2021 Major League Rugby Final

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 LA, between the LA Giltinis and Rugby ATL.[1]

2021 Major League Rugby Final
Event2021 season
LA Giltinis Rugby ATL
31 17
DateAugust 1, 2021
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Man of the MatchMatt Giteau
RefereeJP Doyle (England)
Attendance7,389
WeatherSunny

Background

With the 2020 Major League Rugby season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] 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,[3] and the departure of the Colorado Raptors,[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[1] LA, with 63 points, ranked above Atlanta on 57, and held the home advantage for the Championship Final.[7]

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast nationally on CBS.[1] It averaged 478,000 viewers.[8]

Match

Details
August 1 LA Giltinis 31-17 Rugby ATL Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California  
4:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) Try: John Ryberg 2 (21′, 24′),
D. T. H. van der Merwe (53′)
Con: Matt Giteau 2/3 (22′, 54′)
Pen: Matt Giteau 3/3 (19′, 44′, 70′), Luke Burton 1/1 (76′)
 ARN Report Try: Marko Janse van Rensburg (36′), Ross Deacon (78′)
Con: Kurt Coleman 2/2 (37′, 79′)
Pen: Kurt Coleman 1/1 (15′)
 Attendance: 7,389[9]
Referee: JP Doyle

Man of the Match: Matt Giteau

Team details
FB15Luke Burton
RW14John Ryberg
OC13Adam Ashely-Cooper
IC12Billy Meakes
LW11D. T. H. van der Merwe
FH10Matt Giteau
SH9Harrison Goddard
N88Corey Thomas
OF7Christian Poidevin
BF6Angus Cottrell
RL5Nathan Den Hoedt
LL4Dave Deenis
TP3Marco Fepulea'I
HK2Mahe Vailanu
LP1Charlie Abel 79'
Replacements:
HK16
PR17
PR18
LK19
FL20
FB21
WG22
OB23
Coach:
Darren Coleman
FB15Austin White
RW14Jeremy Misailegalu
OC13Ryan Nell
IC12Bautista Ezcurra
LW11Rory Van Vugt
FH10Kurt Coleman
SH9Rowan Gouws
N88Johan Momsen
OF7Matthew Heaton
BF6Vili Helu
RL5Conor Keys
LL4Marno Redelinghuys
TP3Wikus Groenwald
HK2Marko Janse Van Rensburg
LP1Alex Maughan 79'
Replacements:
HK16
PR17
PR18
LK19
FL20
FB21
WG22
OB23
Coach:
Scott Lawrence

References

  1. "Looking to the MLR Championship Series". Major League Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  3. Pengelly, Martin (June 1, 2020). "Major League Rugby announces LA Giltinis, second team named for a drink". The Guardian. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  4. Petersen, Will, "Updated: Colorado Raptors withdraw from Major League Rugby," 9news.com, April 10, 2020 Accessed March 27, 2021
  5. 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.
  6. Evans, Luca (July 25, 2021). "L.A. Giltinis advance to Major League Rugby's championship game". LA Times. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  7. "Standings - Major League Rugby". Major League Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  8. Karp, Austin [@AustinKarp] (August 10, 2021). "478,000 viewers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. "LA claims MLR title with convincing win over ATL". americas rugby news. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
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