Matai Leuta

Matai Leuta (born July 20, 1990) is an American rugby union player who currently plays for the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR). Matai has gained international honors playing for the United States National Rugby Sevens Team.

Matai has had an extensive rugby sevens career, playing in 215 HSBC World Sevens Series matches in 44 tournaments, and scoring 31 tries. He played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2018 in San Francisco and was on Team USA for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He also played for the Houston Sabercats in 2022 and for the Chicago Hounds in 2023.

Leuta has played professional rugby with Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) since 2021. He was a member of the 2021 New York Locals but has played the last two seasons with the SoCal Loggerheads.^[1]

Early life

Matai is from Marina, California, and spent much of his childhood in Fiji. When he returned to California as a teenager, he attended Seaside High School, graduating in 2008. While he played rugby as a youth, his senior year in high school he helped the Seaside Spartans win the Monterey Bay League in football.

Matai played for the Monterey Beachdogs when he attended Monterey Peninsula College, and later with the San Jose Seahawks. Leuta became serious in 2013 about pursuing rugby professionally, and improved his diet and fitness.^[2]

Leuta was discovered in early 2015 at a recruitment camp at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego, California.^[3][4]

International rugby career

Leuta joined the U.S. national rugby sevens team in 2015.^[5]

Leuta scored his first World Series try at the 2015 Japan Sevens against Portugal when he caught the ball from the U.S. own kickoff and broke through two tacklers to score.^[6] Leuta was a member of the U.S. team at the 2015 London Sevens, where the U.S. secured its first ever tournament victory in the World Rugby Sevens Series; Leuta was a starter for the final of that tournament, helping the U.S. defeat Australia 45-22 to win the tournament.

Professional rugby union career

Leuta's last year with the national sevens team was in 2021. Since then, he has played professionally in Premier Rugby Sevens with the SoCal Loggerheads and in Major League Rugby with the Chicago Hounds.

Premier Rugby Sevens

2023

Leuta remained a SoCal Loggerhead for the second-straight season, helping the team secure its second Premier Rugby Sevens Championship.^[7] The Loggerheads started the season 0-2 to then go on a four-game winning streak to claim the title. Leuta ended the season with one try, five points, five tackles, and one steal.

Leuta missed the first stop in Minneapolis with the Loggerheads but hopped on the tour in San Jose, Ca. when PR7s hosted the Western Conference Finals at PayPal Park. The Loggerheads got out to a hot start, defeating the Golden State Retrievers 17-15 to advance to the finals. The Loggerheads downed the Rocky Mountain Experts 15-12, securing their first tournament win of the season and advancing to the PR7s Championship in Washington, D.C. in August.^[8] Leuta finished the tournament with one try.

At the PR7s Championship at Audi Field, the Loggerheads faced the Experts in the opening match where they clinched a 21-14 win, advancing to the title game. It was a defensive battle against the Pittsburgh Steeltoes for the crown, but the Loggerheads secured a 10-5 win, marking their second straight PR7s Championship. Leuta totaled four tackles and one steel in the Championship tournament.^[9]

2022

Leuta was picked up by the Loggerheads for the three-stop circuit in 2022. After falling short in the first to tournaments in San Jose, Calif., and Washington, D.C., Leuta and the Loggerheads came from behind to secure the 2022 Men’s Premier Rugby Sevens Championship title in Austin, Tx. at Q2 Stadium.^[10]

2021

Leuta suited up with the Locals during the PR7s inaugural season. Leuta and the Locals took third place after defeating the Loonies 24-10 in the bronze medal match.  Leuta recorded two tries throughout the day, scoring one in the third-place matchup and the other earlier in the day when they took a 26-5 loss against the future 2021 Champions, the Experts.^[11]

References

External links

• Matai Leuta first international try: U.S. vs Portugal at 2015 Japan Sevens

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