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The Seattle Seawolves and San Diego Legion have made a second trade in a span of days. Hooker Sean McNulty heads back to California with second row Ben Mitchell moving north to Washington state. Earlier this week San Diego sent hooker Peter Malcolm to Seattle for salary cap considerations.
McNulty, 27, joins his fifth MLR team. He made his league debut on loan with Rugby United New York in 2019 before joining the New England Free Jacks in 2020. The LA Giltinis came calling in 2021 and there he stayed until being traded to Seattle part-way through the 2022 campaign. An Ireland u20 international, McNulty is US-eligible by cumulative residency having lived in New York in his youth.
Mitchell played two seasons with Austin Elite before signing on with the Legion ahead of the 2020 campaign. His consistently strong form was rewarded with selection to the USA Selects for the 2021 Americas Pacific Challenge after qualifying on consecutive residency.
A former Irish Universities representative, the 28-year-old fills a gap in the Seawolves lock stables left by the departures of Victor Comptat to France and Brad Tucker to New York. Seattle have indicated that Mitchell has already signed a three-year deal through the 2025 Major League Rugby season.
