Seawolves come from behind to win in NOLA thriller

A stunning come-from-behind performance from the Seawolves saw the visitors earning a thrilling 36-35 victory over the NOLA Gold on Sunday. Seattle recovered from an 18-point second half deficit to keep their perfect start to the season intact.

It was the worst possible start for the Gold. The kickoff from AJ Alatimu was misjudged and instead fell directly into the arms of Conner Mooneyham running at speed, who swerved past the unexpecting cover to score just seconds into the game. Alatimu sent the ball through the points to make it a full seven.

The Gold won a penalty at the scrum but Rodney Iona’s attempt from 45 meters hung up in the wind. Seattle went back on the attack and Peter Malcolm crashed over the line from the back of a driving maul, but Iona got under the ball to prevent the grounding. Instead the visitors would settle for a three-pointer from the boot of Alatimu to make it 10-nil at the hydration break.

NOLA’s fortunes changed dramatically when play resumed. A loose pass from Seattle in their own end was snatched up by Pat O’Toole. The forwards sucked in the defense and then the ball went left to the short side where Dougie Fife was waiting, slicing back inside to score the try.

Discipline hurt the Seawolves next with an off-the-ball penalty leading to an attacking lineout for the Gold. The ball came off the top and Jordan Jackson-Hope took on the line, popping a short pass to an oncoming JP du Plessis. Though met almost immediately by David Busby, du Plessis kept his legs pumping through the tackle just long enough to ground the ball on the line.

du Plessis then showed his defensive prowess with a turnover at the breakdown to thwart a Seawolves attack. Damian Stevens sent the ball deep into Seattle territory and JP Smith’s attempt to clear went drifted too far, putting the Gold back in prime position. A hard run up the middle from du Plessis breached the gainline and after several phases Tom Florence drove in from close range.

The Gold wave kept coming. After probing on the right side, a wide pass from du Plessis found Cael Hodgson on the left sideline. He offloaded to O’Toole, who in turn popped off the deck to Cam Dolan for what looked a sensational try. On review, however, the pass from du Plessis was ruled forward and the Seawolves escaped to halftime trailing 21-10.

There would be no escape early in the second half. NOLA won their own kickoff and put the Seawolves on the back foot. Iona spotted a gap and split the line. He was stopped by Duncan Matthews just short, but the Seattle fullback prevented the ball from being played and the referee determined a probable try would have been scored. Matthews went to the bin, and seven points went up on the board.

A missed tackle in broken play let Peter Malcolm slip through on halfway. Ben Mitchell took it into striking range, and the Seawolves didn’t let up until Dan Kriel punched over for a try. Alatimu’s conversion would be his last act of the game, with Jordan Chait coming on at flyhalf for Seattle.

Matthews returned just as the Seawolves worked their way into Gold territory and won a penalty in front of the sticks. They turned down the shot at goal in favor of a scrum, and the decision paid off. A set move was executed to perfection with NOLA’s defense caught out of position and Mooneyham had a double in the corner. Chait’s first kick from the sideline split the uprights to make it a four-point game.

The alarm bells grew louder as the Seawolves again moved up the field. Chait stabbed a grubber in behind the defense and Fife was there to dive on the ball, but it was carried over the line to concede a 5-meter scrum. Though Smith’s run from the base was met head-on by Malcolm May, there was no stopping Mason Pedersen on the short side. Chait couldn’t match his earlier effort from the left touchline but the visitors were now ahead.

Iona had a shot at the posts on a penalty straight after the restart, but his kick was pushed wide right. Tavite Lopeti the broke free to put NOLA back on their heels. Matthews held off a defender with his left arm and with his right popped to Jake Turnbull for another Seawolves try. The extras from Chait made it a two-score game with 10 minutes to play.

Just when it seemed as though the jig was up, some life returned to NOLA’s lungs. They won a lineout on their own 5-meter line and chose to run it out. Iona’s chip into space was regathered by Luke Campbell. Two phases later Iona found a gap and then found Campbell on his right to take the ball in for a superb try. The kick was good from Iona and it was all to play for with two minutes left on the clock.

Again the Gold chose to run from their own end. Florence broke from inside the 22-meter to beyond halfway, connecting with Campbell. Jackson-Hope and du Plessis were next to take it on, and then a charging run from Maciu Koroi came within a meter of the line but Charles Elton was first over the ball to win the turnover, and with it the spoils went to the Seawolves.

It’s a short turnaround for the Seawolves, who return to Starfire Stadium for a mouth-watering clash against the San Diego Legion next Saturday. The Gold will have a timely week off to recover ahead of their next game at home against Rugby ATL on Saturday, April 15.

 

SCORING

NOLA 35
Tries (5) – D. Fife (15′), J. du Plessis (26′), T. Florence (32′), Penalty try (43′), L. Campbell (77′)
Cons (5) – R. Iona 4/4 (16′, 27′, 33′, 78′), No kick (43′)
Pens (0) – R. Iona 0/2

SEATTLE 36
Tries (5) – C. Mooneyham 2 (1′, 57′), D. Kriel (50′), M. Pedersen (61′), J. Turnbull (69′)
Cons (4) – A. Alatimu 2/2 (2′, 51′), J. Chait 2/3 (58′, 70′)
Pens (1) – A. Alatimu 1/1 (14′)
YC (1) – D. Matthews (43′)

 

TEAMS

NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 Jarred Adams 51′), 2 Pat O’Toole (16 Eric Howard 51′), 3 Sean Paranihi (18 Dino Waldren 51′), 4 Billy Stewart (19 William Waguespack 60′), 5 Liam Hallam-Eames, 6 Malcolm May (21 Maciu Koroi 61′), 7 Cam Dolan (capt.) (20 Moni Tonga’uiha 45′), 8 Tom Florence, 9 Damian Stevens (22 Luke Campbell 58′), 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Cael Hodgson (23 Aaron Matthews 51′), 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Jack Webster, 15 Dougie Fife

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola (17 Jake Turnbull 60′), 2 Peter Malcolm (16 James Malcolm 51′), 3 Sam Matenga (18 Mason Pedersen 51′), 4 Ben Landry (19 Taylor Krumrei 75′), 5 Rhyno Herbst (20 Ben Mitchell 31′), 6 Charles Elton, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu (22 Jordan Chait 51′), 11 Lauina Futi, 12 Dan Kriel (21 Karl Keane 62′), 13 David Busby (23 Tavite Lopeti 51′), 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Duncan Matthews

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Cam Stone (New Zealand)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Rob Halcomb (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)