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The final game of Week 10 sees the Seattle Seawolves hosting Rugby ATL at Starfire Stadium on Sunday evening. It’s the first ever match between the two, with their scheduled meeting in the later parts of the 2020 campaign cancelled.
It’s been a very different path to the midpoint of the season for both. Rugby ATL have enjoyed a successful first half and are currently at the top of the East Conference standings. They were decisive winners over the New England Free Jacks in Marietta last weekend.
Five personnel changes have been made to the starting lineup, two in the forwards. Conor Keys comes into the second row with Marno Redelinghuys shifting to the blindside flank. Ross Deacon is a straight swap at No8 for Jason Damm. The beefy back row is preferred with Starfire’s narrow pitch making it difficult to find space out wide.
Rowan Gouws is recalled at scrumhalf with Bautista Ezcurra coming in at inside center. Mark O’Keeffe pushes out one spot in the midfield, Te Rangatira Waitokia moves to fullback, and Jeremy Misailegalu comes in on the right wing. Midfielder Sean Coughlan makes his first match day roster appearance of the season on the bench.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Seawolves have won only two of eight games and sit at the bottom of the West Conference. They have shown some signs of life recently, however, with a home win over San Diego two weeks ago and last weekend’s loss to Old Glory by only four points.
It’s an all-new second row pairing as Rhyno Herbst returns from injury and Ben Landry starts for the first time in a Seattle shirt. The same goes for Fiji international Naulia Dawai, who comes in on the blindside flank after debuting off the bench in Leesburg. Brad Tucker settles for a spot among the reserves.
There are three changes in the backs. Seta Tuilevuka and Suliasi Tamaivena start at outside center and right wing respectively. A broken ankle suffered by Mat Turner against DC sees Juan Pablo Aguirre getting his first MLR start since the 2019 season, and his first professional appearance at fullback.
Atlanta to Seattle is a long trip and one that the Ratlers have yet to experience. The weather forecast suggests ideal conditions leaving form the best indicator presuming ATL can manage the jet lag. There is no question that the visitors have been the better side this season and the travel factor isn’t enough to shift the favorite status to the Seawolves.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on Root Sports in Seattle, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 2 James Malcolm, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Ben Landry, 6 Naulia Dawai, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Ross Neal, 12 Kieran Joyce, 13 Seta Tuilevuka, 14 Suliasi Tamaivena, 15 Juan Pablo Aguirre
Replacements: 16 Mike Shepherd, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Conor McGill, 20 Brad Tucker, 21 Devereaux Ferris, 22 George Barton, 23 Aaron Matthews
RUGBY ATL
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 3 Wikus Groenewald, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Rowan Gouws, 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 Austin White, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 13 Mark O’Keeffe, 14 Jeremy Misailegalu, 15 Te Rangatira Waitokia
Replacements: 16 Neethling Gericke, 17 Alex Maughan, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Vili Helu, 20 Jason Damm, 21 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 22 Robbie Petzer, 23 Sean Coughlan
Date: Sunday, May 23
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 17:00 local (20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Jack Gohl (Australia)
Assistants: Denny Russell (USA) & Brett Johnson (USA)
Broadcasts: Root Sports, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
n/a
