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• Eight Tackles Made
• 12 Ruck Arrivals
• 12 Carries Made

Hooker, Ben Sugars – RFCLA

• One Try Scored
• 45 Meters Made
• 11 Tackles Tackles Made

Tighthead Prop, Kyle Steeves – New England Free Jacks

• 20 Tackles Made
• Five Ruck Arrivals
• Two Ball Carries Made

Left Lock,  Jed Holloway – San Diego Legion 

• Two Tries Scored
• 23 Meters Made
• 15 Ruck Arrivals

Right Lock, Ricky Rose – Miami SHarks

• 19 Tackles Made
• 28 Ruck Arrivals
• Six Ball Carries Made

Blindside Flanker, Aidan King – NOLA Gold

• Three Jackles Won
• 11 Tackles Made
• 34 Meters Made

Openside Flanker, Brad Wilkin – San Diego Legion

• Two Tries Scored
• 23 Tackles Made
• 36 Ball Carries Made

No 8., Jonah Mau’u – NOLA Gold

• Two Tries Scored
• 92 Meters Made
• 10 Tackles Made

Scrum-half, Tomas Cubelli – MIami Sharks

• One Try Scored
• 169 Kicking Meters
• Nine Meters Made

Fly-half, AJ Alatimu – Houston SaberCats

• 13 Points Scored
• 52 Meters Made
• Nine Tackles Made

Left Wing, Joe Mano – Utah Warriors

• Three Tries Scored
• 115 Meters Made
• Four Tackles Made

Inside Center, Tomas Cubilla – Miami Sharks

• One Try Scored
• 55 Meters Made
• Eight Tackles Made

Outside Center, Isaac Te Tamaki – NOLA Gold

• One Try Scored
• Seven Tackles Made
• 52 Kicking Meters

Right Wing, Marcos Young – Miami Sharks

• One Try Scored
• 55 Meters Made
• Nine Tackles Made

Fullback, Max Schumacher – Houston SaberCats

• One Try Scored
• 44 Meters Made
• 57 Kicking Meters

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Ethan Grayson and the San Diego Legion are not panicking after losing their last three games.

In their opening five games of the 2025 Major League Rugby season, Legion was untouchable as they cruised to a quintet of early wins under new head coach John Manenti.

But after that ferocious start, the team has come unstuck, losing to the Houston SaberCats, Chicago Hounds, and New England Free Jacks.

Now third in the Western Conference behind the Houston SaberCats and this weekend’s opponents, the Utah Warriors, 

“I’d say it is, more than anything else, not quite being up to standard,” Grayson told MLR.

“If you look at our first five games, we were clear, executed our game plan, maybe got slightly away from our basics and what made us so good in that first block.

Five and OH and making history: @SDLegion ties MLR record of 5 undefeated matches from season start set by @HOUSaberCats in 2024

Can they break it in Week 7? #MLR2025 pic.twitter.com/kDbFdqudAn

— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) March 25, 2025

“It has been a real emphasis this week to get back to what we do best – which is high ball, play at a good tempo, and a good brand of rugby. Hopefully, we can bring that this weekend.

“The main thing is not panicking. We’re not a bad team overnight. We’ve won five on the bounce, and then we’ve probably had the toughest games you can have in this league.”

FINDING HIS FEET

When Grayson arrived in San Diego, he was on the hunt for a new start.

After coming through the academy of Northampton Saints—which his father, Paul, and older brother, James, also represented—he was not getting first-team opportunities to continue his development.

Throughout his youth, Grayson was touted as a potential star of the future.

Part of the England U20 setup, the 23-year-old also made just short of 50 appearances for Championship club Bedford Blues, while dual-registered.

With a string of senior players ahead of him, the versatile back had decided to move on from the Gallagher Premiership Rugby club and signed terms with London Irish to join them for the 2023/24 season.

But when Irish went into administration, he was looking for a new home again.

“It was massive,” Grayson said when asked about his decision to leave Northampton. “That’s the team that, to this day, I support. That’s my team. I had done a decent stint and was ready for a new challenge.

“What made it even tougher was that I’d plucked up the courage to go out and spread my wings, and it pulled from underneath me two weeks before preseason.

“I was unemployed and picking up bricks for a few weeks.”

Eventually, the opportunity for that fresh start came in the form of San Diego.

It was a move that saw Grayson thrown into a new environment and finally given the new lease of life he had been hoping for.

Getting the opportunity to play alongside rugby legends Matt Giteau and Ma’a Nonu – who had played against his Rugby World Cup-winning father – was another education in these early days of Grayson’s young career.

“America came at the best possible time,” Grayson said. “To get out of Northampton, to find my own way, what I’m about as a person, move out of home and leave the country.

“From a personal point of view, it was awesome. From a rugby point of view, it is the first time being in an environment where I’m not holding a tackle back on a Tuesday or Thursday night in Bedford or at Northampton getting flogged as a young fella.

“It was the first time I was given a go and seen as a senior player. Which I have enjoyed this year. It gives you that confidence because you’re deemed a viable option to play some good minutes and improve the team.” 

