Seawolves Sweep Coffee Cup, Overcome Mistakes in 36-28 Win against Free Jacks
TUKWILA, Wash. - There was no doubt who would be hoisting the Coffee Cup when 80 minutes expired on Sunday. The visitors may have been the defending MLR champions three times over, but their down year combined with a late Seawolves surge led to Seattle sweeping the trophy.
It was a game that didn’t necessarily look great for either side; in the end, it was a determination of which team would get in their own way less than the other. But the Seawolves emerged victorious in their 36-28 battle against the New England Free Jacks and put themselves in a winner-gets-home-field game against the California Legion.
With the Legion having won their penultimate game against Anthem 55-26, the Seawolves needed a win to keep open the possibility of getting the second seed and a home playoff match. And with the five-point showing they put together on Sunday night, there are a lot of winning scenarios against California that put Seattle into that seed.
Despite being the three-time defending MLR champions, the Free Jacks came into Sunday night’s game in quite a beatable shape. New England had just 16 points with a 5-3-0 record, fifth in the table ahead of only Anthem Rugby Carolina. But the middle of the table remained tight going into the second-to-last week; New England could tie things up with Seattle by getting all five points and keeping the Seawolves to none.
Seattle’s lineup was almost identical to their match in Chicago the previous week, though with Charlie Walsh and Michael Hand in the reserves instead of Dewald Donald and Nolan Tuamoheloa.
Fateful Forward Pack Errors Accumulate for Seawolves in 34-25 Road Loss to Anthem
Things didn’t go according to Seattle’s plan in Charlotte. While the Seawolves’ ability to create threats on offense was clear, an uncharacteristically bad day for the forward pack and some mistakes by Rhyno Herbst set them back points, meters, and eventually led to the visitors dropping the whole game without a single extra point in the table.
The final score of 34-25 was just too great a gap for the Seawolves to earn that bonus point for being within seven, but not great enough for all the mistakes they made to not have been the difference. In truth, both sides looked like they had quite a bit to work on despite their evident talent.
Anthem Rugby Carolina entered the match having gone 1-33 in their entire history, having given up 1305 points while scoring just 663 points in those games per the North American Rugby Database (NARDb).
And yet they were not to be underestimated. With AgustÃn Cavalieri at the helm, the team brought on some MLR heavy-hitters and notched its first win in team history, 39-26 over the California Legion to begin the 2026 MLR season.
Seawolves Announce Full 2026 Roster; How Does Depth Chart Look Going Into Season?
The Seattle Seawolves announced their full roster on Monday, March 2, with a total of 31 players set to compete in 10 matches across the 2026 Major League Rugby season. Of these 31 players, 12 are returners from the 2025 roster while 19 are newcomers from elsewhere in the rugby-playing world, both from other MLR teams and clubs around the world.
Some of these players figured out a deal with Seattle soon after the offseason started, while others were reportedly more last-minute. But with the number of sides and games reduced from 2025, so too is the number of players reduced, down from 38 to begin the 2025 season and 39 once the mid-season signing of Nick Boyer is taken into account. This new sizing is consistent with other rosters around the MLR this year, and these players have the benefit of greater protections thanks to the MLR’s first collective bargaining agreement being signed earlier this offseason between the MLR Player’s Association and the MLR.
With all that in mind, who are all the players that will don green and blue in Starfire Sports this season, and how might the Seawolves be looking at utilizing them?
Seawolves Sign Longtime Domestic MLR Hooker Sean McNulty
The Seattle Seawolves announced the signing of former Miami Sharks hooker Sean McNulty, bringing in their second hooker as the team begins to officially fill out its front row for the 2026 MLR season.
Seawolves Take On Utah In Western Semifinal
It’s officially win or go home for the Seattle Seawolves, on the road against the Utah Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinal. This battle shapes up to be one of the toughest yet for a Seawolves team that roared back into competition over the last few games of the season.
Mackail, Kotze, Gallagher Named to Canada 2025 Extended Roster
Three Seattle Seawolves and 29 MLR players in total have been announced as part of the 2025 Canadian summer test roster, though this will not affect the MLR season.
Red Card’s Impact: Seawolves Eke Out Two Points in 37-30 Loss to Free Jacks
The Seattle Seawolves fell to the New England Free Jacks 37-30 in the second Coffee Cup of 2025, but still got two bonus points out of the loss and went into fourth place in the standings.
Herbst Lands Last-Minute Try to Beat Utah, Keeps Seawolves Playoff Hopes Alive
The Seattle Seawolves won a thrilling match on the road in Utah on Monday, but now must build a hot streak to close out the season if they hope to hop back into the playoff picture.
Seawolves Season Hangs by Thread After Friday’s 26-26 Draw vs. Los Angeles
The Seattle Seawolves walked away from a must-win game on Friday with an undesirable draw against RFCLA, and as a result, they face an uphill battle trying to get back to the playoffs with five contests left to play.
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