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Old Glory DC recovered from an early deficit to defeat the Seattle Seawolves 22-18 at Segra Field on Sunday afternoon. The visitors held a one-point lead at the half but were held scoreless in the second forty as their hosts held on to record a bonus point victory.
Seattle looked up for the challenge in the first half, with the opening try going to Kieran Joyce. Lining up at first receiver on a 5-meter scrum, the inside center took the pass directly from JP Smith and simply ran full tilt at the line with DC’s defense unable to stop him. AJ Alatimu made good on the routine conversion.
A reply came before long from the home side. The Seawolves stopped short charges from Steven Longwell and Thretton Palamo, but Renata Roberts-Te Nana went low and hard to sneak in under the tackle of Samu Manoa. Jason Robertson could not match Alatimu’s effort and the lead stayed with the visitors.
Alatimu landed a penalty goal on the other side of the hydration break but DC fired back within seconds. From his own end Roberts-Te Nana chipped over the line and regathered, finding Danny Tusitala in close support. The scrumhalf might have made the line himself but instead passed to Doug Fraser for the finish. Robertson’s kick hit the upright but the scores were level.
It wasn’t long before the Seawolves would re-take the lead. A second Alatimu penalty goal was followed by a try to Ross Neal. It was a set move from a scrum, with Mat Turner’s outside angle fixing Dylan Taikato-Simpson and leaving Neal unmarked for an easy run-in to give his team an 8-point lead.
Bad luck hit Seattle as Turner was caught awkwardly in a tackle and left with an ankle injury. Devereaux Ferris came on with JP Smith shifting to the wing and Karsten Leitner filling in at fullback. The Canadian attempted to halt Palamo at full flight but the big center fended his way in for a converted try on the stroke of halftime.
As fatigue started to take hold, Old Glory grabbed the lead through their forwards. A hand-off at the lineout attacked the short side, and though the initial drive was stopped short Mike Sosene-Feagai crashed over for the bonus point try. Robertson pushed the kick wide but DC were 4 points ahead.
Late scoring opportunities presented themselves but Seattle couldn’t find the try they needed. A maul was stopped inches short for a turnover, and then Old Glory took a scrum against the head. The final attack broke down with Palamo forcing a knock-on in a heavy tackle on Andrew Durutalo.
Both teams return to action next weekend. Old Glory are up first as they face the SaberCats in Houston on Saturday evening. Seattle return home to Starfire Stadium for a match against Rugby ATL on Sunday.
SCORING
DC 22
Tries – R. Roberts-Te Nana (17’), D. Fraser (24’), T. Palamo (40’), M. Sosene-Feagai (54’)
Cons – J. Robertson 1/4 (40’)
SEATTLE 18
Tries – K. Joyce (9’), R. Neal (32’)
Cons – A. Alatimu 1/2 (10’)
Pens – A. Alatimu 2/2 (23’, 28’)
TEAMS
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jamie Dever (17 Jack Iscaro 65’), 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai (16 Max Lum 65’), 3 Steven Longwell (18 Dante Lopresti 65’), 4 Api Naikatini (19 Casey Renaud 68’), 5 Stan South, 6 Luke Campbell (20 Josh Brown 60’), 7 Callum Gibbins (co-capt.), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Renata Roberts-Te Nana, 12 Thretton Palamo (co-capt.), 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Mike Dabulas, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson
Not used: 21 Danny Thomas, 22 Simi Moala, 23 D’Montae Noble
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa (17 Matt Duncan 52’), 2 James Malcolm (16 Mike Shepherd 75’), 3 Tim Metcher (18 Jake Ilnicki 60’), 4 FP Pelser (20 Conor McGill 60’), 5 Samu Manoa (19 Ben Landry HT), 6 Brad Tucker (23 Naulia Dawai HT), 7 Andrew Durutalo, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Ross Neal, 12 Kieran Joyce (22 Seta Tuilevuka 56’), 13 Shalom Suniula, 14 Karsten Leitner, 15 Mat Turner (21 Devereaux Ferris 38’)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistants: Mike O’Brien (USA) & Gavin McCandless (USA)
