Over the summer, Nike Rugby Camps San Diego partnered with the MLR’s San Diego Legion to create the NIKE Legion Selects age-grade select side.

The NIKE Legion Selects, a high school aged touring side, warmed up with games against SoCal EIRA and the Arizona Bobcats before playing in the Great NW Challenge. Following that, the team traveled to Australia for an 11-day tour.

The team consisted of 28 of San Diego’s top players and was coached by Ethan Willis, Ian Denham, and Kalei Konrad. In partnership with the Legion, the Selects had training sessions with Legion Head Coach Rob Hoadley and Legion Academy Director and USA Legend Zack Test.

While in Australia the NIKE Legion Selects were immersed in Australian culture and trained with the Waratah’s coaching staff and Wallaby great Glen Ella. The team played in three competitive games. In their first game the NIKE Legion Selects lost a tough game to the accomplished Waverley School. Following the game versus Waverley, the NIKE Legion Selects made some defensive adjustments that would ultimately benefit the team. The NIKE Legion Selects won their final two games versus West Harbour and a very tough Knox College team. Standouts on the team included center Max Smith, prop Isaac Tinoisamoa, and No. 8 Jake Stone.

"The NIKE Legion Selects tour and the partnership with the Legion was a natural progression for us," said NIKE Camps Director Ethan Willis. "Our goal has always been to give players opportunities to develop on and off the field by providing them with top level coaching and the chance to compete and react in challenging environments."

The tour was also a win for the Legion.

"The collaboration between Nike and Legion is a key initiative to bring the best San Diego high school players together to form a high-performance program," Legion executive David Pool said. "The collaboration with NIKE Camps will continue to be expanded to provide young players access to Legion coaches and Legion players to ultimately improve youth rugby in San Diego."

The NIKE Legion Selects program plans to expand programming in 2020 with another international tour and domestic matches.

NIKE Legion Selects 2019 Roster