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Seattle, Utah: Never more than 4 points apart

When the Seattle Seawolves travel to Utah this coming Saturday night, they will face a team they have never been more than four points away from – either up, or down. In the regular season, the Seawolves met the Warriors twice, for a loss and then a victory: 30-27 down, 28-24 up.

The first round of Major League Rugby playoffs for the Seawolves kicks off at 7 p.m. PDT Saturday. Last week’s 42-17 win over the Miami Sharks at Starfire put the Seattle team in the playoffs, ending the regular season one point ahead of San Diego in the standings: 49-48. Didn’t I say this would come down to the final week?

Given the tight games between Seattle and Utah, another close one can be expected. Here’s the way it happened in the regular season:

March 22, 2025, at Starfire:

“With 54 minutes gone in the game, Seattle was down 27-6. . . . Between the 59th minute of the game and the 63rd, Seattle scored two tries, by Captain Riekert Hattingh and the game’s-not-over-until Malacchii Esdale scores. Fouche added two conversions. Now 27-20, Seattle could tie with a converted try. Could until Hodgson showed that he can kick as well as run and dodge, hitting a penalty kick with eight minutes left in the game and Seattle down, 30-20.

“Two minutes later, the Seawolves were awarded a penalty try after an intentional knock-on by Spencer Jones prevented a Seattle overload from scoring.

“Six minutes left in the game, Utah down to 14 men because of the Jones’ yellow card, could the Seawolves score? No. Mishandling the ball prevented that. Sort of a return to that unfortunate first half, one the Seawolves don’t want to see again.”

May 12, 2025 at Utah:

“Despite tries by Malembe Mpofu (under the post for seven points), Lauina Futi and Toni Pulu plus two successful conversion kicks by Rodney Iona (in winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour), the Seawolves were down 21-24 going into the last two minutes of the game. Just before time expired, Rhyno Herbst picked up the ball from the back of a goal line ruck and dived over for a try, giving Seattle a 28-24 win, with another conversion by Iona.”

We’ll miss you, Rhyno, now on disciplinary suspension for a high tackle. His next game back? MLR championship. See you then, Rhyno.

Only slightly bitter that RFCLA didn’t loose

Writing this on my cell phone so it will be error free (watch me, Steve), short and only slightly bitter that RFCLA didn’t lose Sunday. They had a four-try win over Miami Sharks, earning them 45 points in the standings and giving them third place in the Western Conference of Major League Rugby.
The Seawolves against Alatimu ended in a 14-9 Seattle win Friday night. The trylines were verboten to Houston, and they relied on Alatimu’s three penalty kicks. That name sounds familiar. I’d like to say more about the back line of Zeiss and Orr that ended in a try by Nick Boyer but my thumbs are tired. Also a great maul try by Mackail.
San Diego, the team time and I forgot, had no games this past week and now sit in fifth place, out of the playoffs.
For now. Two games left for LA (45 in standings), Seawolves (42) and SD (41).
Next round starts Friday and ends Sunday with Seawolves at New England. Send smoke signals — white for good news, black for bad — in the direction of Bowron Lakes, British Columbia, where I will be paddling.

Correction: Seattle could beat SD to the playoffs

Thank you Steven Vocke for pointing out that Seattle wins all three of their last matches and earn winning bonus points (4+ tries), Seattle gets to 52+ table points, which is more than San Diego can hope to achieve in their two remaining matches.

I overlooked that SD only had two games remaining. So . . .

I’d say that a Seattle win and a LA loss would still be a winning thing for Seattle.

What must happen in the three games left in the regular season is Seawolves win and LA loses for the surest way to the playoffs. If Seattle beats Houston Friday night at 7:30 in Starfire Stadium and LA loses to the Miami Sharks on Sunday, May 25, Seattle would step ahead (with two games remaining). Don’t quote me, but this could come down to the last round of the season on June 7 and 8 when Seattle plays the Miami Sharks and LA faces the Warriors in Utah.

And we will be watching San Diego’s two remaining games.

The wins this past weekends for Seattle and LA were like doppelgangers. Both needed 80th minute tries to seal the win. The scores were similar: Seattle beat San Diego 29-25; LA over Chicago 26-24. Four-try wins for both; each team went up five points in the standings, now LA 40, Seattle 38.

