Seattle and Glendale Split Legends Cup

The highly anticipated Legends Cup between the Seattle Saracens and Glendale Raptors lived up to the hype. The two powerhouse clubs went toe to toe on Saturday. Both clubs coming away with clean 1-1-1 split in their matches, with Glendale edging out Seattle 40-33 on aggregate. The event was hopefully a sign of more to come between the two clubs.

The Legends Cup day kicked off with the Seattle and Glendale Women’s sides taking the pitch. While Glendale is the reigning WPL champs, Seattle proved to be a formidable opponent. Glendale was first on the scoreboard with a try from wing Kelly Mullen. Glendale added a penalty shortly after to stake a 8-0 first half lead, but Seattle were challenging on all fronts. The Raptors added another try in the second half from Denali Graham to extend their lead to 13-0. The two sides slugged it out for the remainder of the half as the match ended with Glendale taking a 13-0 win.

In the second match of the day, the men’s 2nds took the pitch. Just as with the first match of the day, the 2nds battled from start to finish. The sides battled to a 13-13 standstill, leaving the final match of the day to decide the Legends Cup honors.

The main event didn’t disappoint as Seattle came from behind to defeat Glendale 20-14. After exchanging missed penalty goals early in the first half, Glendale were first on the scoreboard with a try from Brian Wanless. Armandt Peens added the conversion and the Raptors held a 7-0 lead. Justin Pauga added to the Raptor’s lead with a try to give the squad a 14-0 lead and much of the early advantage in the match. Seattle regrouped and cut into the Glendale lead after a Nick Evans try left the match at 14-5. Saracens weren’t finished as Val Lee-Lo scored a try to make it 14-10 as the teams moved into halftime.

The two sides kept up the pressure in the second half, but Saracens kept the Raptors off of the scoreboard. Seattle took their first lead of the match after a try from Mike Nelson gave them a 15-14 advantage. Saracens added some cushion after a try from Jope Motokana left the score at 20-14. That is where the score remained as Seattle picked up the win in the feature match.

Seattle now returns to their BC Premier League schedule with a February 6th match away against Simon Fraser University. Glendale begins their Pacific Rugby Premiership season next week on the road against Olympic Club.

“You measure yourself against a quality team that are the champions of their league. Strength vs. strength,” said Glendale Head Coach Andre Snyman.“The last two years, we never had a game before the PRP started,” Snyman added. “This time we do, so it will be interesting to see what kind of impact it has. It will help the guys settle their nerves and get the rust and the dust off of themselves. The bottom line is to get the guys game time and prepare them for the season.”