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

2021 Major League Rugby final
Event2021 season
DateAugust 1, 2021
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Man of the MatchMatt Giteau
RefereeJP Doyle (England)
Attendance7,389
WeatherSunny
2019
2022

Background

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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

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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

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

Match

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Details

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August 1, 2021 LA Giltinis 31-17 Rugby ATL Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California  
4:00 pm EDT (UTC−04) 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′
Attendance: 7,389[9]
Referee: JP Doyle

Man of the Match: Matt Giteau

Team details
FB 15   Luke Burton
RW 14   John Ryberg
OC 13   Adam Ashley-Cooper
IC 12   Billy Meakes
LW 11   D. T. H. van der Merwe
FH 10   Matt Giteau
SH 9   Harrison Goddard
N8 8   Corey Thomas
OF 7   Christian Poidevin
BF 6   Angus Cottrell
RL 5   Nathan Den Hoedt
LL 4   Dave Dennis
TP 3   Marco Fepulea'I
HK 2   Mahe Vailanu
LP 1   Charlie Abel
Replacements:
HK 16   Sean McNulty
PR 17   Blake Rogers
PR 18   Luke White
LK 19   Sean O’Brien
FL 20   Pago Haini
SH 21   Serupepeli Vularika
FH 22   Luke Carty
CE 23   Ryan James
Coach:
  Darren Coleman
FB 15   Austin White
RW 14   Jeremy Misailegalu
OC 13   Ryan Nell
IC 12   Bautista Ezcurra
LW 11   Rory Van Vugt
FH 10   Kurt Coleman
SH 9   Rowan Gouws
N8 8   Johan Momsen
OF 7   Matthew Heaton
BF 6   Vili Helu
RL 5   Conor Keys
LL 4   Marno Redelinghuys
TP 3   Wikus Groenwald
HK 2   Marko Janse van Rensburg
LP 1   Alex Maughan
Replacements:
HK 16   Neethling Gericke
PR 17   Chance Wenglewski
PR 18   Will Burke
LK 19   Connor Cook
FL 20   Ross Deacon
SH 21   Ryan Rees
FH 22   Robbie Petzer
WG 23   Mark O'Keeffe
Coach:
  Scott Lawrence

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Looking to the MLR Championship Series". Major League Rugby. Retrieved July 26, 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 July 26, 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. August 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.