Previewing Seawolves Season, First Match versus Old Glory
The Seawolves’ home (left) and road (kits) on display at the preseason kickoff on March 4, 2026. Credit: Callaghan Bluechel/Emerald City Spectrum.
With six teams remaining in Major League Rugby and 10 games upcoming for the Seattle Seawolves, what will this season look like for the league’s first champions?
For starters, the league’s big contraction over the offseason has concentrated remaining talent among the six teams, and further restrictions on international players have led to these teams having much more domestic rosters.
The shake-ups were no more apparent than when Anthem Rugby Carolina, who had gone winless in their first two seasons, notched a clean 39-26 victory on the road against the combined California Legion in the league’s first match on Saturday, March 28.
Like all teams in MLR this year, the Seawolves have 10 fixtures, one at home and one on the road against each of the five other sides. Their schedule is as follows, with home games in bold:
1. Friday, April 3: Home vs. Old Glory DC - 7:30 p.m. Pacific - Starfire Sports, Tukwila, Wash.
2. Sunday, April 12: Away at Anthem Rugby Carolina - 1:00 p.m. Pacific - American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
3. Sunday, April 19: Away at California Legion - 5:00 p.m. Pacific - Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif.
4. Friday, April 24: Home vs. Chicago Hounds - 7:00 p.m. Pacific - Starfire Sports, Tukwila, Wash.
5. Sunday, May 3: Away at New England Free Jacks - 1:00 p.m. Pacific - Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy, Mass.
6. Sunday, May 10: Away at Old Glory DC - 1:00 p.m. Pacific - Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown, Md.
7. Sunday, May 17: Home vs. Anthem Rugby Carolina - 1:00 p.m. Pacific - Starfire Sports, Tukwila, Wash.
8. Sunday, May 24: Away at Chicago Hounds - 1:00 p.m. Pacific - SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, Ill.
9. Sunday, May 31: Home vs. New England Free Jacks - 5:00 p.m. Pacific - Starfire Sports, Tukwila, Wash.
10. Sunday, June 7: Home vs. California Legion - 6:00 p.m. Pacific - Starfire Sports, Tukwila, Wash.
While the full rosters were announced in March, there has been one change since then: wing Matthias Douglas is no longer with the team and his spot in the roster has been filled with fellow wing Nolan Tuamoheloa, who appeared in three games for the Utah Warriors last year and scored one try, per the North American Rugby Database (NARDb). Over four seasons in the MLR, Tuamoheloa has scored two tries, gained 425 meters, and made 47 tackles over 16 games, per NARDb.
Like most of the teams in the competition, Seattle went through quite a bit of roster turnover in the offseason. Of the 31 players on the side, 11 are returners from the 2025 team and 20 are new additions, many from the defunct teams of yesteryear.
Some of the biggest newcomers are from the SaberCats, such as loosehead prop Ezekiel Lindenmuth, flyhalf Davy Coetzer, and loose forward Marno Redelinghuys. Other big additions include capped Scottish center Mark Bennett, capped Uruguayan tighthead prop Ignacio Péculo, and capped Tongan lock Harison Mataele.
Both the Seawolves and Old Glory have announced their Matchday 23s, with Seattle’s seven international gameday slots going to Péculo, Mataele, Bennett, South African scrumhalf André Warner, returners Duncan Matthews and Divan Rossouw, and Welsh flyhalf Dorian Jones off the bench.
While exact injury statuses are unknown, MLR’s availability report showed that Dan Kriel, Michael Hand, Callum Botchar, and Rufus McLean did not participate while Ina Futi had light participation, so their absences on the Matchday 23 were perhaps to be expected.
Seattle’s backfield contains some notable position shifts. Longtime scrumhalf JP Smith is starting on the left wing while Tuamoheloa, usually a wing, is getting the nod at inside center. Matthews, while usually a fullback, is playing on the right wing. It’s a somewhat unusual setup - having Matthews at fullback, Rossouw at outside center, and Bennett at inside center would have given space for Tuamoheloa on the wing - but we’ll see how it shakes out. After all, the Seawolves’ backfield looked quite explosive against the Stormers and Harpooners in preseason.
Old Glory brought in a couple of big back rowers from the folded teams during the offseason, and two of them - Aidan King (from the Gold) and Benjamín Bonasso (from the Sharks) are getting the starting nods on Friday. Although the Flags didn’t get as many former SaberCats as Seattle did, starting scrumhalf Jay Renton and starting fullback Max Schumacher are representing the defunct Houston side.
Both forward packs weigh in similarly, with the Seawolves at 1,974 pounds (895 kilograms) and Old Glory at 1,972 pounds (894 kilograms), but since Seattle’s pack weight is bolstered by heavier flankers, the visitors may have the true weight advantage in the scrum.
It’s likely we’ll see MLR debuts for both teams’ first round 2025 MLR Draft picks, with flanker Tiai Vavao numbered at 21 for the Seawolves and tighthead prop Connor Devos numbered at 18 for Old Glory. Seattle is going with a 6-2 in its subs, with only Jones and Nick Boyer available as backs off the bench, while DC is using the more traditional 5-3.