I “watched” both games via the Tribe app on my cell phone, once during a celebratory graduation dinner and the LA game in an airport lounge with no TVs. At the dinner, it seemed the least noticeable way to keep track of the game. Tribe alerts viewers with a line of type for tries, conversions (made and missed), penalty kicks (made and missed) yellow and red cards. Saturday’s game looked like this:

When following on Tribe, you are left to wonder about many things. How could Dan Kriel and Duncan Matthews, two of the most orderly players in the league, get yellow cards? Where were the balls touched down for tries by Divan Rossouw, Riekert Hattingh and Duncan Matthews? Where were the two conversions and a successful penalty kicks by Rodney Iona placed on the field. But the worst is the agonizing wait between when R. James scored a try followed by a missed conversion at the 70th minute and what would come next. A news flash on a Legion victory, 25-22, or something else? Like a try by O. Noa. I tried to disguise my shout of “Hooray” as a cheer for the graduate, but that one was for Olajuwon.
Same with the LA game against the Hounds of Chicago. At the 69th minute, Chicago gets a penalty try to go up 24-21. What would be next? Nothing to help the Seawolves as LA scores a try to win 26-24.
 

Sudan: Harbinger of what is to come

“More people have been displaced by violence in Sudan than in Ukraine and Gaza combined . . . And yet the people (there) seem to have been abandoned in an empty landscape. As the United States withdraws and international institutions decay, their ordeal may be a harbinger of what is to come.”

I took that quote from this Atlantic article, entitled “The Crisis of American Leadership Reaches an Empty Desert” with photographs by Lynsey Addario. The article did not give a figure for how many people have been displaced in Sudan, perhaps because it keeps growing by at least 3,500 a day. But this article from Darfur Network for Human Rights estimates more than seven million people have been displaced by the war there.

The article points out that the United States’ “government is suspending refugee resettlement, meaning thousands of Sudanese who were waiting for relocation may now face indefinite delays. At the same time, USAID funding which is one of the major sources of humanitarian assistance for Sudanese refugees in the region has been frozen.

“The U.S. has historically been a major funder of these aid programs through USAID, supporting food distribution, healthcare, and emergency relief. With USAID funding now frozen, the situation in these camps will only worsen, forcing more refugees into desperate conditions with few options for resettlement.”

So with seven million Sudanese trying to find space and food somewhere in the world, what is the United States doing as far as refugees? This:

“Dozens of white South Africans arrived in the United States on Monday on a chartered jet after being granted refugee status by the Trump administration, which has made it virtually impossible for any other refugees to seek safe haven in America.”

That’s from this New York Times article, that goes on to say, “Trump’s focus on this small group of refugees only served to underscore the tens of thousands of people all over the world whom his administration has decided to keep out, including Afghans who helped U.S. soldiers during the war in Afghanistan and Congolese citizens who had already been vetted and cleared to travel before Mr. Trump took office.

“Trump essentially halted refugee admission programs on his first day in office before creating a pathway for Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that ruled during apartheid in South Africa, to resettle in the United States.”

Hard to play rugby without meeting some Afrikaners on the pitch or at the drink-up after the games. Fun-loving people who I’d welcome to the U.S. Also know some Afghan refugees (non-rugby players), who are delightful, intelligent people. Glad they are here. Not too many Sudanese though. And from the current U.S. refugee policy, that looks like it will continue. Too bad, for the Sudanes refugees and the United States.

A Seawolves win to dispel all doubts

Reasonable doubts were had about this past weekend – round one in the Seawolves’ campaign to reach the playoffs. With fourth-place team, RFCLA, facing 0-11 Anthem and Seattle against 8-3 Utah, some doubters may have thought Seattle, fifth place in the Western Conference of the Major League Rugby and parked outside of the playoffs, might fall further behind.

Those doubts were not dispelled until the 80th minute of the Monday night’s game. Despite tries by Malembe Mpofu (under the post for seven points), Lauina Futi and Toni Pulu plus two successful conversion kicks by Rodney Iona (in winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour), the Seawolves were down 21-24 going into the last two minutes of the game. Just before time expired, Rhyno Herbst picked up the ball from the back of a goal line ruck and dived over for a try, giving Seattle a 28-24 win, with another conversion by Iona.

