The 2021 LA Giltinis season was the club's inaugural season in Major League Rugby.[1][2][3] Darren Coleman was the first coach of the club.[1] Dave Dennis was the club's first ever captain. The team finished the season first in the Western Conference standings and qualified for the 2021 Major League Rugby playoffs. The Giltinis won the Final against Rugby ATL.[3][4] The team was the second to win the championship in its first season, after Seattle Seawolves achieved it back in 2018, the inaugural season of Major League Rugby.
| 2021 LA Giltinis season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major League Rugby Rank | 1st West | |||
| 2021 record | Wins: 12; draws: 0; losses: 4 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO |  Adam Gilchrist | |||
| Coach | Darren Coleman | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (77,500) | |||
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The LA Giltinis played their home matchups at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Due to a scheduling conflict at the stadium, SoFi Stadium was used for a matchup against Utah Warriors.[5]
Schedule
edit| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 20 | Round 1 | New England Free Jacks | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 42–27 |
| March 28 | Round 2 | Seattle Seawolves | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 57–26 |
| April 10 | Round 4 | at Toronto Arrows | The Gold Mine | W 43–16 |
| April 17 | Round 5 | at Houston SaberCats | Aveva Stadium | W 48-33 |
| April 24 | Round 6 | San Diego Legion | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 45-17 |
| May 1 | Round 7 | Old Glory DC | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 47-17 |
| May 8 | Round 8 | at Rugby United New York | Cochrane Stadium | L 16-18 |
| May 15 | Round 9 | Utah Warriors | SoFi Stadium | W 38-27 |
| May 19 | Round 10 | at Austin Gilgronis | Bold Stadium | W 17-3 |
| May 29 | Round 11 | at Rugby ATL | Lupo Family Field | L 12-17 |
| June 13 | Round 13 | Houston SaberCats | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 52-5 |
| June 20 | Round 14 | at San Diego Legion | Torero Stadium | W 19-13 |
| June 27 | Round 15 | at Seattle Seawolves | Starfire Sports Complex | W 29-14 |
| July 4 | Round 16 | New Orleans Gold | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | L 20-21 |
| July 10 | Round 17 | Austin Gilgronis | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 31-17 |
| July 17 | Round 18 | at Utah Warriors | Zions Bank Stadium | L 29-34 |
Post season
edit| Date | Round | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 25 | Western Conference Final | Utah Warriors | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 17-13 |
| August 1 | MLR Final | Rugby ATL | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | W 31-17 |
Standings
edit
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| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | ||
| 1 | LA Giltinis (CH) | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 545 | 305 | +240 | 80 | 37 | 11 | 4 | 63 | ||
| 2 | Utah Warriors (SF) | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 506 | 464 | +42 | 72 | 65 | 13 | 4 | 57 | ||
| 3 | Austin Gilgronis | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 389 | 317 | +72 | 51 | 43 | 7 | 4 | 47 | ||
| 4 | San Diego Legion | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 430 | 464 | -34 | 61 | 63 | 9 | 5 | 38 | ||
| 5 | Seattle Seawolves | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 343 | 461 | -118 | 46 | 63 | 4 | 6 | 26 | ||
| 6 | Houston SaberCats | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 274 | 550 | -276 | 31 | 80 | 3 | 2 | 13 | ||
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):
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Green background indicates teams in position for the Playoffs
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References
edit- ^ a b Pengelly, Martin (June 1, 2020). "Major League Rugby announces LA Giltinis, second team named for a drink". The Guardian. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ Bruce, Sam (March 18, 2021). "Los Angeles has a professional rugby team? Meet the LA Giltinis". ESPN. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ a b "Irish quartet help the LA Giltinis to Major League Rugby title". TheJournal.ie. August 2, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ "Giltinis win Major League Rugby championship in debut..." LA Times. August 1, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
- ^ Demeke, Matthew (May 10, 2021). "LA Giltinis To Play First Professional Rugby Match At SoFi Stadium". KLAC. Retrieved July 8, 2022.