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The Seattle Seawolves will open their 2022 Major League Rugby season at home on Sunday evening when they welcome the Toronto Arrows to Tukwila. It wasn’t until May when Starfire Stadium finally saw action in 2021, and the Seawolves will be hoping the more optimal schedule will spark a revival of fortunes.
Despite the geographical distance between their respective cities, the two sides have built a competitive rivalry that dates back to the 2019 season when the Seawolves defeated the Arrows in the Semi Final en route to a second consecutive championship win. With Vancouver yet to secure a franchise, Seattle’s proximity has also seen them as a preferred spot for Canadian players from the West Coast.
Three Canadians are currently with the Seawolves with Nakai Penny making his return from long-term injury at openside flanker. Travis Larsen will provide loose forward backup with scrumhalf Reid Watkins set to make his MLR debut against the team he joined in the latter stages of last season.
Dewald Donald makes his first regular season appearance in the No1 shirt with fellow South African Rhyno Herbst starting at lock after celebrating the birth of his daughter earlier this week. Brad Tucker will partner Herbst in the engine room with Ben Landry named on the blindside flank. Victor Comptat will provide cover having returned from France, and Matt Duncan is called up to the bench to provide prop cover having made one replacement appearance in 2021.
Four new signings adorn an imposing backline selection. Eagles bolter Tavite Lopeti makes his highly anticipated league debut alongside Dan Kriel in the midfield, with another South African age grade cap Duncan Matthews named at fullback. USA Sevens star Martin Iosefo is on one wing with Ross Neal returning from the English Premiership to start on the other. New arrival Lopeti Aisea could make his first MLR appearance as a replacement.
The Arrows endured an horrendous season in 2021 after being forced to play away from Toronto for its entirety. While the travel seems long, it won’t be as troublesome with the team set to play an historic ‘home’ game on Vancouver Island in Week 2. Peter Smith starts his tenure as Head Coach with four new caps in the starting lineup and three more on the bench.
Prop duo Isaac Salmon and Lolani Faleiva have arrived from New Zealand with the former starting at tighthead and the latter providing loosehead cover. Former NOLA captain Kyle Baillie packs down beside newly-named skipper Mike Sheppard at lock, and Ireland u20 international Ronan Foley gets the first shot at the No8 jersey after arriving late last season. Openside flanker James O’Neill is set for his pro debut, one of six forwards named as replacements.
Will Kelly is given the first opportunity at flyhalf with vice-captain Sam Malcolm sitting out. Ueta Tufuga lines up at outside center in his first regular season appearance and former Canada 7s cap and u20 star Conor McCann is given the nod at fullback after a seven-year hiatus from high performance rugby. Brandan Ferguson could make his professional debut after impressing with the Arrows Academy and local club Peterborough Pagans.
This is a compelling match-up that could go either way. The Seawolves are always a stiff challenge on home turf but the Arrows have won in Seattle before. Both sides look to have had successful preseasons and feature a balance of returning players and new faces. Toronto are tipped for a return to form in 2022 but the Starfire factor gives the Seawolves the favorites tag in a coin toss decision.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 10pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on Root Sports in Seattle, with TSN’s digital channels available to Canadians and The Rugby Network streaming across the USA and to viewers abroad.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Dewald Donald, 2 James Malcolm, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Brad Tucker, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Martin Iosefo, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dan Kriel, 14 Ross Neal, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Mike Brown, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 Matt Duncan, 19 Victor Comptat, 20 Travis Larsen, 21 Reid Watkins, 22 Kieran Joyce, 23 Lopeti Aisea
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Cole Keith, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Kyle Baillie, 5 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Will Kelly, 11 Gastón Mieres, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Ueta Tufuga, 14 Mitch Richardson, 15 Conor McCann
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Lolani Faleiva, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Mason Flesch, 21 James O’Neill, 22 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Brandan Ferguson
Date: Sunday, February 6
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:00 local (22:00 Eastern)
Referee: Shanda Assmus (Canada)
Broadcasts: Root Sports, The Rugby Network, TSN.ca
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-04-17 – Toronto Arrows 52, Seattle Seawolves 7 (Lupo Family Field)
2020-02-22 – Seattle Seawolves 17, Toronto Arrows 39 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-06-09 – Seattle Seawolves 30, Toronto Arrows 17 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-04-28 – Toronto Arrows 29, Seattle Seawolves 7 (York Alumni Field)
2019-02-17 – Seattle Seawolves 35, Toronto Arrows 30 (Starfire Stadium)