That leaves Seattle still in fifth place, two points behind LA, who notched a 45-17 four-try win over Anthem on Saturday. Anything but a four-try Seattle win would have left the Seawolves further behind LA, like seven points behind in the standings if they had lost to Utah.

Round 2 starts at 6 p.m. Saturday at Starfire Stadium when Seattle meets San Diego, who are 7-6 including a 40-26 win over Seattle in the first game of the regular season back in February. They are in third place in the Western Conference.

LA follows up on Monday against the Chicago Hounds, who are 8-4 and in second place in the Eastern Conference behind New England.

Looking for a win and a loss, no doubt about it.

Time for Seawolves to show who’s boss

The Seawolves’ loss to NOLA Gold on Sunday sets up a mano a mano fight for fourth place in Major League Rugby’s Western Conference. That will come Friday night at 7:30 at Starfire Stadium when LARFC, now in fourth place, comes to visit Tukwila. With six weeks to go in the regular season, this match-up between the fourth and fifth place holders might not be a win-and-you’re-in to see who goes into the playoffs, but a victory Friday night would advance the argument for who ought to be there.

Both LA and Seattle lost this past round, LA to San Diego, 38-36. They were down 31-17 at 60 minutes into the game when the Legion got their second yellow card in 10 minutes. With SD down to 13 players, LA rattled off 14 points to tie at 31-31. SD scored again, then La scored and a successful conversion kick would have tied it with a minute left in the game. The kick went wide, but LA still got two bonus points in the standings: four tries and finishing within seven of the winner. That boosted them to 27 points in the standings.

Seattle had what it takes to win a game against NOLA: tries by Jade Stighling, J.P. Smith, Lauina Futi, Eduard Fouche, Divan Rossouw and Devin Short.

They also had what it takes to lose a game, as they did, 44-36: Seattle had 11 penalties in the first half when I stopped counting; NOLA had one. Three yellow cards against the Seawolves that half. Playing with 14 against 15, then 13 against 15. Three missed conversion kicks. Some untimely mishandling and not being able to stop NOLA from scoring more points that the Seawolves did.

Seattle picked up one bonus point for scoring four tries, but if one of those missed conversions had sailed between the posts, Seattle would have been within seven for another bonus point. That would have kept Seattle at the bottom of the Western Conference but only one point away from LA. Alas, none of those kicks split the uprights and Seattle goes into Friday’s match two points down from LA.

Time to advance your argument, Seawolves.

Seven Seawolves touches to score Gallagher

Finally saw a highlight from the Seawolves game against Anthem so I could count the number of touches Seattle had before Gallagher scored. Here is what I saw:

No. 8 Riekert Hattingh picks up ball from back of scrum (1), passes directly to Dan Kriel (2), who passes back to Brock Gallagher (3), who passes to Rodney Iona (4), out to Malacchi Esdale (5), on to Duncan Matthews (6) and inside to Gallagher (7), who scores.

Seven touches, counting Gallagher in there twice.

On to NOLA today at 1 p.m. Seawolves are three points behind LARFC in the standings before the game. A win pulls them out of the cellar: 28-27. A four-try win would be even better: 29-27.

From scrum to try: How many touches?

Brock Gallagher scored Seawolves’ first try of the second half Wednesday night.

He was the last Seattle player to touch the ball before he scored. The question: How many Seawolves touched the ball from scrum to try?

I can’t view the highlights, so I don’t know. Any guesses without cheating by looking at the highlights? I’ll say seven.

You’ll almost need all 10 fingers to count the Seattle Seawolves who scored tries in the 60-19 victory over the Anthem RFC. That pulled the Seawolves to within one point of the LARFC in the Western Conference of Major League Rugby. Much closer, but still at the bottom and out of the playoffs at this point.

About those scoring Seawolves: Start with Lauina Futi under the posts for seven points, then Captain Riekert Hattingh, then Malacchi Esdale, J.P. Smith, Jeremiah Sio (more on that later), the aforementioned Gallagher try, Dan Kriel, Kerron Van Vuuren and Duncan Matthews. Nine tries for 47 points. Add to that a penalty kick for 3 (50) and five conversion kicks (60) by Rodney Iona.

