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Last season’s Major League Rugby finalists will meet again at Starfire Stadium on Saturday evening. It’s fair to say their fortunes have dipped to start the new campaign. The Seawolves have lost two in a row but welcome back inspirational captain Riekert Hattingh from a long-term injury. Meanwhile New England are coming off one of their worst showings in franchise history, and Ryan Martin has responded with wholesale changes to his starting lineup.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
0-2-0 (L2) West 4th
1-1-0 (L1) East 5th
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Malembe Mpofu | Siaosi Mahoni |
| 8 | Riekert Hattingh | OJ Noa |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Tevita Sole | Malakai Hala-Ngatai |
| 3 | Jone Koroiduadua | Kaleb Geiger |
| 5 | Conor Keys | Sam Caird |
| 9 | Oscar Lennon | John Poland |
| 11 | Brock Webster | Paula Balekana |
| 12 | Faletoi Peni | Le Roux Malan |
| 13 | Killian Coghlan | Wayne van der Bank |
| 14 | Simon-Peter Toleafoa | Isaac Olson |
| 15 | Harrison Boyle | Killian Coghlan |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(9) – Zeiss (Argentina), Hattingh, Smith, Kruse, Futi, Mahoni (USA), Iona (Samoa), Rossouw (Namibia), Gallagher (Canada)
(10) – Quattrin, von Dadelszen, Keys, Webster, DeWitt, Keith, Baillie (Canada), Koroiduadua (Fiji), Conradie (Namibia), Geiger (USA)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(0) – none
(3) – Koroiduadua*, Peni*, Kayoshi*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Charles Elton (FL), Dan Kriel (CE), Toni Pulu (WI)
– Sam Caird (LO), Le Roux Malan (CE), Paula Balekana (WI)
| PREDICTION |
It won’t be the warmest evening in Tukwila but conditions will be much more palatable for the Free Jacks compared to last week in Chicago. Jone Koroiduadua and Faletoi Peni are notable newcomers getting their first chance as coach Martin looks to revitalise his squad. Hattingh is a big lift for the Seawolves but it remains to be seen what kind of form he’ll be in after spending nearly 10 months on the sidelines. New England are slight favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Malembe Mpofu, 6 Huw Taylor, 7 Devin Short, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Eddie Fouché, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Rodney Iona, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Dewald Donald, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Isaia Lotawa, 20 Siaosi Mahoni, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 David Busby, 23 Malacchi Esdale
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Tevita Sole, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Jone Koroiduadua, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Brock Webster, 12 Faletoi Peni, 13 Killian Coghlan, 14 Simon-Peter Toleafoa, 15 Harrison Boyle
Replacements: 16 Foster DeWitt, 17 Cole Keith, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Kyle Baillie, 20 Kaipono Kayoshi, 21 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Jack Reeves, 23 Wayne van der Bank
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 8
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:00 local (22:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 50°F (10°C), wind SW 6-9mph (10-14km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fox 13 Seattle, NBC Sports Boston, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Shanda Assmus (Canada) & Will Nelson (USA)
TMO: Saro Turner (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (6) – New England 4, Seattle 2
2024-08-04 – New England Free Jacks 20, Seattle Seawolves 11 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2024-04-20 – New England Free Jacks 21, Seattle Seawolves 29 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-06-11 – Seattle Seawolves 26, New England Free Jacks 34 (Starfire Stadium)
2022-04-09 – New England Free Jacks 24, Seattle Seawolves 22 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2021-06-13 – New England Free Jacks 25, Seattle Seawolves 21 (Union Point Stadium)
2020-02-29 – Seattle Seawolves 44, New England Free Jacks 29 (Starfire Stadium)
