Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The LA Giltinis were made to earn a 29-14 win over the Seawolves on Sunday that restored their place at the top of the Western Conference. Starfire Stadium’s usually raucous partisan crowd was somewhat subdued as spectators and players alike endured searing hot temperatures in the midst of a record-setting heatwave in the Pacific Northwest.
It was a nightmare opening for the Seawolves. The Giltinis had orchestrated a try for Adam Ahse with not even two minutes on the clock. In the backdrop lay Brad Tucker and Mat Turner, the former helped off after suffering a game-ending lower leg injury.
The two sides exchanged scrum penalties and a Seattle advance was repelled. At the other end simple hands put John Ryberg into space, the winger cutting back inside and popping to Cristian Rodriguez for a straight sprint to the line. Luke Carty tacked on two more.
Sitiveni Tamaivena sparked a furious attack at the half-hour mark. The winger barged straight through the line on a set move from a scrum. Quick ball to AJ Alatimu hit the Samoan international going full tilt but a desperate ankle-tap from Bill Meakes felled Alatimu just two meters short. Suliasi Tamaivena crashed over the line only for the ball to be held up in the tackle.
Alatimu tried a cross-kick to Siti Tamaivena that didn’t quite stay in-goal, and then Meakes produced another try-saving tackle. Lauina Futi stepped back inside and had the momentum to score but Meakes appeared at the nick of time and dove under his opposite number to prevent the grounding.
The momentum stayed with Seattle until a loose pass bounced up for Rodriguez. He made it inside the Seattle 22 and the cavalry showed up just behind. Two wide passes changed the point of attack and there was nobody set to stop a speeding Ryan James from swan diving over.
Meakes switched to offensive mode for the bonus point try just before halftime. Carty’s chip over the top bounced fortuitously for Glenn Bryce. More footwork from Rodriguez kept the ball alive and then Meakes skipped past the attention of three challengers to score.
Seattle lost Juan Pablo Aguirre just 95 seconds into the second half. Moses Lalasava entered the game, and then finally they caught a break. Dave Dennis received a yellow card for team infringements and from the ensuing scrum Siti Tamaivena again popped up at first receiver and crashed through, rolling through the tackle to ground the ball.
LA lost a second man to the bin in quick succession when Jean-Pierre Smith clothes-lined Riekert Hattingh. Nonetheless it was the Giltinis who scored next through the boot of Carty. Alatimu inspired a response from the Seawolves. First he poked a grubber in behind the defense to gain territory, then he stepped and off-loaded to Conor McGill for the try.
Replacements streamed into the match after the second hydration break and disrupted the flow of play. One final attack from the Seawolves was stopped with Adam Channel casually booting the ball to touch from a turnover to end the game.
It’s a road game for Seattle next Saturday as they head south to play the San Diego Legion. LA head back to the Memorial Coliseum where they host the NOLA Gold on Sunday.
SCORING
SEATTLE 14
Tries – Si. Tamaivena (45’), C. McGill (54’)
Cons – A. Alatimu 2/2 (46’, 55’)
LA 29
Tries – A. Ashe (2’), C. Rodriguez (20’), R. James (35’), B. Meakes (40’)
Cons – L. Carty 3/4 (2’, 21’, 36’)
Pens – L. Carty 1/1 (52’)
Yellow cards – D. Dennis (44’), J. Smith (47’)
TEAMS
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa (17 Henry Hall 65’), 2 Mike Shepherd (16 Halleluiah Tiauli 76’), 3 Tim Metcher (18 Gavin Prentice 61’), 4 Victor Comptat (19 Conor McGill 49’), 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Brad Tucker (20 Naulia Dawai 2’), 7 Travis Larsen, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith (21 Devereaux Ferris 69’), 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Suliasi Tamaivena, 12 Lauina Futi, 13 Juan Pablo Aguirre (22 Moses Lalasava 42’), 14 Sitiveni Tamaivena*, 15 Mat Turner (23 Karsten Leitner 74’)
*14 Sitiveni Tamaivena left the field at 78 mins and could not be replaced.
LA GILTINIS
1 Jean-Pierre Smith (17 Sione Tu’ihalamaka 64’), 2 Sean McNulty (16 Gelen Robinson 64’), 3 Marco Fepulea’i (18 Ma’ake Muti 61’), 4 Dave Dennis (capt.) (19 Sean O’Brien 68’), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Angus Cottrell (20 Ben Weischedel 76’), 7 Pago Haini, 8 Adam Ashe, 9 Cristian Rodriguez, 10 Luke Carty (21 Luke Burton 61’), 11 Ryan James (23 Adam Channel 61’), 12 Serupepeli Vularika, 13 Bill Meakes, 14 John Ryberg (22 Jonetani Vasurakuta 76’), 15 Glenn Bryce
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Denny Russell (USA) & Brett Johnson (USA)
