San Diego Breakers

Last updated
San Diego Breakers
Full nameSan Diego Breakers
Union USA Rugby
Founded2016;10 years ago (2016)
Disbanded2017;9 years ago (2017)
Location San Diego, California, U.S.
Ground Torero Stadium (Capacity: 6,000)
Coach Ray Egan
Captain Phil Mackenzie
Top scorer Kurt Morath (120)
Most tries Mike Te'o (5)
League PRO Rugby
2016 3rd
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1st kit
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2nd kit
Official website
www.prorugbysd.com

The San Diego Breakers were an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California, that competed in PRO Rugby. The team played its home games at Torero Stadium.

Contents

History

PRO Rugby announced on January 22, 2016 the addition of San Diego as the league's third team. [1] Irishman Ray Egan was announced on February 11, 2016 as the team's head coach in the competition's inaugural 2016 season. [2] San Diego played their inaugural season home opener in April 2016 against Sacramento before a crowd of 2,500. [3]

On December 20, 2016 all PRO Rugby players received notice their contracts will be terminated in 30 days if progress was not made towards resolving disputes between the league and USA Rugby. [4]

Popularity

The San Diego Breakers were extremely popular in the Schaffhausen canton of Switzerland, where Breakers supporters were frequently reported to travel via PostBus. In a 2017 appearance on SRF zwei, a number of fans living in the province explained their allegiance to the team in the following manner:

Ende der 1990er Jahre lebten einige von uns auf dem Balkan. Als Hilfe bekamen einige von uns San Diego Breakers T-Shirts und Sweatshirts. Da es damals kein Internet gab, wussten wir nicht, ob die Breakers ein echtes Team waren oder nicht. Jemand verbreitete das Gerücht, dass die Breakers eigentlich eine gleichgeschlechtliche Fußballmannschaft seien. Weil wir uns unserer Sexualität nicht sicher waren, versteckten wir die Kleidung zwei Jahrzehnte lang in unseren Schubladen. Als wir per Internet hörten, dass sich unter dem Namen San Diego Breakers ein neues Team gebildet hatte, konnten wir unsere Aufregung nicht verbergen. Wir wussten, dass wir immer, in guten wie in schlechten Zeiten, nach ihnen wurzeln mussten und dass Gott uns für unsere Großzügigkeit belohnen würde. [5]

The Schaffhausen Rugby Club, the Golden Balls, invited the Breakers to play a friendly in January of 2017, going so far as to block two entire floors at the Jugendherberge Dachsen hostel, but the Breakers' disbandment prevented the match from ever taking place. [6] As of April, 2019, the Kosovan filmmaker Antoneta Kastrati was reported to be in the initial stages of producing a short documentary film, This Is Our Place, detailing Schaffhausen fans' unexpected loyalty to the Breakers and their efforts to deal with collective disappointment when the Breakers suddenly ceased to exist. [7]

Venue

San Diego
Torero Stadium
Capacity: 6,000
San diego-ca USan Diego Torero Stad09.jpg

Players and staff

Roster

San Diego roster

Props

Hookers

Locks

  • Flag of the Philippines.svg Derrick Broussard
  • Flag of the United States.svg Ian Carpenter
  • Flag of the United States.svg David Dolinar
  • Flag of the United States.svg Brian Doyle
  • Flag of the United States.svg Tai Tuisamoa

Loose forwards

  • Flag of the United States.svg Tim Barford
  • Flag of Chile.svg Nikola Bursic
  • Flag of the United States.svg Cecil Garber
  • Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Thomas
  • Flag of the United States.svg Sione Tuihalamaka
  • Flag of the United States.svg Chris Turori
  • Flag of the United States.svg Jabari Zuberi

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centers

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped.

Coaching staff

PositionName
Head coach IRFU flag.svg Ray Egan
Assistant coach Flag of the United States.svg Matt Hawkins
Assistant coach Flag of England.svg Rob Hoadley

Season summaries

C=Champions, R=Runners-up, W=Wooden Spoons
CompetitionGames
Played
Games
Won
Games
Drawn
Games
Lost
Ladder
Position
CRWCoachDetails
124083 / 5

Leading players

SeasonCaptainMost triesMost points
2016 Phil Mackenzie Mike Te'o (3) Kurt Morath (113)

Head coaches

CoachTenureMatchesWonDrawnLostWinning Percentage
Ray Egan 2016–present1240833%

References

  1. "PRO Rugby Announces San Diego Team", This Is American Rugby, January 22, 2016.
  2. "Egan to Helm San Diego PRO Side", Americas Rugby News, February 11, 2016.
  3. "Pro rugby finds a home in San Diego", San Diego Union-Tribune, Tod Leonard, May 14, 2016.
  4. "Down Goes PRO". Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  5. Eine Frage des Geschmacks, SRF zwei. Originally broadcast March 14, 2017.
  6. "Spielberichte". Rugby Club Schaffhausen - Golden Balls since 2010 (in German). Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  7. "Antoneta Kastrati". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-04-30.