A LONG GOODBYE

Minutes on the field have been invaluable for Grayson. 

In his first season in MLR, the 23-year-old made 10 appearances and scored 12 points, but Legion was knocked out of the Conference Semi-Finals.

Upon returning to England for the offseason, he was content with spending several months working for his friend’s carpentry company, getting involved as an assistant coach at Moulton College, and playing local club rugby to maintain match fitness with Old Northamptonians with his twin brother, Joel.

That work with Moulton College ultimately provided the foundations for my first opportunity to play top-flight rugby in England.

“In my first week there (with Moulton College), the first game was away,” Grayson laughed. “I had only been there three days, and I’d have to be driving for seven hours. So, I was close to pulling a sickie. 

“But I had only just got the job, so through gritted teeth, I made my way up north. I bumped into Alan Dickens (ex-England U20 coach), and he looked at me as if he’d seen a ghost.

“He thought I was still in America and asked if I could play. I could play. He paused for a minute and said, ‘Right, leave it with me’. I didn’t know what was going on.

“Then, as I’m somewhere between a handling drill and a tackle drill, I had this big northern voice call me in. It was Steve Diamond (Newcastle Falcons’ Director of Rugby) and asked if I wanted to come and play for them.”

Agreeing to a five-month contract, Grayson got to put everything he had learned at San Diego into action. And he excelled.

Filling in as the club endured a fly-half crisis, Grayson was a titular figure as Newcastle ended a 581-day wait for a victory and scored the club’s first drop goal in over a decade in the 24-18 win over Exeter Chiefs.

“Had I been given that opportunity 12 months prior (before playing for San Diego), I don’t know if I would have felt confident in myself and may have felt a bit of imposter syndrome,” Grayson said.

“But having played top-flight rugby for five months, you know you can do it because I have done it in a different competition. You believe in yourself a little bit more.”

Such was the success of Grayson’s time with Newcastle, and he will return to Kingston Park full-time this summer.

Knowing that 2025 could be the last time he represents Legion, Grayson now has even more reasons to return to winning ways in Week 10.

While Utah will be a significant challenge, the notion of being the first San Diego team to bring the Shield to Torero Stadium.

“It gives me added motivation,” Grayson said. “I might not get this opportunity, but who knows what will happen in the future? So, if this is the last crack, let’s make it a good one.

“Especially for the lads like Nate Sylvia who have been here for the start. If this is going to be the year, why can’t this be the year?

“To be part of that would be very special. It’s a special club and one I will hold very dearly forever.”

Tied in points. Locked in a Western standoff @SDLegion vs. @utwarriorsrugby

Live on ESPN+ Saturday 10:00PM ET
NZ: Sky Sports
Everywhere else: @therugbynetwork @ESPNPlus | #SDvUTAH | #MLR2025 pic.twitter.com/6XoNqdZghc

— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) April 17, 2025

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• 15 Tackles Made
• 14 Ruck Arrivals
• Five Carries Made

Hooker, Andrew Quattrin – New England Free Jacks

• Two Tries Scored
• 24 Ruck Arrivals
• Eight Tackles Tackles Made

Tighthead Prop, Ignacio Peculo – Chicago Hounds

• 14 Tackles Made
• 18 Ruck Arrivals
• Two Ball Carries Made

Left Lock,  Jason Damm – RFCLA 

• 15 Tackles Made
• 25 Ruck Arrivals
• Six Ball Carries Made

Right Lock, Frank Lochore – Utah Warriors

• 23 Tackles Made
• 42 Meters Made
• Eight Lineout Takes

Blindside Flanker, Mason Flesch -Chicago Hounds

• Two Tries Scored
• 22 Tackles Made
• 10 Lineout Takes

Openside Flanker, Joe Johnston – New England Free Jacks

• 39 Ruck Arrivals
• 12 Tackles Made
• Seven Ball Carries Made

No 8., Ronan Foley  – Miami Sharks

• 18 Tackles Made
• 22 Meters Made
• 14 Ruck Arrivals

Scrum-half, Tomas Inciarte – Miami Sharks

• One Try Scored
• 20 Meters Made
• 109  Kicking Meters

Fly-half, Harrison Boyle – New England Free Jacks

• Two Tries Scored
• 43 Meters Made
• 89 Kicking Meters

Left Wing, Jack Reeves – New England Free Jacks

• Two Tries Scored
• 107 Meters Made
• Three Tackles Made

Inside Center, D’angelo Leuila – Utah Warriors

• 13 Points Scored
• 22  Meters Made
• Nine Tackles Made

Outside Center, Kyle Brown – Utah Warriors

• 13 Tackles Made
• 39 Meters Made
• 5 Ruck Arrivals

Right Wing, Xavier Mignot – NOLA Gold

• Three Tries Scored
• 133 Meters Made
• Nine Tackles Made

Fullback, Julian Roberts  – NOLA Gold

• Two Tries Scored
• 51 Meters Made
• 21 Kicking Meters

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