Bad Day in DC: Seawolves Fall 29-12 to Old Glory
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The Seattle Seawolves fight Anthem Rugby Carolina during a win on March 29, 2025. The road match on Saturday, April 5 went worse for Seattle, with the team suffering a 29-12 loss to Old Glory DC. Credit: Punkus Arnett/Seattle Seawolves. [/caption]
GERMANTOWN, Md. – The Seattle Seawolves’ defense was stout and the visitors gave it their all, but Old Glory DC was faster, more cohesive, and more consistent all throughout the match. As the game rolled on, they fell further behind on the way to an unceremonious 29-12 loss to go into the bye week 2-5, last in the Western Conference with 15 table points.
Though Seattle started off the game on decent footing, the team lost cohesion – with knock-ons on the attack handing Old Glory the ball and not rolling away and offsides penalties on defense giving meters away – and the Flags spent long stretches of play chipping away at the Seawall from within the 22. Seattle’s late push – more for a bonus point than a win – in the final ten minutes never fully got off the ground, and the game ended with Old Glory ahead by 17.
Both Old Glory and the Seawolves started the season unevenly and with questions, though DC was in a better spot. The Flags were 3-3 with 17 table points, coming off a loss in a 54-44 shootout with RFC Los Angeles, second in the Eastern Conference only to the Chicago Hounds. Seattle was 2-4 with 15 table points, looking to claw their way back into Western Conference contention in the last game of the first half of the season.
In addition, both sides went into the match with knocks in the backfield leading to shake-ups in the lineup. For Seattle, winger and outside center Mika Kruse was not available, so Dan Kriel moved to outside center and Eddie Fouché got the start at inside center, while the starting wings were Toni Pulu on the left and Jade Stighling on the right. For Old Glory, fullback Ethan Hoyland was out, so flyhalf Jason Robertson moved to the fifteen and center Jason Emery got the start at flyhalf.
Seattle Goes Down in First 40, But Defense Keeps Team in Game
The first half started off well for the Seawolves but deteriorated as time went on, as Seattle’s passing became sloppier and Old Glory took advantage with multiple ball takeaways. The Flags had better speed and consistency on the passing phases, which they used to break through the line and charge past the 22 meter mark. Combined with the Seawolves’ errors in ball handling, this led to DC spending most of the second quarter of the match barreling at the try line. Other than a couple openside breakthroughs for the home side, the Seawall held strong in the face of the attack and kept the visitors in the game. Old Glory’s defense held even stronger, though they faced less pressure as the half wore on while Seattle’s offense broke down.
Seattle won the ball back from DC immediately after the opening kickoff and phased through at the 22 for a minute before loosehead prop Cam Orr punched through another ten meters. DC’s defense held strong under the posts, so the Seawolf attack stalled. Scrumhalf JP Smith briefly took his eye off the ball as it came out of a ruck and Old Glory hooker Facundo Gattas pounded, got the ball out, and Flags right wing John Rizzo sent out a clearance kick to end the threat.
The teams spent a bit of time around midfield with competing kicks and lineouts before Seattle once again got in DC territory after tighthead prop Juan Pablo Zeiss stole an 11th-minute lineout and the team won a penalty soon after, with fullback Divan Rossouw sending a kick to touch beyond the 22 and the pack taking the ensuing lineout into maul. Smith got the ball from the following ruck and passed to flyhalf Rodney Iona on the openside, who sent a short box kick to Toni Pulu on the edge and the try line. Pulu easily stepped forward into the try zone. Seattle drew first, going up 5-0 after Fouché missed an attempt at a drop conversion.
After the opening try, Seattle and DC traded a couple lineouts and kicks, before Rossouw and Pulu lost cohesion near the touchline and Rossouw’s dump-off went into touch in the 18th minute. After this, the game shifted, as Old Glory took the lineout and quickly phased down to the openside, where a squib kick from DC left wing Axel Muller sent it to within Seattle’s 22. Although the Seawolves recovered the ball and Fouché sent a good distance kick to touch – which Seattle immediately recovered due to Robertson dropping it – this was where much of the rest of the game would be played.
Seattle sent a lineout to maul but then Pulu knocked it on while trying to receive a short kick from Iona, and DC won a scrum penalty and sent a kick to touch in the Seattle half in the 21st minute. Old Glory made the lineout and then vigorously whipped the ball to the openside in the 22nd. Although Seattle tried to recover and slow the play down, Muller drove past Stighling and Kriel’s tackles, dumped the ball off to scrumhalf Connor Buckley, who gave it to flanker Collin Grosse, who in turn gave a pass to inside center Nick Grigg, who charged into the try zone. Robertson made the conversion to put Old Glory up 7-5, a lead the home side would keep the rest of the game.
