NEWS

Back Of The Year: Nate Augspurger, San Diego Legion

Written by Joe Harvey

After taking his team to the Championship Final for the first time in four seasons, San Diego Legion stalwart Nate Augspurger, is Major League Rugby’s Back of the Year in 2023.

Throughout the season, the 33-year-old was a constant threat to Danny Lee’s team and drove his team forward thanks to his elusive running and a decade’s experience in elite rugby.

“It’s an honor to be recognized as the Back of the Year,” Augspurger said. “These awards feel fleeting because there are so many quality performers throughout the entire season, so to have my name filled in as the ‘winner’ is humbling.

“My hat goes off to those also deserving of the award, and shoutout to my brothers at the Legion for serving it up all season.”

Just a look at the stats, and you can see why Augspurger pipped some of his peers to Back of the Year.

Among other things, he scored 11 tries in the regular season, ran for a league-high 1,859 meters, averaged 12 meters per carry, and beat some 48 defenders.

Augspurger would not be kept out in the playoffs, either. Scoring a brace of tries in the Championship Final, Augspurger’s potent threat was not enough to better the Free Jacks, who ultimately won 25-24 at SeatGeek Stadium.

Second sensational try of the afternoon Nate Augspurger and the @SDLegion are back on top!

📺 @FOXTV | #SDvNE | #QuestForTheShield | #MLR2023 pic.twitter.com/yKXQSESl5c

— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) July 8, 2023

What makes all of these numbers burst into further meaning is that this is Augspurger’s debut season playing on the wing.

Over the years, for club and country, the Minnesota native was deployed at scrum-half and was often the heartbeat of his team.

Toward the end of last year, Augspurger was deployed on the wing for USA Rugby, a trend he maintained when returning to the domestic game some months later.

“I loved being on the wing,” he said. “There is a different type of freedom and expression playing on the edge versus being in the middle seat at scrum-half.

“I just embraced it. All of the training over time has equipped me for playing high-level rugby, and I got to showcase my ability and other parts of my game that I have worked hard on while consistently playing on the wing this past season.”

Photo by Davey Wilson

While Augspurger, the individual, was impressive, the team he operated in was, too. San Diego was superb from start to finish, experiencing a record-breaking season on their way to finishing as eventual runners-up.

Their records broken include the MLR home attendance record, being unbeaten at Snapdragon Stadium all season long, and even usurped the New England Free Jacks’ winning streak from a year prior, extending it to 11 games.

A mainstay for the Legion since the team’s inception ahead of MLR’s inaugural 2018 season, Augspurger has now tasted defeat in the Championship Final for a second time.

Lifting the Shield has been the only thing to elude the experienced campaigner in his years in Southern California.

Even after coming so agonizingly close again, Augspurger is the first to see the positives. 

After languishing outside of the playoffs in 2021 and making the Eliminator game in 2022 by way of reprieve, the 33-year-old gushes with praise for the environment that has been created on the West Coast.

“I feel like it was an exciting season,” Augspurger said. “The Legion had a massive improvement from the previous season.

“We achieved and set some new markers for our team and the league. I don’t believe winning teams happen overnight, we were the best team in the league for many reasons, and one of those reasons was the joy we felt inside our club.

“We weren’t the best team in the league on the day of the Final, but the performances we put in over the entirety of the season was something I will always cherish and not forget.”

Photo by John Matthew Harrison

With the offseason came a new direction. For a time, that direction for Augspurger was with the USA national team as they took on Romania, Portugal, and Georgia in August.

After a season in which such strides were made, San Diego will likely be contenders again in 2024.

“I’m a big believer in faith,” Augspurger said. “I keep my hopes up for the future and what it holds. I think 2024 will certainly be another step up across the league, and I am here for it.

“The best is yet to come.”