So many non-releasing penalties. So many non-releasing penalties against the Seattle Seawolves that torpedoed valiant attempts to change the score from 20-11 in the last half hour of the Major League Rugby championship match Sunday in San Diego
But 20-11 in favor of the New England Free Jacks it remained until the game’s end. The Free Jacks repeat as the MLR champions, the first team to do so since the Seawolves did it in 2018 and 2019.
Starting with New England fly half Jayson Potroz’ penalty kick at eight minutes into the game, the Seawolves were behind throughout. Six minutes later, Le Roux Malan scored an acrobatic try in the corner to put New England ahead 8-0.
Mack Mason kicked a penalty kick to get the Seawolves on the scoreboard, 8-3, with 25 minutes gone in the game. The Seawolves only try in the game came off a lineout five yards out from the New England try line. Great time for a maul to push in for a try, right? But that is not what happened. The Seawolves took the jump, passed the ball down to Rhyno Herbst on the inside, who fed the ball to Joe Taufete’e, who touched down in the corner.
Potroz added another penalty right before the half, and the Seawolves were within a converted try at the half, 14-8. However, some things would have to change in the second half for the Seawolves to get in the lead. The Free Jacks controlled the territory (64 percent) and the possession (58 percent) in the first half.
Potroz kicked two more penalties in the second half, scoring 15 of New England’s 20 points. The Seawolves kept the Free Jacks from scoring tries in the second half, even while playing with 14 men after Tavite Lopeti was given a yellow card for a high tackle. But, unfortunately for them, they could not score tries either. Mostly because of not-releasing penalties that stopped penetration into New England’s territory – deep inside New England territory, like within five yards of the try line several times.
Why so many “turnover penalties”? Was the ref too quick to blow the whistle on a ball being released by a tackled Seawolf? Were the tackled runners too far in front of their support? Was the support too slow to get to the tackled player? Maybe all of the above with a few ill-fated knock-ons thrown in as well.
Mason scored his second penalty kick at 47 minutes into the second half, getting Seattle to 11 points. But the last 28 minutes of the game were filled with dashed hopes for the Seawolves and New England hanging on to become the 2024 MLR champions.
High praise for Seawolves coach Allen Clarke, who guided the team to the finals through many injuries, finding the right players to fill in, coaching them to the Seawolves’ game and standards and finding plays that would score, such as the inside pass off a lineout that scored Taufete’e in the championship.
Fewer penalties, more tries for 2025. See you then.