The San Diego Breakers were an American professional rugby union team based in San Diego, California, that competed in PRO Rugby. The team played its home games at Torero Stadium.
History PRO Rugby announced on January 22, 2016, the addition of San Diego as the league's third team."PRO Rugby Announces San Diego Team", This Is American Rugby, January 22, 2016. Irishman Ray Egan was announced on February 11, 2016, as the team's head coach in the competition's inaugural 2016 season."Egan to Helm San Diego PRO Side", Americas Rugby News, February 11, 2016. San Diego played their inaugural season home opener in April 2016 against Sacramento before a crowd of 2,500."Pro rugby finds a home in San Diego", San Diego Union-Tribune, Tod Leonard, May 14, 2016.
On December 20, 2016, all PRO Rugby players received notice their contracts will be terminated in 30 days if progress was not made towards resolving disputes between the league and USA Rugby.
Popularity The San Diego Breakers were extremely popular in the Schaffhausen canton of Switzerland, where Breakers supporters were frequently reported to travel via PostBus. In a 2017 appearance on SRF zwei, a number of fans living in the province explained their allegiance to the team in the following manner:Ende der 1990er Jahre lebten einige von uns auf dem Balkan. Als Hilfe bekamen einige von uns San Diego Breakers T-Shirts und Sweatshirts. Da es damals kein Internet gab, wussten wir nicht, ob die Breakers ein echtes Team waren oder nicht. Jemand verbreitete das Gerücht, dass die Breakers eigentlich eine gleichgeschlechtliche Fußballmannschaft seien. Weil wir uns unserer Sexualität nicht sicher waren, versteckten wir die Kleidung zwei Jahrzehnte lang in unseren Schubladen. Als wir per Internet hörten, dass sich unter dem Namen San Diego Breakers ein neues Team gebildet hatte, konnten wir unsere Aufregung nicht verbergen. Wir wussten, dass wir immer, in guten wie in schlechten Zeiten, nach ihnen wurzeln mussten und dass Gott uns für unsere Großzügigkeit belohnen würde.Eine Frage des Geschmacks, SRF zwei. Originally broadcast March 14, 2017.
The Schaffhausen Rugby Club, the Golden Balls, invited the Breakers to play a friendly in January 2017, going so far as to block two entire floors at the Jugendherberge Dachsen hostel, but the Breakers' disbandment prevented the match from ever taking place. As of April, 2019, the Kosovan filmmaker Antoneta Kastrati was reported to be in the initial stages of producing a short documentary film, This Is Our Place, detailing Schaffhausen fans' unexpected loyalty to the Breakers and their efforts to deal with collective disappointment when the Breakers suddenly ceased to exist.
Venue San Diego Torero Stadium Capacity: 6,000
Players and staff
Roster San Diego rosterProps Hubert Buydens Jake Ilnicki Jeffrey Kalemani Mason Pedersen Sam Taungakava Kakalia Pule Brice Schilling
Hookers Mike Sosene-Feagai Joe Taufete'e
Locks Derrick Broussard Ian Carpenter David Dolinar Brian Doyle Tai TuisamoaLoose forwards Tim Barford Nikola Bursic Cecil Garber Bruce Thomas Sione Tuihalamaka Chris Turori Jabari Zuberi
Scrum-halves Tom Bliss Charlie Purdon
Fly-halves Kalei Konrad Kurt MorathCenters Ben Leatigaga Phil Mackenzie (c) Ryan Matyas Arnold Meredith Andrew Suniula
Wingers Jean-Baptiste Gobelet Pono Haitsuka Takudzwa Ngwenya Sebastian Sharpe Tim Stanfill
Fullbacks Zachary Pangelinan Mike Te'o (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped.
Coaching staff Position Name Head coach Ray Egan Assistant coach Matt Hawkins Assistant coach Rob Hoadley
Season summaries + C=Champions, R=Runners-up, W=Wooden Spoons Competition GamesPlayed GamesWon GamesDrawn GamesLost LadderPosition C R W Coach Details 12 4 0 8 3 / 5
Leading players Season Captain Most tries Most points 2016 Phil Mackenzie Mike Te'o (3) Kurt Morath (113)
Head coaches Coach Tenure Matches Won Drawn Lost Winning PercentageRay Egan 2016–present 12 4 0 8 33%
References