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The two bottom teams on the Major League Rugby table brought their 2021 campaigns to a close on Thursday evening in Tukwila. It was the Seattle Seawolves who ended on a high, securing a 40-21 win over the Houston SaberCats with a six-try performance.
Seattle were in control from the start. Kieran Joyce bounced off the turf to keep the attack moving forward, with AJ Alatimu hitting James Malcolm with a flat ball. The hooker offloaded to Victor Comptat in support on his inside for the opening score.
It was Comptat the creator for the second try. The big lock was the target at the lineout, and then broke off a driving maul to come just inches short of the line. His second row partner Rhyno Herbst was on hand to take it the rest of the way.
Apisai Tauyavuca was sent to the bin for a knee to the chest of a downed Seattle player. Before long the home side was in for a third try. Samu Manoa showed his strength by ignoring the attention of three Houston defenders to reach the line.
Comptat turned from hero to villain in the second half with an early tackle on Nick Boyer that earned him a 10-minute breather. Before he would return three tries would be scored, two from the SaberCats.
One for each team would come from lineout drives, the first to Houston’s Adriaan Booysen and the second to Seawolves rake Malcolm. A penalty conceded in Seattle territory gave Jérémy Lenaerts an opportunity to take a quick tap, the Belgian blasting over for a try against his former team.
Joyce would miss a penalty attempt just after the hydration break but it wouldn’t matter. Akihito Yamada came in off his wing and fired a wild pass to Sitiveni Tamaivena, who in turn wrong-footed both Taylor Howden and Boyer on his way to a seven-pointer.
With time winding down the Starfire faithful were treated to one final score from the Seawolves. Lauina Futi stepped and sold two dummies before dishing to JP Smith. The makeshift fullback popped a no-look chip kick that landed perfectly in the waiting arms of Devereaux Ferris for a highlight-reel finish.
SCORING
SEATTLE 40
Tries – V. Comptat (8′), R. Herbst (13′), S. Manoa (26′), J. Malcolm (54′), S. Tamaivena (64′), D. Ferris (75′)
Cons – K. Joyce 4/5 (9′, 14′, 27′, 55′), No kick (64′)
Pens – K. Joyce 0/1
Yellow cards – V. Comptat (47′)
HOUSTON 21
Tries – A. Booysen (50′), J. Lenaerts (57′), P. Balekana (69′)
Cons – S. Windsor 3/3 (51′, 58′, 70′)
Yellow cards – A. Tauyavuca (23′)
TEAMS
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa (17 Mike Shepherd 55′), 2 James Malcolm (16 Obert Nortjé 55′), 3 Tim Metcher (18 Gavin Prentice 55′), 4 Victor Comptat, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry, 7 Naulia Dawai (20 Tommy Clark 64′), 8 Samu Manoa (19 Conor McGill 71′), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu (capt.), 11 Akihito Yamada (23 Karsten Leitner 77′), 12 Aaron Matthews (21 Devereaux Ferris 70′), 13 Lauina Futi (22 Moses Lalasava 77′), 14 Sitiveni Tamaivena, 15 Kieran Joyce
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Liam Murray (17 Jeffery Steele HT {16 Mike Brown 58′}), 2 Diego Fortuny, 3 Nik Hildebrand (18 Patrick Donovan 21′), 4 Apisai Tauyavuca (19 Jérémy Lenaerts HT), 5 Lucas Albornoz, 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Adriaan Booysen (20 Bronson Teles 72′), 9 Nick Boyer (21 Zachary Short 75′), 10 Taylor Howden, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Sam Windsor, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati (22 Robbie Povey 70′), 14 Joe Thomas, 15 Zach Pangelinan (23 Max Tacket 51′)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Kat Roche (USA)
Assistants: Mike Lash (New Zealand) & Denny Russell (USA)
