Seawolves tiptoe past sleepy SaberCats

photo credit: Jeremy Fletcher / Bigshots Snapshots / Houston SaberCats

Recap

The Seattle Seawolves maintained their spot at the top of the Major League Rugby table with an uninspired 20-7 win over the Houston SaberCats on Saturday evening. It was a largely forgettable match on the whole, littered with handling errors and bereft of tension with the combined points the lowest total of the MLR season thus far.

Ironically the tedious contest was an historic achievement for the Seawolves. Their points total of 25 guarantees them a spot in the Semi Finals as no permutation of the remaining three weeks will allow them to be caught by four teams below them. This means they are officially the first team in Major League Rugby history to qualify for a playoff spot.

Only six points were scored in the first half, 40 minutes in desperate need of the fast-forward button. Seattle’s defense was the only thing that impressed, denying Houston any momentum with the SaberCats offense seemingly asleep at the wheel. Two penalty goals from Brock Staller and a huge collision between Vili Toluta’u and Matt Trouville under a high ball were the only notable moments before the break.

Determined to inspire some reasonable rugby, the Seawolves earned an attacking lineout early after the restart. A well-rehearsed training ground move from the resulting maul saw Peter Tiberio coming in off his wing to slice through the middle for the game’s first try.

Phil Mack grabbed the second, pouncing on a loose ball to score in the corner. Staller’s conversion made it 20-0 and with almost an hour on the clock Houston were nowhere to be seen.

A no-arms tackle landed Ray Barkwill in the bin soon after and then Seattle’s discipline stumbled again, with Toluta’u dispatched moments later to reduce the team to only 13 players. Finally the ‘Seawall’ cracked and Charlie Hewitt’s long arm extended through the tackle to find a try for the home side.

Malacchi Esdale looked for all money to be into the corner after regathering a Sam Windsor high ball, but a superb last-ditch tap tackle from Shalom Suniula was just enough to knock the flying winger’s foot into touch. That would be it as Seattle held on to deny any further points through the final whistle.

 

SCORING

HOUSTON 7
Tries – C. Hewitt (62’)
Cons – S. Windsor 1/1 (63’)

SEATTLE 20
Tries – P. Tiberio (44’), P. Mack (52’)
Cons – B. Staller 2/2 (45’, 53’)
Pens – B. Staller 2/4 (26’, 40’)
Yellow cards – R. Barkwill (58’), V. Toluta’u (61’)

 

TEAMS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Adam Macklin (17 Jake Turnbull 51’), 2 Lindsey Stevens (16 Diego Maquieira 51’-54’) (18 Jack Riley 75’), 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Robert Meeson (19 Charlie Hewitt 51’), 5 Matt Trouville, 6 Chris Coyle (20 Pago Haini 63’ {16 Diego Maquieira 74’}), 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Kyle Sumsion (capt.), 9 Connor Murphy (21 Chris Slater 74’), 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Josua Vici, 12 Conor Mills (22 Joey Iosefa 63’), 13 Osea Kolinisau, 14 Malacchi Esdale, 15 Zach Pangelinan

Not used: 23 Alex Elkins

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Kellen Gordon (17 Olive Kilifi HT), 2 Ray Barkwill (16 Dan Trierweiler 69’), 3 John Hayden (18 Tim Metcher 54’), 4 Taylor Krumrei (21 Andre Coquillard 79’), 5 Cam Polson (16 Dan Trierweiler 60’-69’), 6 Eric Duechle (19 Cole van Harn 74’), 7 Vili Toluta’u, 8 Aladdin Schirmer (20 Nakai Penny 69’), 9 Phil Mack (23 Sequoyah Burke-Combs 73’), 10 Will Holder, 11 Peter Tiberio, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 William Rasileka (22 Mozac Samson 70’), 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner

 

Result

TeamTCPDPoints
Houston SaberCats11007
Seattle Seawolves222020

Houston SaberCats

1Adam Macklin 17 Loosehead Prop, Right Lock
2Lindsey Stevens 18 Hooker
3Paul Mullen Tighthead Prop
4Robert Meeson 19 Right Lock
5Matt Trouville Left Lock
6Chris Coyle 20 Blindside Flanker
7Cecil Garber Openside Flanker
8Kyle Sumsion Number Eight
9Connor Murphy 21 Scrumhalf
10Sam Windsor Flyhalf
11Josua Vici Left Wing
12Conor Mills 22 Inside Center
13Osea Kolinisau Outside Center
14Malacchi Esdale Right Wing
15Zach Pangelinan Fullback
16Diego Maquieira 20 Blindside Flanker
17Jake Turnbull 1 Loosehead Prop
18Jack Riley 2 Hooker
19Charlie Hewitt 4 Right Lock
20Pago Haini 16 Number Eight
21Chris Slater 9 Scrumhalf
22Joey Iosefa 12 Inside Center
23Alex Elkins Wing

Seattle Seawolves

1Kellen Gordon 17 Loosehead Prop
2Ray Barkwill 16 Hooker
3John Hayden 18 Tighthead Prop
4Taylor Krumrei 21 Right Lock
5Cam Polson Left Lock
6Eric Duechle 19 Blindside Flanker
7Vili Toluta’u Openside Flanker
8Aladdin Schirmer 20 Number Eight
9Phil Mack 23 Scrumhalf
10Will Holder Flyhalf
11Peter Tiberio Left Wing
12Shalom Suniula Inside Center
13William Rasileka 22 Outside Center
14Brock Staller Right Wing
15Mat Turner Fullback
16Dan Trierweiler 2 Hooker
17Olive Kilifi 1 Loosehead Prop
18Tim Metcher 3 Tighthead Prop
19Cole van Harn 6 Blindside Flanker
20Nakai Penny 8 Openside Flanker
21Andre Coquillard 4 Right Lock
22Mozac Samson 13 Outside Center
23Sequoyah Burke-Combs 9 Left Wing

Officials

Referee
Derek Summers (USA)
Assistant Referee 1
Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Mitch Damm (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season
June 2, 2018 9:00 pm Major League Rugby 2018

Venue

Dyer Stadium
2020 Mangum Rd, Houston, TX 77092, USA

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