Seawolves Sign Capped Scottish Center Mark Bennett, Indicating Backfield Shakeup for 2026
The Seattle Seawolves made their first acquisition of the offseason on Friday, officially announcing the signing of Scottish veteran Mark Bennett to the Starfire side. Although listed as a center, the 6-0, 200-pound Bennett has a versatile skillset, able to play on the wing and at both center positions. Bennett has been playing in top-level rugby since the 2011-12 Pro 12 season, spending most of his years between the Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby (both now in the United Rugby Championship), though he did have a short stint in France early in his career.
Since the 2013-14 season, Bennett has accumulated 162 caps, 141 starts, 40 tries, seven conversions, eight penalty goals, and 238 total points. He has played in four Six Nations championships, mostly earlier in his career, and made four starts for Scotland in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where he scored three tries. His most recent international appearance was as a substitute outside center during a 31-23 test match loss to the All Blacks on Nov. 13, 2022.
With the 32-year-old Bennett likely filling in the outside center role for the season (as inside center and Seawolves veteran Dan Kriel has already been re-signed), his addition to the Seawolves indicates a potential shakeup in the backfield, especially since Bennett would take up one of seven international gameday slots during each MLR cap he earns.