NEWS

Quest for the Championship Shield: Round 19 | If You Win, You’re In

It all comes down to Sunday. Major League Rugby’s action-packed Round 18 has left four teams battling for three open slots in the MLR Championship series heading into Round 19. After the Glendale Raptors were eliminated from playoff contention last week, Rugby United New York, Toronto Arrows, Seattle Seawolves, and NOLA Gold all have a chance to join the San Diego Legion in the MLR Championship series by punching their playoff ticket and inching closer to the ultimate goal of hoisting the Championship Shield on June 16. All four playoff eligible teams will take the pitch on Sunday with the Arrows hosting RUNY at 1 p.m. ET to kick off all the action.

Here is where the four playoff eligible teams sit going into Round 19.

San Diego Legion (11-3-1)

Current Position: 1st

Table Points: 57

Remaining Fixtures: vs NOLA (6/2)
Difficulty Rating: 1/10

Weekend Wishlist: A win over NOLA OR a draw with NOLA OR a two bonus point loss to NOLA.

While the San Diego Legion have already locked up a playoff spot heading into Round 19, there is still plenty on the line for them to play for. Based on the way the table is stacked, the Legion could end the weekend anywhere in the top four spots. San Diego needs two points in the table to lock up the top seed. 59 points would put first place out mathematically out of reach for every remaining team. It doesn’t matter where those two points come from. A win over NOLA would be ideal, but a draw or a double bonus point loss would work just as well.

Rugby United New York (11-4)

Current Position: 2nd

Table Points: 53

Remaining Fixtures: @ Toronto (6/2)
Difficulty Rating: 7/10

Weekend Wishlist: A win over Toronto OR a NOLA loss to San Diego OR a Seattle loss to Austin.

With their 24-22 victory over the NOLA Gold in Week 18, RUNY has worked their way into second place in the table. They still have plenty of hard work ahead of them, though, as they’ll travel up to Toronto to take on an Arrows team that has won six-straight matches and has only lost one match at home all season. If RUNY can, in fact, knock off the Arrows on Sunday afternoon, they secure their spot in the MLR Championship series. In the event of a loss, RUNY will have to hope for either a NOLA loss to San Diego or a Seattle loss to Austin to sneak into the playoffs.

Toronto Arrows (10-5)

Current Position: 3rd

Table Points: 53

Remaining Fixtures: vs RUNY (6/2)
Difficulty Rating: 7/10

Weekend Wishlist: A win over RUNY OR a NOLA loss to San Diego OR a Seattle loss to Austin.

After handing the Glendale Raptors a 40-12 defeat and knocking them out of playoff contention, the Arrows have a chance to punch their own ticket to the playoffs in Round 19. They’ll put their six-match winning streak on the line on Sunday at home against RUNY for a chance to go to the playoffs in their first season in the MLR. RUNY defeated the Arrows 24-21 the first time these two sides met back on March 15, but the Arrows will either need to defeat RUNY this time around or hope for either a NOLA loss to San Diego or a Seattle loss to Austin in the event of a loss to RUNY to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Seattle Seawolves (10-4-1)

Current Position: 4th

Table Points: 53

Remaining Fixtures: vs Austin (6/2)
Difficulty Rating: 3/10

Weekend Wishlist: A win over Austin OR a NOLA loss to San Diego.

A draw with the Utah Warriors in Round 18 set the Seattle Seawolves up for a win to get in scenario in Round 19. Seattle will take on a winless Austin Elite Rugby team at Starfire Stadium on Sunday for a chance to go to the playoffs. The Seawolves defeated Austin 29-17 in Texas back on March 16. If the Seawolves end up falling to Austin on Sunday evening, Seattle will need to count on NOLA losing to San Diego in a match that will conclude during the time that the Seawolves and Austin are playing.

NOLA Gold (9-6)

Current Position: 5th

Table Points: 53

Remaining Fixtures: @ San Diego (6/2)
Difficulty Rating: 10/10

Weekend Wishlist: A win over San Diego.

NOLA’s strong start to the season is a distant memory heading into Round 19. The Gold dropped a tough match 24-22 on the road to RUNY in Round 18 to lose their third-straight match. The loss bumped NOLA down to fifth place and forced them into a win or go home scenario heading ahead of their Round 19 matchup with a first-place San Diego Legion team that kickstarted the Gold’s losing streak with a 26-19 victory back on May 11. Although they could sneak in with a bonus point loss (depending on other results going their way), NOLA should be focussed on winning against San Diego, as that would assure them a spot in the playoffs.

Major League Rugby’s Championship series will consist of two semi-final games and the MLR Championship game over the course of two weekends. One semi-final will be played at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 8 and the other at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 9. Both semi-final matches will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The highest remaining seed will host the lower remaining seed in the MLR Championship game at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 16. The MLR Championship will be broadcast on CBS.