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The first half of the Major League Rugby Semi Final double header at Infinity Park on Saturday sees the Seattle Seawolves matched up against the San Diego Legion. It’s an intriguing clash of styles that was won decisively by the Seawolves in the opening round of the season, but much has changed since then.
With the June tests series now passed both teams have added internationals to their roster. Seattle have enjoyed a week off and return with a very different side to the one that was stopped by Glendale.
Olive Kilifi and Ray Barkwill return to the front row with Vili Toluta’u back in at openside after making his test debut against Canada in Halifax. Also back in action is Riekert Hattingh, who makes just his third appearance after struggling with injury all season. Aladdin Schirmer is dropped to the bench for the first time this season.
Player-coach Phil Mack spent the weekend back in Canada. He’ll have a new halfback partner in Peter Smith as Will Holder is among the absentees. Shalom Suniula starts in the midfield and assumes the captaincy, and there are two new wingers in Peter Tiberio and Brock Staller.
The Legion stunned the Raptors last weekend and have resisted wholesale changes but still feature five alterations. Pat Blair steps in at hooker in place of Pat O’Toole, and there is an entirely new lock combination in Chris Turori and Cam Dolan. Devin Short moves from the second row to his preferred blindside flank position.
Nick Boyer’s good form has been rewarded with his fourth straight start at scrumhalf, with Tadhg Leader maintaining the captaincy despite the return of Nate Augspurger. The latter finds himself on the left wing. A heavy knock suffered by Conor Kearns means a new fullback is required and South African Super Rugby veteran Joe Pietersen is the man nominated, arriving from Japan to make his MLR debut.
There are three Eagles on the Legion’s bench – Siaosi Mahoni, Ben Cima, and Dylan Audsley. Of those only the latter played any part in the test series, and all three will be desperate to make an impression as replacements with starting spots in a potential final next weekend in San Diego up for grabs.
When last they met the telling difference was in the scrum, where the Seawolves enjoyed complete dominance. Seattle remain at the top of the MLR heap in that regard but San Diego have improved significantly since, culminating in an impressive showing against Glendale just a week ago.
Seattle’s other great feature has been their defense and will it looked creaky against the Raptors, the return of Toluta’u and Suniula in particular will be a significant boost. San Diego likewise will be thankful for Dolan and Augspurger, with the vast experience of Pietersen a welcome addition at the back.
Expect a tense battle throughout with the kicking games of Leader and Smith both prominent as the two sides jostle for field position. Give Seattle the edge in the scrum and the ability to earn turnovers. If the Seawolves can disrupt the Legion’s strong lineout drive, a ticket to the final is within reach.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern. Those in Canada and the USA can watch on CBS Sports Network. All other international viewers can access a live stream on the MLR Facebook page.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Olive Kilifi, 2 Ray Barkwill, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Taylor Krumrei, 5 Cam Polson, 6 Eric Duechle, 7 Vili Toluta’u, 8 Riekert Hattingh, 9 Phil Mack, 10 Peter Smith, 11 Peter Tiberio, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 William Rasileka, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Mike Shepherd, 17 John Hayden, 18 Kellen Gordon, 19 Cole van Harn, 20 Aladdin Schirmer, 21 Andre Coquillard, 22 Jeremy Misailegalu, 23 Sequoyah Burke-Combs
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Sione Tu’ihalamaka, 2 Pat Blair, 3 Nathan Sylvia, 4 Chris Turori, 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Devin Short, 7 Tony Lamborn, 8 Drew Gaffney, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Tadhg Leader (capt.), 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Anthony Salaber, 13 Ryan Matyas, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 15 Joe Pietersen
Replacements: 16 Pat O’Toole, 17 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 18 Aaron Mitchell, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Alec Barton, 21 Ben Cima, 22 Nick Evans, 23 Dylan Audsley
Date: Saturday, June 30
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 17:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 19:00 Eastern)
Referee: Derek Summers (USAR)
Assistants: Pierre-Henri Courbier (USAR) & Luke Rogan (ARU)
TMO: Marc Nelson (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook
