The 2024 Major League Rugby Championship Final was the sixth Major League Rugby (MLR) championship match, held at the conclusion of the seventh season of the rugby union club competition in North America. The match was played on August 4, 2024, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California. It was contested by the Seattle Seawolves and New England Free Jacks.[1]
| Event | 2024 season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | August 4, 2024 | ||||||
| Venue | Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Jed Melvin | ||||||
| Referee | Luke Rogan (USA) | ||||||
| Attendance | 12,085 | ||||||
| Weather | cloudy, 80°F (26°C), wind W 11-16mph (18-26km/h) | ||||||
Background
editRoad to the final
edit| 2024 MLR Eastern Conference () | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| 1 | New England Free Jacks | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 463 | 344 | 119 | 65 | 45 | 8 | 3 | 55 |
| 2 | New Orleans Gold | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 410 | 349 | 61 | 58 | 47 | 8 | 2 | 50 |
| 3 | Chicago Hounds | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 454 | 387 | 67 | 65 | 51 | 7 | 4 | 45 |
| 4 | Old Glory DC | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 394 | 416 | -22 | 50 | 57 | 6 | 4 | 42 |
| 5 | Miami Sharks | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 335 | 389 | -54 | 40 | 51 | 4 | 4 | 32 |
| 6 | Anthem Rugby Carolina | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 323 | 676 | -353 | 47 | 102 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Tiebreakers
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreaker criteria are as follows (coin tosses or draw of lots will be used if those below fail):
| |||||||||||||
| 2024 MLR Western Conference () | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| 1 | Houston SaberCats | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 478 | 347 | 131 | 66 | 47 | 11 | 0 | 67 |
| 2 | Seattle Seawolves | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 498 | 373 | 125 | 63 | 49 | 9 | 4 | 57 |
| 3 | San Diego Legion | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 421 | 374 | 47 | 51 | 45 | 7 | 4 | 55 |
| 4 | Dallas Jackals | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 482 | 450 | 32 | 71 | 62 | 10 | 9 | 43 |
| 5 | Utah Warriors | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 424 | 471 | -47 | 60 | 67 | 7 | 8 | 35 |
| 6 | RFC Los Angeles | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 367 | 473 | -106 | 54 | 67 | 8 | 2 | 32 |
| Tiebreakers
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreaker criteria are as follows (coin tosses or draw of lots will be used if those below fail):
| |||||||||||||
Venue selection
editOn March 14, 2024, MLR announced that Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego would host the Championship Final. It is the home stadium of the San Diego Legion and the third league championship to be hosted in the San Diego area; the Legion had hosted the 2018 final and 2019 final at Torero Stadium.[2]
Broadcasting
editThe Championship Final was broadcast in the United States on Fox.[3]
Championship Final
editDetails
edit| August 4, 2024 1:00 pm PDT |
| Seattle Seawolves | 11–20 | New England Free Jacks |
| Try: J. Taufete’e 31' m Con: M. Mason (0/1) Pen: M. Mason (2/3) 25', 48' Cards: T. Lopeti  52' to 62' | Report[4] | Try: L. Malan 14' Con: J. Potroz (0/1) Pen: J. Potroz (5/5) 9', 28', 40’+1', 45', 52' |
| Snapdragon Stadium Attendance: 12,085 Referee: Luke Rogan (USA) |
References
edit- ^ Keatts, Andrew (August 1, 2024). "Rugby is having a moment as league championship arrives in San Diego". Axios. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ "Snapdragon Stadium to host Major League Rugby's championship match in August". San Diego Union-Tribune. March 14, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Major League Rugby Championship". Major League Rugby. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ "Free Jacks beat Seawolves to claim second straight MLR title". americas rugby news. Retrieved August 5, 2024.