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It’s a rematch of the 2022 Championship Final on Saturday. New York were the winners over the Seattle Seawolves in June. This time the travel boots are on the other foot as the defending champions travel from coast-to-coast under a new banner – the Ironworkers.
New York also have a new Head Coach in James Semple. He was last seen in Major League Rugby as a player-coach with Utah in 2019. Semple will field a starting lineup featuring eight players who also ran out at Red Bull Arena seven months ago.
A surprise in the backline sees Sam Windsor getting the nod at No10 with Jack Heighton shifting to fullback. Conor McManus is the successor to Andy Ellis at scrumhalf, and Super Rugby veteran Teihorangi Walden is set to take his first steps in MLR.
Up front there is one new name in second row Hamish Dalzell. It’s Brad Tucker, however, who will get much of the attention having suited up for Seattle for the past four seasons. Tighthead prop Sam Davies will make his first appearance as a replacement.
The Seawolves bid farewell to Tucker, but also welcomed some new names during the off-season. Allen Clarke will be looking to carry over their postseason form and send a message to other challengers that his men are ready to defend their Western Conference crown.
There is also a surprise choice at flyhalf for the home side as new arrival Jordan Chait starts ahead of incumbent AJ Alatimu, who settles for a spot among the reserves. The other new name in the backline is former Austin winger Conner Mooneyham, while scrumhalf Karl Keane could debut from the bench.
Peter Malcolm makes his club debut in the No2 shirt ahead of namesake James Malcolm. Flanker duo Charles Elton and Ronan Foley are also new to Seattle, arriving from Otago and Toronto respectively. Jake Turnbull and Mason Pedersen have followed Mooneyham from Texas to the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle’s selection, however, is under scrutiny given the inclusion of 11 players who are not domestic-eligible. Their match-day limit is currently restricted to 10 imports. ARN has asked MLR for clarification but at the time of writing has not received an explanation from the league.
Chilly and damp conditions are on the forecast but that is nothing out of the ordinary for either side. The travel, however, could affect the visitors in the second half. Both teams feature strong benches which should otherwise make for an even contest. New York won by two points in their last visit to Tukwila. We’ll take the home side by the same margin this time around.
Kickoff is set for 6:30pm local time, 9:30pm Eastern. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast the game nationwide with The Rugby Network streaming for viewers abroad.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola, 2 Peter Malcolm, 3 Sam Matenga, 4 Ben Landry, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Charles Elton, 7 Ronan Foley, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Jordan Chait, 11 Martin Iosefo, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dan Kriel, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Jake Turnbull, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Taylor Krumrei, 20 Nakai Penny, 21 Karl Keane, 22 AJ Alatimu, 23 Lauina Futi
NEW YORK IRONWORKERS
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Nic Mayhew, 4 Nate Brakeley (capt.), 5 Hamish Dalzell, 6 Brad Tucker, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 Conor McManus, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Ed Fidow, 12 Jason Emery, 13 Teihorangi Walden, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Jack Heighton
Replacements: 16 Kaleb Geiger, 17 Anthony Parry, 18 Sam Davies, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Connor Buckley, 22 Quinn Ngawati, 23 Fa’asiu Fuatai
Date: Saturday, February 18
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 18:30 local (21:30 Eastern)
Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Assistants: Brad Schwalger (Canada) & Clint Lemkus (Canada)
TMO: Derek Summers
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 1, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-06-25 – Rugby New York 30, Seattle Seawolves 15 (Red Bull Arena)
2022-05-15 – Rugby New York 30, Seattle Seawolves 22 (JFK Stadium)
2021-05-02 – Seattle Seawolves 21, Rugby United New York 23 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-05-11 – Rugby United New York 31, Seattle Seawolves 38 (MCU Park)
2019-02-24 – Seattle Seawolves 33, Rugby United New York 21 (Starfire Stadium)
