> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # “There’s a Feeling of Emptiness”: Late Legion Push Drops Seawolves in Semifinal - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-seawolves-lose-semifinal-california-legion/ - Published: 2026-06-15T23:53:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:14:26.000Z - Author: Callaghan Bluechel - Tags: News, Analysis, Seawolves, Allen Clarke, Marno Redelinghuys, Davy Coetzer, André Warner, Rufus McLean, Mason Pedersen, Rhyno Herbst, Divan Rossouw \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="4500"\] ![ Seattle Seawolves hooker Dewald Kotze (2) makes a pass during the second half of his team’s 43-34 loss to the California Legion on June 14, 2026. Image credit: Eric Hiller/Seattle Seawolves Rugby. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/2nd-half-58-format-original.jpg) Seattle Seawolves hooker Dewald Kotze (2) makes a pass during the second half of his team’s 43-34 loss to the California Legion on June 14, 2026\. Image credit: Eric Hiller/Seattle Seawolves Rugby. \[/caption\] TUKWILA, Wash. - [A week prior](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/seattle-seawolves-secure-home-playoff-california-legion), it had been the California Legion who regularly tried one offload too many, who had suffered a few too many penalties, and who had generally gotten in their own way. The shoe was on the other foot on Sunday night, however, and the Seawolves’ season ended with a loss to the California Legion in the playoff semifinal. The MLR Shield, though it will be ultimately decided in Chicago on June 21, will not be coming to Seattle at the end of the year. “It’s exit interviews and mop-ups from here on in,” Seawolves head coach Allen Clarke told Emerald City Spectrum. “There’s a feeling of emptiness because we weren’t quite ready for the season to end yet.” Seattle fought valiantly to the end, taking a brief lead in the second half and getting plenty of chances to pull the score closer or return to that lead as the match continued, but in the end, the Legion triumphed by the palindromic score of 43-34. “I think the fight was there up until 79 minutes, 40 seconds in, you know,” said blindside flanker Marno Redelinghuys. “Doesn’t matter what the time says on the clock, we always wanted to fight and just get a last try in. It doesn’t matter if the scoreboard says we’re not going to be able to win.” With usual captain Riekert Hattingh unavailable due to an injury sustained in the previous week’s match, Redelinghuys wore the captain’s armband during the game. Tiai Vavao, the team’s first round draft pick in the offseason, spent all 80 minutes at Hattingh’s usual eightman position. > [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZiIaP1BAdV/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Seattle Seawolves Rugby (@seawolvesrugby)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZiIaP1BAdV/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) Seattle went with a 4-4 split in the substitutes, foregoing an extra man (due to Hattingh’s injury, it would have been Sean McNulty) for pack substitutions and rostering Nick Boyer, JP Smith, Dorian Jones, and Drake Davis as backfield subs. The minor shakeup in the roster didn’t change what the team was looking to do during the match, given that they had beaten the Legion the week prior. “I think we were just trying to keep it pretty similar, in the gym, on the field,” said tighthead prop Mason Pedersen. “It was working, so we tried not to change too much and keep the bodies fresh. It was a long season, a lot of guys played a lot of minutes, but yeah, just try to do the same thing and keep consistent habits.” Naturally, as the losing side in Starfire the week prior, the Legion shuffled things up a bit. Ma’ake Muti got the nod at loosehead prop instead of Michael Scott, who had been bested by Pedersen multiple times in the scrum the previous Sunday. Rory van Vugt started at fullback instead of Steffan Krimp while Cassh Maluia played the whole game at center instead of coming on as a winger substitute. > [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZiFaz8lGYk/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by California Legion (@legion.rugby)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZiFaz8lGYk/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) The prop switch worked for California and prevented the scrum penalty issue from coming back to bite them. But the Legion still gave the Seawolves plenty of opportunity to win, getting dinged for 12 penalties compared to Seattle’s nine. A lot of these whistles came as the Legion had a man advantage thanks to a red card against the Seawolves late in the first minute, and as that card expired and Seattle could bring a replacement back on the field, the hosts finally surged ahead of the visitors. “Obviously the red card hurt us, 20 minutes, you’re playing with 14 men,” Clarke said. “And we got ourselves back into a really good position, having not started that well … our discipline wasn’t that great, and we slipped a few tackles in our interior, but we rectified that, and we got ourselves back into a lead.” But the game got away from them at the end, and with too many turnovers from Seattle on knock-ons and jackals, the Seawolves lost to their West Coast rivals. That rivalry may be different now, with the old San Diego-Seattle split changed with a merged Legion team (that is in many ways more a continuation of the old Rugby Football Club Los Angeles than it is of the old San Diego Legion), but going down in a best-of-the-west matchup and losing the opportunity to play in the MLR final wasn’t an easy feeling for the Seawolves players or the crowd at Starfire. That’s the harshness of the playoffs. ### A battle of the boots began early and both sides entered the half with a tie game. Almost from the jump, the tenor of the game was a little shakier than it had been the previous weekend. Seattle had done well to contain both scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou and flyhalf Coby Miln in the previous match, but early on in the semifinal, Miln came out swinging. The Seawolves, meanwhile, were uneasy on offense and weren’t as clinical as they needed to be on defense, and the Legion held the momentum for much of the half. Rufus McLean saved the Seawolves from an early breakaway disaster after a bad pass in the second