But the greatest kick of the night was a cross-field kick by Iona that just cleared the outstretched arms of the jumping defender and landed in the arms of Sio, who ran it in for a try.

A five-point win in the standings brings the Seawolves to 24 points, still one point behind LARFC at 25, thanks to a try in the 80th minute of their game Tuesday night that brought them within seven points of the winner: New England Free Jacks 23, LA 21. Without that try, the Seawolves would be ahead of LA: at 24 points each but ahead on plus or minus points (Seattle plus 15 and LA at minus 26).

LA starts the coming weekend facing San Diego, who has been dropping in the standings lately. Seattle (4-5) plays NOLA Gold (3-6) in New Orleans on Sunday.

Hoping the winless Anthem wins the rest of their games so they can taste victory but glad they put it off Wednesday night.

Start Lynch, Peters for more media coverage

“The Seattle Seawolves (3-5) beat visiting Chicago 28-22.”

That was The Seattle Times print-edition coverage on Saturday morning of the Seawolves’ game Friday night.

One sentence. Six words. Four numbers, two hyphens and two parentheses.

They could have said a lot more, as perhaps the Seawolves staffer who supplied the information had done.

  • J.P. Smith earned his 100th caps, only the second to do so in Major League Rugby.
  • Seattle, who sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings in Major League Rugby, beat the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.
  • That Seattle got on the scoreboard first as Rodney Iona slotted a penalty kick, the first of his 13 points he added in conversions and penalty kicks to the Seawolves’ total score.
  • That Divan Rossouw, Riekert Hattingh and Lauina Futi scored tries, all of which keeps the Seawolves closer to getting into the playoffs this coming summer.

There is a way to get more than six words in the local newspaper: Take this man off the sidelines and into the lineup. Marshawn Lynch at stand-off, at No. 8, on the wing, in the centers for a half, or until the first hydration break. Or let Marcus Peters play some defense. The crowd of reporters, columnists and photographers would strain the attendants at the entry gate.

This has been suggested to the Seawolves previously by an unnamed source. And big names, especially American football names, get coverage. Read it here: Marshawn Lynch, Marcus Peters join ownership group for Seawolves.

And read it online, where the readership is tallied to see which sports capture the most eyeballs.

A bye, then many games in few days for Seattle

Let’s pause slightly to applaud Toni Pulu and Riekert Hattingh for scoring tries and to Eduard Fouche for making one of two conversion kicks in the 29-12 defeat at the hands of Old Glory DC. Then let’s move on to what’s ahead for the Seattle Seawolves.

This coming weekend, Seattle has a bye, which means they will fall further behind as other teams in the Western Conference all have games. The Utah Warriors found out what a bye weekend can do: They fell behind the RFCLA in the standings and are right now the team Seattle needs to top in the standings if the Seawolves want to see playoff games this summer.

While Utah was resting at home last weekend, the LA club beat Houston Sabercats, 24-22, allowing them to climb two points better than the Warriors in the Major League Rugby standings – 23 to 21.

Seattle is six points behind Utah, in fifth place, the non-playoff spot in the Western Conference. A win by Seattle and a defeat by the Warriors will not be enough for Seattle to gain a fourth-place spot in the standings; they’d be at least one point behind. They will need more than that, and there are many – maybe too many – opportunities coming up in the rest of April and beginning of May.

Let’s start with the needed rest the Seawolves will get in this coming bye weekend. On Saturday, Utah will play LA, the loser relegated to the fourth-place spot in the standings – the team Seattle needs to overcome.

Starting Friday, April 18, the Seawolves will play four games in the next 15 days:

Friday, April 18 at Starfire against Chicago Hounds, the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. 7:30 P.M. (PDT)

Rest five days.

Wednesday, April 23 at Anthem at 4:30 p.m. (PDT)

Rest four days.

Sunday, April 27 at NOLA Gold at 1 p.m. (PDT)

Five days after that, on Friday, May 2, Seattle will get a rematch against LA at Starfire.

Fifteen days, four games. Lots of games to catch up, to climb over whoever is in fourth place in the conference.

Also, lots of games to stay healthy, uninjured. Trainers and conditioning coaches, do your stuff.