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While home field advantage no doubt played its part, it should perhaps come as no surprise that the first victory of the season for the Seawolves coincided with the return of long-time captain Riekert Hattingh. Their talisman and No8 had been sidelined since May 19 of last year with a torn Achilles tendon. Hattingh understandably wasn’t quite as impactful with ball in hand but his leadership kept his charges on task through all 80 minutes.
There was a second notable returnee for Seattle against New England. Tighthead prop Mason Pedersen played his first MLR game since July of 2023. ‘The Hitman’ ruptured a cruciate ligament in his knee during the preseason last year and missed the entire 2024 campaign. Pedersen had been a player of interest to Eagles selectors prior to his injury and the 28-year-old’s progress will be closely monitored by Scott Lawrence and his team, particularly given the shortage of options at No3.
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DROP GOAL DREW
The award for first drop goal of the 2025 season goes to… Drew Wild. Houston’s fullback had a dream day against Houston, scoring two tries and snapping over his field goal at the half-hour mark. The 24-year-old made it look easy but it was in fact the first drop goal of his pro career that started in 2019 with Manawatu in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship. D’Angelo Leuila, Martín Elías, and Dorian Jones had all made attempts earlier in the season but didn’t find their targets.
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FIRST-TIMERS
Seven players made their MLR bows over the past weekend. Friday night saw Canadian international back row Matthew Oworu coming off the bench for Chicago. Fijian World Cup prop Jone Koroiduadua and Samoa ‘A’ midfielder Falatoi Peni debuted in New England’s starting lineup, while ex-USA u20 loose forward Kaipono Kayoshi was a replacement. He had been an unused sub in the opening round for the Free Jacks.
Over in California there were three replacement debutants. Imposing second row Mikaea Wynyard played his first game for LA after being an unused reserve two weeks earlier. Outside back Rhian Stowers and halfback Inoke Waqavesi made their first appearances for San Diego late in the game. It was an uneventful occasion for Waqavesi, whose only action was to watch Rory van Vugt attempt a penalty goal before the final whistle was blown.
Another match official also enjoyed a first outing in the middle. Having acted as an assistant referee in several games, Peter Pender took charge of Friday night’s game in Miami. Originally from Auckland, Pender was part of the supporting officials cast at the Vancouver 7s in 2016 and formally joined Rugby Canada’s senior panel in May of 2018. It won’t be long before he gets another run, with Saturday’s match in Los Angeles next on his assignment list.
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PLAYER MOVEMENT
Three players were added to rosters over the past week. The first involved a trade between Anthem and LA. Cameron Gerlach heads to Charlotte in exchange for an international player slot. MLR had previously stated that Anthem were limited to trading a maximum of four such slots to other teams, but evidently reconsidered their position. Gerlach is a flyhalf or fullback born in California but raised in New Zealand. He played two games for LA, including a start in the season opener against the Free Jacks.
Meanwhile LA have looked to bolster their front row stocks with the addition of loosehead prop Franco van den Berg. The MLR veteran spent five years on the books with the Utah Warriors beginning in 2020 before being released at the end of last season. Despite playing for South Africa u20s in 2016 and playing in matches that tied him to that country, MLR have classed van den Berg as a domestic player for match day selection purposes.
Heading back to the SaberCats is former Lindenwood No8 Tinashe Muchena. The 27-year-old was originally drafted by Houston in 2022 but did not make an appearance before playing with Chicago for the past two seasons. Muchena has previously represented his home country of Zimbabwe at u20 level but is currently US-eligible under the 5-year regulation.
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DISCIPLINARY
Two more red cards were served this past week. The first saw Houston midfielder Louritz van der Schyff sent off for a late and high challenge on Utah fullback Jordan Trainor. It’s not yet clear if van der Schyff will be suspended, with no sanction confirmed by MLR just yet though the SaberCats are not playing this weekend anyway.
LA flanker Tim Anstee was dispatched after receiving two yellow cards against San Diego. The first was for cynical play at the breakdown, the second for collapsing a driving maul. With both offences falling under the ‘technical’ category, Anstee won’t have to serve any further time off though another yellow would bring an automatic one-game punishment.
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INJURY NOTES
New England will be without the services of Piers von Dadelszen for at least a week after the second row was forced off with a head injury against the Seawolves. The Canadian international walked off the pitch unaided but was clearly feeling the affects of a heavy collision.
LA meanwhile have lost two Canadians after the brutal match in San Diego. Reegan O’Gorman was the first to go, the big lock holding his ribs as he left the pitch midway through the first half. Flanker Matt Heaton survived a first half HIA but lasted only a minute after taking Anstee’s spot on the pitch before being flattened in a tackle. Both are key losses for LA as domestic standouts.
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RED CARD LAW VARIATION
On the topic of Heaton, it was notable that he was allowed to replace Anstee despite having been tactically replaced earlier in the game. Under World Rugby laws LA would not have been able to use Heaton in that role and would have instead had to hold off using Wynyard until Anstee’s 20-minute sanction had expired.
It turns out that prior to the 2024 season an internal memo clarified that MLR would adopt a similar trial used by Super Rugby that allowed for a tactically-replaced player to re-enter the game in that scenario. Normally players replaced tactically can only return in place of a blood or head injury, a player injured by an act of foul play, or when a specialist front rower is needed to form a scrum.
| WEEKLY XVs – ROUND 4 |
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Cameron Orr | 1 | Payton Telea-Ilalio | |
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Hugh Roach | 2 | KoiKoi Nelligan |  |
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Darcy Breen | 3 | Tonga Kofe |  |
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Nathan Den Hoedt | 4 | Jason Damm | |
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Jed Holloway | 5 | Bill Whiteside | |
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Mason Flesch | 6 | Emmanuel Albert | |
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Manuel Ardao | 7 | Joe Johnston | |
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Wian Conradie | 8 | Makeen Alikhan | |
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Jay Renton | 9 | Oscar Lennon | |
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Davy Coetzer | 10 | Christopher Hilsenbeck | |
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Andrew Coe | 11 | Ryan James | |
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Ollie Devoto | 12 | Junior Gafa | |
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Tautalatasi Tasi | 13 | Bryce Campbell | |
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Lauina Futi | 14 | Lauina Futi | |
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Drew Wild | 15 | Owen Sheehy | |