The ball immediately returned to the Seattle danger zone. After a couple kicks, Seattle took a lineout in their own territory, but lost the ball and DC passed it through several phases. In the 25th, Seawolf lock Malembe Mpofu got penalized for a high tackle, and Robertson sent in a corner kick. The Flags took the lineout into maul, but the Seawall held, so they phased through and then won another penalty and took another corner into lineout. This time, Seattle stole the ball and Fouché sent a kick to touch. Another lineout, this time further out, was sent to maul, but the Seawall held again and pushed their opponents into touch.
The ball quickly found Smith after the Seawolves lineout, and the Seawolf scrumhalf sent another kick to touch. Seattle won a scrum soon after due to a knock-on by Old Glory, and the visitors began to shove forward, with Kriel and then Hattingh making meters beyond midfield. The Seawolves went through several more phases, but Pulu knocked it on under tackling pressure and a couple kicks led to a DC lineout at midfield. DC again thundered forward along the openside in the 32nd, with Rizzo charging forward then giving it to Buckley who dumped off to Robertson at the five meter line. Seattle flanker Charles Elton made a clutch tackle to pop the ball out of Robertson’s hands for Rossouw, who recovered the ball.
After a scrum and a kick for distance, Robertson and Grosse combined for yet another at the try line, but knocked the ball on, giving Seattle another bit of breathing room after Iona’s clearance kick immediately following the scrum. But Old Glory took the lineout and again charged forward, barreling through quick phases and down the touchline. The Flags got an excellent chance on goal, with outside center Steff Hughes dumping the ball off to Grosse with just meters remaining, but Grosse tipped the ball into touch, ending the Old Glory chances for the half. After a couple minutes of inconsequential play, both sides went into the locker rooms with DC ahead 7-5.
Seawolves Have Woeful Second Half, Game Falls Away
For most of the second half, Seattle had more struggles, more desperation, and less hope. By the time the visitors regained their footing, the game was all but over. Old Glory continued to use what worked – their speed – and slowly overcame a scratching, biting, fighting Seawolf defense in front of the posts. After two more DC tries after the turn of the 50th minute, Rodney Iona was sent to the sin bin in the 60th, and DC got one more try before Seattle returned to full strength. It was a testament to the strength of the Seawall that Old Glory did not pull away from the half with four, five, or even six tries. But the points that the home side did put on the board were more than enough. Although eightman Riekert Hattingh punched through for a cathartic try in the 73rd minute, it was too little, too late.
At the very beginning, it looked like Seattle might have made the key second-half adjustment, as the visitors began to put together an attack inside the Old Glory half in the 42nd. Divan Rossouw got a few yards up the side, followed by Cam Orr, then the Seawolves went through a few more phases. However, the attack ended early, as Smith knocked the ball on in a messy ruck, leading to a scrum for Old Glory that the home side won a scrum penalty off of.
Robertson took the kick into touch around the 22, and then the Flags took the lineout into maul as the 45th began. DC quickly won another penalty and kicked for the corner, taking another lineout into a brief maul that the Seawall stopped. They then won another penalty and took yet another corner and yet another lineout into maul. Seattle held firm in the 46th and 47th against both pick-and-runs on the blindside and phases to the openside, winning a lineout on their own five meter line as Muller knocked a pass from Robertson into touch. The Seawolves won their lineout and had 2 rucks before Smith opted to kick for distance into touch, making it just past the Seattle 22 meter line.
DC then had a lineout and took it to maul. Orr picked the ball but jumped offside, giving DC another corner and another lineout at the 5 meter line. The home side once more took it into maul, pushing into the Seawall but finding resistance. Old Glory took it out of maul and into pick-and-runs, the first on the part of Buckley, who made it inches from the try line, and the second by Grosse, who lunged over the line to sink a try in the 50th minute. Robertson made the conversion, bringing the score to 14-5.
Soon after, Old Glory piled on. Buckley sent off a distance kick after his side took the kickoff, and Rossouw took the ball and had the chance for a return kick, but opted to attempt to break through the line. He was stopped, and the Seawolves went into rucks in their own territory in the 53rd. The Flags took advantage of a sloppy ruck, picked the ball away, and sent it to the openside, where Robertson sent a squib kick forward. Rizzo barreled forward while Stighling tried to recover, but Rizzo proved far speedier and edged out his Seawolf counterpart to land the try. Robertson missed the conversion, but DC’s lead grew to 14 points.
Both Seattle wings switched around this time, as Malacchi Esdale came in for Pulu and Ina Futi relieved Stighling. Seattle won the ball soon after the ensuing kickoff as Esdale won a contested box kick from Buckley. Seattle phased through several passes and rucks, unable to break through the Flags’ defense around midfield until the 55th until Old Glory got called for a not rolling away penalty. Rossouw then sent a kick into touch just past the DC 22 meter line and Seattle took the lineout to maul, followed by phasing back and forth. The Seawolves twice almost lost the ball in the rucks but won a penalty and took it to the corner. The lineout went to maul, but Old Glory pushed back a bit as phases began anew and continued for around a minute. Seattle lost the chance when Iona unintentionally grabbed an opponent by the neck while clearing a ruck in the 59th, getting called for it on a TMO check in the 60th and going to the naughty chair.
