Seattle sink San Diego to book spot in Final

photo credit: Seth McConnell / Glendale Raptors

Recap

The Seattle Seawolves have booked their spot in the inaugural Major League Rugby Final by defeating the San Diego Legion by 38-24 at Infinity Park. For all the pre-match talk the result was almost identical to their 39-23 win in Week One, with the Seawolves scrum every bit as dominant as it was two months ago.

It took new Legion fullback Joe Pietersen just three minutes to open his MLR account as he sent over a penalty goal, but Peter Smith replied for the Seawolves just moments later. Not content with just a three-pointer, Pietersen made it seven with a try and conversion for an early advantage to San Diego.

Despite controlling much of the possession and territory the Legion could not put further points on the board in the first half. Instead Seattle’s scrum got to work and after penalties got them into position Shalom Suniula raced through a gap to make the scores level going into the break.

A stalemate in the first minutes of the second stanza ended with Drew Gaffney crossing after Nate Augspurger had scythed through the Seawolves line. Pietersen’s extras were good but San Diego’s worse were soon to begin.

With Seattle on attack Alec Barton was singled out for a no-arms chop tackle that earned him a seat in the bin. From the subsequent scrum William Rasileka ran hard and straight and nobody could stop the big Fijian as he crashed over for the tying score. Just a couple minutes later Peter Tiberio picked off a Dylan Audsley pass to race the length of the field untouched for the go-ahead try.

From the restart replacement lock Siaosi Mahoni, only stepping on the field seconds earlier, hauled down Eric Duechle in the air and was sent to join Barton in the naughty chair. With only 13 men on the pitch the gaps were inevitable and Seqouyah Burke-Combs was clear on the right wing to score in the corner. Smith’s conversion was spot on and the gap was 14 with only a few short minutes to play.

Any hopes of a comeback evaporated when John Hayden barged ahead and spun out of a tackle, reaching just far enough to find the line. Augspurger grabbed a consolation score on full-time for the Legion as the Seawolves celebrated a well-deserved win.

 

SCORING

SEATTLE 38
Tries – S. Suniula (33’), W. Rasileka (63’), P. Tiberio (65’), S. Burke-Combs (73’), J. Hayden (78’)
Cons – P. Smith 5/5 (34’, 63’, 66’, 74’, 79’)
Pens – P. Smith 1/1 (6’)

SAN DIEGO 24
Tries – J. Pietersen (9’), D. Gaffney (56’), N. Augspurger (80’)
Cons – J. Pietersen 3/3 (10’, 57’, 80’)
Pens – J. Pietersen 1/1 (3’)
Yellow cards – A. Barton (61’), S. Mahoni (67’)

 

TEAMS

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Olive Kilifi (18 Kellen Gordon 46’), 2 Ray Barkwill (16 Mike Shepherd 59’), 3 Tim Metcher (17 John Hayden 59’), 4 Taylor Krumrei (20 Aladdin Schirmer 59’), 5 Cam Polson, 6 Eric Duechle, 7 Vili Toluta’u (19 Cole van Harn 77’), 8 Riekert Hattingh, 9 Phil Mack, 10 Peter Smith, 11 Peter Tiberio, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 William Rasileka, 14 Brock Staller (23 Sequoyah Burke-Combs 46′), 15 Mat Turner

Not used: 21 Andre Coquillard, 22 Jeremy Misailegalu

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Sione Tu’ihalamaka (17 Faka’osi Pifeleti 47′), 2 Pat Blair (16 Pat O’Toole HT), 3 Nathan Sylvia (18 Aaron Mitchell 67’), 4 Chris Turori (19 Siaosi Mahoni 67’), 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Devin Short, 7 Tony Lamborn (20 Alec Barton 35’), 8 Drew Gaffney (20 Alec Barton 16’-21’), 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Tadhg Leader (capt.) (21 Ben Cima 71’), 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Anthony Salaber (23 Dylan Audsley 26’), 13 Ryan Matyas, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 15 Joe Pietersen

Not used: 22 Nick Evans

 

Result

TeamTCPDPoints
Seattle Seawolves551038
San Diego Legion331024

Seattle Seawolves

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

San Diego Legion

1Sione Tu’ihalamaka 17 Loosehead Prop
2Pat Blair 16 Hooker
3Nathan Sylvia 18 Tighthead Prop
4Chris Turori 19 Left Lock
5Cam Dolan Right Lock
6Devin Short Blindside Flanker
7Tony Lamborn 20 Openside Flanker
8Drew Gaffney Number Eight
9Nick Boyer Scrumhalf
10Tadhg Leader 21 Flyhalf
11Nate Augspurger Left Wing
12Anthony Salaber 23 Inside Center
13Ryan Matyas Outside Center
14Takudzwa Ngwenya Right Wing
15Joe Pietersen Fullback
16Pat O’Toole 2 Hooker
17Faka’osi Pifeleti 1 Loosehead Prop
18Aaron Mitchell 3 Tighthead Prop
19Siaosi Mahoni 4 Right Lock
20Alec Barton 7 Openside Flanker
21Ben Cima 10 Flyhalf
22Nick Evans Wing
23Dylan Audsley 12 Inside Center

Officials

Referee
Derek Summers (USA)
Assistant Referee 1
Paul-Henri Courbier (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Luke Rogan (USA)
TMO
Marc Nelson (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season Attendance
June 30, 2018 7:00 pm Major League Rugby 2018 3287

Venue

Infinity Park
Glendale, Arapahoe County, Colorado, 80246, United States of America

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