California Legion

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]

FoundedJuly 30, 2025; 8 months ago^[1]

Location

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)

Quick facts Founded, Location ...

California Legion
Official website

Founded	July 30, 2025; 8 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
legion.rugby

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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]

The California Legion squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is:

More information 2026 California Legion squad ...

2026 California Legion squad
Props Fred Apulu * Tonga Kofe Declan Leaney Ma'ake Muti * Michael Scott Justus Tavai Hookers Ale Lopeti Ben Sugars Joe Taufeteʻe Locks Jason Damm (c) Chase Jones Keni Nasoqeqe *	Back row Ben Houston Ronan Murphy Christian Poidevin Ed Timpson Jurie van Vuuren Lance Williams Scrum-halves Gonzalo Bertranou Tas Smith Fly-halves Matt Anticev Steffan Crimp * Coby Miln	Centres Nick Chan Cassh Maluia Bill Meakes Cole Semu * Wings Ryan James Joe Mano Oscar Treacy * Fullbacks Corbin Smith Rory van Vugt
(c) denotes the team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for United States on residency or dual nationality. Source: ^[10]