Old Glory took the kick into touch around midfield and took the lineout into maul, winning just under ten meters before the Seawolves halted the maul. As Old Glory began to phase through, Emery sent off a bad pass, with Rossouw in perfect position to intercept with a clear 50 meters ahead of him. But Rossouw knocked the ball forward, giving DC a scrum. What could have been the beginning of a comeback instead became the beginning of 10 minutes with backs to the wall as Old Glory charged out of the scrum into Seattle territory.
Over the next ten minutes, the visitors gave it everything they had. With Seattle down a man, Old Glory was even more dangerous on openside runs than before. Rizzo charged past the 22 in the 63rd minute and then his team won more meters off ensuing rucks. Rizzo again tried to break the left side as the 64th began, but was immediately stuffed by Rossouw. DC phased back down to the right, but the ball bounced out and Seattle recovered territory with a Rossouw kick to touch. The lineout was clean for the Flags and they began to charge ahead, but the home side knocked it on and Seattle won the ensuing scrum. However, a quick kick by Ina Futi made good distance but went into touch at the beginning of the arc, giving Old Glory a lineout in Seattle territory instead of by their own 22.
DC took the lineout into maul, winning a couple meters before sending it through passing phases near Seattle’s 22 meter line. In the 68th, Esdale jumped offside on a DC ruck, giving a penalty kick to the home side that they took for a corner. Once more, the Old Glory lineout went to maul and won a few meters before the Flags phased it down to the openside. Emery passed to Muller who passed to substitute center Owen Sheehy, who trucked through Kriel’s tackle into the try zone in the 69th. Emery took the conversion kick through the uprights to extend Old Glory’s lead to 26-5.
Iona came back from the sin bin just in time to take the kickoff, a box kick that Hattingh recovered to bring Seattle into opponent territory. Time was very quickly running out, as the team needed to make up three converted tries in 10 minutes to win – or more realistically, two to get within 7 points for a bonus point on the table – but Rossouw had a line break on the openside, making it to the five-meter line before being taken down by substitute DC flanker Logan Weidner. Hattingh received the ball and lurched forward, down scarcely a meter out. Mason Pedersen – in for Juan Pablo Zeiss – picked and ran, but knocked the ball on as he came down, giving Old Glory a scrum.
Seattle won a scrum penalty and opted to charge forward, with Hattingh getting the ball on the second phase and jumping over the try line only to be stopped in his tracks by three DC men. The visitors tried to continue into pick-and-runs, but Old Glory got the ball after a knock-on by flanker Devin Short. DC then had a scrum in the 72nd minute, but for the second time in a row, the home side botched the scrum. This time, the fashion was more dramatic, as Hattingh picked it out at the dawn of the 73rd minute and lunged over the line for Seattle’s second try. Fouché sent the conversion between the uprights, bringing the score to 26-12.
Down two tries with seven minutes left, the chances of a win were certainly slim for the Seawolves, but the team was still playing for a bonus point. However, the visitors proved unable to make the quick turnaround they desperately needed, and Old Glory returned to the Seattle danger zone after winning a penalty on a Seattle ruck in the 75th and another in the 76th, which Emery took through the uprights to extend the lead to 29-12. Despite a late push to the attacking zone by Seattle, the score remained unchanged for the rest of the game.
Takeaways Into the Bye
The Seawolves go into the bye week in dire straits. The team is 2-5-0, last place in the Western Conference. After this week’s results, the Houston SaberCats sit atop the West with a 5-2-0 record and 27 table points. Next are the San Diego Legion, who are also 5-2-0 but have 26 table points. RFC Los Angeles is close behind, 4-3-0 with 23 table points. The Utah Warriors, who had a bye this week, still sit at 4-2-0 with 21 table points but are now in fourth.
The team continues to play whack-a-mole with struggles that seem to especially dog the team in the first half. Twice, Seattle has put enough together in the second half to win – but five times, the team has either been taken out before putting things together or suffered a painful close loss. This match was simply one where Seattle got beat, and, against the general season trend, it got worse in the second half.
But it was still close enough to be frustrating. The Seawall kept dozens of potential points off the board, but it was nowhere near enough when the offense could not get anything going. While Old Glory’s defense was impressively stout – more so than Seattle’s, and fitting for the team with the fewest missed tackles in MLR – but it was a general sloppiness that sank the Seawolf attack, a problem that appeared to be getting better in previous matches. Specifically, the visitors struggled in passing, with knock-ons and giveaways prematurely knocking down drives.
After next week’s bye, the Seawolves return home on April 18 for a match against the Chicago Hounds. The Hounds have the best table standing in MLR, with a 6-1-0 record and 27 table points. However, it will be do-or-die for a Seattle side that sits at the basement of the Western Conference and is on the edge of an early exit from playoff contention.
