Last weekend, Denver underscored its place as the undisputed capital of women’s professional rugby in America.

Nine months after the Colorado Gray Wolves won the championship to cap the final chapter of the amateur Women’s Premier League, the Denver Onyx, featuring many of the core players from the Gray Wolves, put an exclamation point on the state’s preeminent women’s rugby status with a dominant victory in Sunday’s Legacy Cup championship.

The Onyx blasted the New York Exiles, 53-13, to claim the title at TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minn. The win underscored a dominant 10-1 campaign in the inaugural season of Women’s Elite Rugby, the first professional women’s rugby league in the U.S.

“We really hit the ground running, coming off the experience and continuity the Gray Wolves had,” said Nick Donnelly, the team’s general manager. “They had a lot of time to gel with that and laid the foundation early on, and it really showed on the field.

“Now they’ve won the league, and they can grow this into something that can really change the landscape of American rugby. It definitely is a statement to have an incredible season like this. For those who follow rugby in this country, (it’s reaffirmation) that Denver is the beating heart of rugby in the U.S.”

In the Legacy Cup, the Onyx went down 10-0 early before going on a 53-3 run to close the match. The Onyx led 24-13 at halftime and then shut out the Exiles in the second half as the Denver offense found its rhythm.

Fly-half McKenzie Hawkins starred for Denver, while flanker Tahlia Brody was named championship MVP as the talent-rich Onyx was too much for New York. The Onyx boasted seven current U.S. national team players on the roster, plus a Canadian national team member and a Mexican national team member.

The title triumph avenged their lone loss, a narrow 24-17 road defeat to the Exiles on June 1. Outside of that, Denver blasted teams from start to finish en route to posting a season point differential of plus-409.

“We were excited to play New York in the final, because we could remind not only them, but ourselves, that we are the top team and what happened (on June 1) was just an off day,” Onyx wing/center/fullback KB Slaughter said.

As the WER continues to find its footing as a single-entity league — players weren’t paid in this first season, but travel costs were taken care of and players were provided other resources that were previously out of reach — Slaughter believes the Onyx has the pieces in place to build a dynasty in Glendale.

That potential was underscored by the Onyx’s ability to continue to rack up wins even as national team duties took away its most talented players for a significant chunk of the season. The team also leveraged a relationship with a local men’s team, the Denver Water Dogs, whom they scrimmaged against each week.

“We were one of very few teams that were able to use almost our entire roster,” Slaughter said. “Those on-call (from the reserve roster) were able to come up and put on a jersey and perform at a high level, and that shows how amazing our depth was throughout the season.”

The Onyx averaged about 2,500 fans over five home games at Infinity Park, according to Donnelly. That turnout “far exceeded expectations” for the first year of the league, the GM said. Widespread support for rugby was already there thanks to established clubs like the Colorado Rush Rugby Football Club, Denver Black Ice, Queen City Rugby Football Club and the Gray Wolves.

“Now, as a league, we need to take a step back and figure out the best way forward to ensure that all teams have an equal chance at the start of the season to win the trophy,” said Donnelly, who is also the GM of the Twin Cities Gemini.

“We need to take a good, hard look at the way we distribute that talent. Because ultimately, yes, Denver has already solidified itself as that leading team. And it’s pretty much no surprise to everyone based on where the demand for rugby comes from in the U.S. and many of the top players reside.”

With all of the players on one-year contracts, everyone on the Onyx is now a free agent. But Donnelly anticipates a large part of the roster to remain intact, even as the club will lose a handful of players to Europe.

Already, two Onyx players are headed to the Premiership Women’s Rugby in England, as Brody signed with the Loughborough Lightning and fly-half/center Kristin Bitter signed with the Leicester Tigers. Donnelly said the WER will also have conversations this offseason about the next step toward paying players.

“It’s definitely creeping closer. We want to make sure we’re moving as quickly as we can to paying players and making sure they are compensated for the work they do,” Donnelly said. “That’s the direction we’re headed.”

But Slaughter acknowledges that from a player’s perspective, the league still has boxes to check before stipends or salaries become realistic.

“We understand (payment) is the end goal, but we want everyone to take stadiums of their own,” Slaughter said. “We also want everyone to have as much merchandise as they need, or have the training staff, team gym access, all of that.

“Getting paid is something we hope for in the future, but there are definitely still some things that have to get ironed out first before that’s even a possibility.”