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The Seattle Seawolves have earned their spot in the Western Conference Final with a convincing 37-26 victory over the Houston SaberCats on Saturday. A clinical performance from AJ Alatimu and the triumphant return of Riekert Hattingh led the way against a Houston side that will rue a number of mistakes and missed opportunities.
Houston’s game plan was clear for all to see in the early minutes. Time and again Dillon Smit went to the box kick, with Seattle forced to catch and clear but never beyond halfway. Eventually the onslaught yielded a penalty and a 5-meter throw-in. This time the ball came out to Davy Coetzer who slipped through a gap, but Dom Akina was pinged for obstruction and instead of a try the Seawolves were able to clear their lines.
When the Seawolves finally got their hands on the ball they launched a furious attack with Lauina Futi fending his way past multiple defenders. Dan Kriel went on a charging run to keep the SaberCats defense on the back foot, and soon a penalty on front of the posts gave Alatimu an easy three points off the tee to open the scoring.
The SaberCats were undeterred and went straight back to Plan A. Seattle were guilty of collapsing at two lineouts, and then a third resulted in a yellow card to Sam Matenga. A shoulder charge call went against the Seawolves and Dillon Smit went for the quick tap and found Akina unmarked. The midfielder dove in just ahead of the cover for a try, with Coetzer nailing the sideline conversion.
A bad mistake at the restart saw the Houston forward confused, and Futi snatched the ball out of the air. The SaberCats were immediately under pressure and it would stay on until Charles Elton burrowed over from close range, with Alatimu tacking on the extra two. The Seawolves made their own error from the ensuing restart but Duncan Matthews bailed them out with a critical turnover at the breakdown to escape the danger.
Poor discipline cost the visitors seven points just before halftime. Marno Redelinghuys took out Kriel off the ball and was caught by the TMO. Instead of three points the Seawolves went for the lineout, and the gamble paid off. Alatimu stabbed a grubber in behind the defense for Adriaan Carelse to regather and touch down under the posts to leave it 17-7 to the home side at the intermission.
Another mistake at the restart by Nathan Den Hoedt gave the ball straight back to the Seawolves to start the second half. Alatimu said thank you with a three-pointer to stretch the lead. A huge line break from Ronan Foley immediately after had alarm bells ringing again but Seattle were caught with an obstruction and the SaberCats cleared to halfway. It was only a temporary reprieve as an off-the-ball tackle gave another three points to Alatimu.
The Seawolves looked to be on their way to another score when Gideon van Wyk won a turnover at the breakdown. In an instant Coetzer heaved the ball downfield and there was nobody home to prevent him from regathering his own kick and scoring in the corner. He converted his own from the sideline to close the gap to nine points with a half-hour to play.
van Wyk interjected again in his own end with an intercept to spark a breakout. He fed Smit who in turn hacked the ball downfield. The SaberCats looked to be there in numbers but the ball found the dead ball line before Houston could ground it. From the drop-out Gerrie Labuschagne attempted a drop goal from halfway and had the distance but not quite the accuracy.
On the other side of the hydration break Labuschagne chipped over the defense and when the ball popped off the turf it bounced off his head directly into the arms of a tailing van Wyk. The rampaging number 8 stepped on the gas and did just enough to reach out from a last-gasp tackle to ground the ball on the line. Coetzer added on two more and suddently it was a two-point game.
Just as the SaberCats were building momentum the Seawolves got possession in Houston territory. The forwards went through the phases until Hattingh punched in off the edge of a ruck. The kick from Alatimu made it a two-score game with 10 minutes left on the clock.
With time running out for Houston, Dom Akina broke two tackles but lost control of the ball as he was reaching out for the line. A mistake from Line Latu on a counter-attack then spilled possession, and after Hattingh made ground JP Smith raced free to seal the victory. Louritz van der Schyff would score a consolation try with time expired, and Danny Barrett stepped up to take the conversion attempt in what might be the final act of his storied career.
It’s the end of the line for the SaberCats, who remain searching for a first ever postseason win. The Seawolves pack their bags for San Diego next Sunday with the winner booking their spot in the Championship Final to be hosted by Chicago on July 8.
SCORING
SEATTLE 37
Tries (4) – C. Elton (30′), A. Carelse (40′), R. Hattingh (68′), J. Smith (78′)
Cons (4) – A. Alatimu 3/3 (31′, 69′, 79′), No kick (40′)
Pens (3) – A. Alatimu 3/3 (23′, 42′, 49′)
YC (1) – S. Matenga (25′)
HOUSTON 26
Tries (4) – D. Akina (27′), D. Coetzer (51′), G. van Wyk (60′), L. van der Schyff (80’+1′)
Cons (3) – D. Coetzer 3/3 (28′, 52′, 60′), D. Barrett 0/1
DG (0) – G. Labuschagne 0/1
TEAMS
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola (17 Jake Turnbull 60′), 2 Peter Malcolm (16 James Malcolm 60′), 3 Sam Matenga (18 Mason Pedersen 59′), 4 Ben Landry (19 Ben Mitchell 75′), 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Charles Elton, 7 Ronan Foley (20 Nakai Penny 77′), 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith (21 Devereaux Ferris 79′), 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Lauina Futi, 12 Dan Kriel (22 Lopeti Aisea 71′), 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Duncan Matthews (23 Jeremiah Sio 60′), 15 Adriaan Carelse (18 Mason Pedersen 32′-35′)
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Rob Cobb (17 Alec McDonnell 59′), 2 Dean Muir (capt.) (16 Joe Taufete’e 52′), 3 Morgan Mitchell (18 Valdemar Lee-Lo 59′), 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (19 Emmanuel Albert 52′), 6 Malon Al-Jiboori (20 Danny Barrett 46′), 7 Keni Nasoqeqe (21 Hanco Germishuys 52′), 8 Gideon van Wyk, 9 Dillon Smit, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Vereniki Tikoisolomone, 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Line Latu, 15 Gerrie Labuschagne (22 Carlo de Nysschen 62′)
Not used: 23 Jax Hidalgo
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Joe James (England)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (USA) & Austin Reed (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon (USA)
