Hoedt
LL4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dave Dennis
TP3 Flag of Samoa.svg Marco Fepulea'I
HK2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mahe Vailanu
LP1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Charlie Abel
Replacements:
HK16 IRFU flag.svg Sean McNulty
PR17 Flag of the United States.svg Blake Rogers
PR18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Luke White
LK19 IRFU flag.svg Sean O’Brien
FL20 Flag of the United States.svg Pago Haini
SH21 Flag of Fiji.svg Serupepeli Vularika
FH22 Flag of the United States.svg Luke Carty
CE23 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan James
Coach:
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Darren Coleman
FB15 Flag of the United States.svg Austin White
RW14 Flag of the United States.svg Jeremy Misailegalu
OC13 Flag of South Africa.svg Ryan Nell
IC12 Flag of Argentina.svg Bautista Ezcurra
LW11 Flag of New Zealand.svg Rory Van Vugt
FH10 Flag of South Africa.svg Kurt Coleman
SH9 Flag of South Africa.svg Rowan Gouws
N88 Flag of South Africa.svg Johan Momsen
OF7 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Matthew Heaton
BF6 Flag of the United States.svg Vili Helu
RL5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Conor Keys
LL4 Flag of South Africa.svg Marno Redelinghuys
TP3 Flag of South Africa.svg Wikus Groenwald
HK2 Flag of South Africa.svg Marko Janse van Rensburg
LP1 Flag of the United States.svg Alex Maughan
Replacements:
HK16 Flag of South Africa.svg Neethling Gericke
PR17 Flag of the United States.svg Chance Wenglewski
PR18 Flag of the United States.svg Will Burke
LK19 Flag of the United States.svg Connor Cook
FL20 Flag of the United States.svg Ross Deacon
SH21 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Rees
FH22 Flag of South Africa.svg Robbie Petzer
WG23 IRFU flag.svg Mark O'Keeffe
Coach:
Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lawrence

References

  1. "Watch: LA Giltinis win Major League Rugby title". Rugby World. August 2, 2021.
  2. Dymock, Alan (February 19, 2023). "Claims San Diego Legion have set MLR attendance record". Rugby World .
  3. "Past Weather in Los Angeles, California, USA — August 2021". timeanddate.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "Looking to the MLR Championship Series". Major League Rugby. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  5. "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  6. Pengelly, Martin (June 1, 2020). "Major League Rugby announces LA Giltinis, second team named for a drink". The Guardian . Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  7. Petersen, Will, "Updated: Colorado Raptors withdraw from Major League Rugby," 9news.com, April 10, 2020 Accessed March 27, 2021
  8. Harvey, Joe (July 25, 2021). "RUGBY ATL REACH MLR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL WITH 10-9 VICTORY OVER RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK". Major League Rugby . Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  9. Evans, Luca (July 25, 2021). "L.A. Giltinis advance to Major League Rugby's championship game". LA Times . Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  10. "Standings - Major League Rugby". Major League Rugby. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  11. Karp, Austin [@AustinKarp] (August 10, 2021). "478,000 viewers" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  12. "LA claims MLR title with convincing win over ATL". americas rugby news. August 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.

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