California Legion

California Legion

Founded	July 30, 2025;5 months ago (July 30, 2025) [1]
Location	Los Angeles County Orange County San Diego County
Region	Southern California
Grounds	Championship Soccer Stadium (Capacity: 5,500) Torero Stadium (Capacity: 6,000) Wallis Annenberg Stadium (Capacity: 2,145) Saint Mary's Stadium (Capacity: 5,500) Heart Health Park (Capacity: 11,569)
CEO	Adam Freier [1]
Coach	Stephen Hoiles
Captain	Jason Damm
League	Major League Rugby
2026	TBD
Official website
legion.rugby

The California Legion is a professional rugby union team that compete in the Major League Rugby (MLR). The team is based in Southern California, United States and was established in July 2025 following a merger between two former Southern Californian MLR teams: San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Its inaugural season is scheduled to be in the 2026 Major League Rugby. ^[1]

Background

During the months after the 2025 Major League Rugby season four teams from across the league had merged or disbanded. Beginning with the July 30 announcement of a merger between San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles of Southern California, ^{[1] [2] [4]} the same day New Orleans Gold announced it would not take part in the 2026 season. ^{[2] [5] [4]} Less than two months later, in September 2025 another MLR franchise, the Houston Sabercats, also announced they would not be taking part in the 2026 season. ^[6]

The San Diego Legion, for which the California Legion's logo is based on, ^[1] were a foundation team for the Major League Rugby (MLR). During their tenure they achieved one conference title, and made two Championship Final appearances (2019, ^[7] 2023). ^[8] The Rugby Football Club Los Angeles was established in late 2023 after being relocated from Atlanta. ^[9]

Players and personnel

Current squad

For player movements before and during the 2026 season, see List of 2025–26 Major League Rugby transfers § California Legion .

The California Legion squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is: ^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Ben Sugars Hooker England Joe Taufeteʻe Hooker United States Fred Apulu* Prop Samoa Jason Damm (c) Lock United States Chase Jones Lock United States Ieremia Ieremia* Back row New Zealand Ronan Murphy Back row United States Christian Poidevin Back row United States Ed Timpson Back row England Lance Williams Back row United States

Player Position Union Gonzalo Bertranou Scrum-half Argentina Bill Meakes Centre Australia Cole Semu* Centre New Zealand Ryan James Wing United States Joe Mano Wing United States Oscar Treacy* Wing Australia Joshua Cox* Fullback South Africa

• Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
• * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
• ** denotes non-American players playing as domestic players (maximum of four per matchday-23).

Head coach

• Stephen Hoiles (2026–present)

Technical staff

The team's technical staff as of 2026 ^[update] is as follows: ^[10]

• Dave Dennis, Assistant coach, Defence (2026–present)
• Dave Clancy, Assistant coach, Backs (2026–present)
• Todd Thornley, Assistant coach, Forwards (2026–present)
• Sebastian Pearson, Performance lead (2026–present)

References

1. Finley, Ryan (July 30, 2025). "San Diego Legion, L.A. club merge; new rugby team will play throughout SoCal". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Digital First Media. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
2. Carosella, Vitas (August 7, 2025). "Major League Rugby Bullish About Rugby In U.S. Despite Clubs Folding". Forbes . Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
3. Morton, Finn (July 30, 2025). "MLR confirms major shake-up impacting one of its biggest clubs". RugbyPass . Archived from the original on September 5, 2025.
4. "Major League Rugby Down Two Teams for MLR 2026 Season". Americas Rugby News. July 30, 2025. Archived from the original on October 7, 2025.
5. Urquhart, Spencer (July 31, 2025). "NOLA Gold future uncertain after competing in Major League Rugby for 8 seasons". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate .
6. Young, Matt (September 12, 2025). "Houston SaberCats, the city's pro rugby team, will not compete in Major League Rugby in 2026". Houston Chronicle . Hearst Communications.
7. Leonard, Tod (July 6, 2018). "In San Diego for title match, Major League Rugby reflects on inaugural season, future". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024.
8. Sandalow, Brian (July 8, 2023). "MLR hoping championship match in Bridgeview is a celebration of rugby". Chicago Sun-Times . Chicago Public Media. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023.
9. Snowden, Scott (December 21, 2023). "Los Angeles Major League Rugby team name, logo and roster revealed". Santa Monica Daily Press .
10. "California Legion". North American Rugby Database. Retrieved January 14, 2026.