minute, but after a series of kicks back and forth, a knock-on due to another disconnected pass led to the first scrum of the game, a legion put-in in the fourth minute. Possession swapped hands around midfield, but when Seattle flanker Marno Redelinghuys dropped the lineout pass reception at Seattle’s own 22 and the hosts got dinged for a whistle soon after, Legion flyhalf Coby Miln took the ball through the posts for a penalty to bring the visitors up 3-0. Seattle looked shaky with the ball in hand, however, and an ill-advised offload during a brief Seawolves drive led to the Legion getting the ball back and, though they conceded two penalties in quick succession, they had the good fortune of a miraculous McLean kick upfield and a Legion penalty kick that didn’t reach touch and California took their lineout at midfield. But spending that much time on defense wore Seattle down, and after a couple near-breaks up the middle against forwards showing signs of exhaustion, Joe Mano and Lance Williams broke up California’s left touchline and Mano charged through a desperation tackle by Duncan Matthews to score the visitors’ first try. Miln converted to put the Legion up 10-0. Seattle immediately had an opportunity to get right back in the game with a penalty deep in Legion territory on the kickoff, but though their lineout maul rolled up to the edge of the try line, the Seawolves got dinged for another penalty and wound up settling for three after a Legion penalty in the ensuing run of play. Each team managed a penalty goal each as the minutes wore on, bringing the score to 13-6\. But the balance of play tilted in California’s favor, with a 31st minute Seawolf kick to touch failing to leave play and the Legion jumping up the pitch on an ensuing penalty to get a lineout about seven meters away from the line, The visitors had the kind of momentum and energy that made a try seem inevitable, with pick-and-go play inching ever closer. And yet as eightman Ben Houston seemingly dropped the ball as he tried to lurch over the line, momentum swung hard to the hosts. Duncan Matthews sprinted to midfield on the openside, but the real break was when André Warner snuck between two defenders, rushed into open space, and kicked it wide to McLean for the try. Flyhalf Davy Coetzer tied the game up with a conversion, 13 all. California called a referee review system (RRS) challenge that Houston had actually landed the ball in the try zone with pressure, but the replay showed Houston losing the ball as it came down and the call stood. ### Seattle outlasted a Rhyno Herbst red card and took a brief lead in the second half. The battle of the boots continued with a strike apiece for each side, though making those decisions would have been arguable in any event for either team. For the Legion, they really looked to be on the verge of finally breaking through Seattle’s sharply bent defense, while for the Seawolves, a red card on Herbst - shown after a referee-initiated review on a tackle - meant that going into the half with a lead would have been quite a bit preferable. Fears of Legion’s overbearing power came to fruition early in the second half, as Matthews misjudged the depth of a Legion position kick and California got a deep corner lineout that became a try-scoring maul. Miln continued his perfect record from the tee with the conversion to make it 23-16, but so did Coetzer as he sent a penalty through the uprights to cut the deficit to four points. Tension built up as Seattle won a penalty in Legion territory and took a lineout at the attacking 22\. Phases built up one after another as the Seawolves sought an opening and the Legion made strong tackles again and again, stuffing closed each window before it could open. Referee Robin Kaluzniak’s whistle didn’t blow against either team. Coetzer found a hole as he switched to the openside and darted through before sending a clinical offload to Divan Rossouw, whose try put the Seawolves up 24-23 before Coetzer’s conversion made it 26-23\. The flyhalf scored soon after on another penalty kick just as the time on Herbst’s 20-minute red expired and Kalisi Moli entered the pitch to replace him. “Obviously, we didn’t start \[the half\] the way we wanted to, giving up a try right away,” Pedersen said. “But we were in it, we had the lead for a second there, so the energy was up.” And yet as the teams returned to full strength, the Legion finally broke the Seawolves. ### Too many errors with the ball felled the Seawolves in the end as Miln won the battle of the boots. The Seawolves had made quite a few mistakes during the first 60 minutes of the match, but they had plugged the gaps with enough stalwart play and capitalized on enough opportunities to take a lead as the second half hydration break neared. But there is only so much you can play with fire before it burns you. “We were still in it, we were getting entries into the opposition 22,” said Clarke about these final minutes. “But we turned the ball over cheaply and we released pressure on the opposition.” The Legion kicked to touch around midfield after receiving a kickoff on the heels of another Miln penalty kick, but Redelinghuys dropped the lineout catch and California got the ball back. Billy Meakes’ attempt at a chip kick went into touch, giving Seattle another lineout, but the same thing happened as hooker Dewald Kotze’s throw went a little low and the Legion contested Redlinghuys’ catch enough to get the ball back. California pushed forward consistently and substitute lock Ronan Murphy darted over the Seattle line into the try zone to put the Legion back on top. Miln converted again and Seattle trailed 33-29. Perhaps tiredness began to show for Seattle, but at this point in the game, it was the lack of precision with the ball that kept the Seawolves from coming right back and retaking the lead. The Seawolves managed to execute a good kickoff to get deep possession, but the connection broke down between Pedersen and Ezekiel Lindenmuth, with the latter knocking the ball forward. Rossouw was the second Seawolf to make a knock-on in attacking play in those minutes, diving to try and rectify a breakdown in connection, and what had been a brief spell of attacking play became a desperate defense at their own goal line thanks to a brilliant 50-22 kick from Miln. The maul quickly drove over the line and with Miln’s conversion, the score became 40-29. Just like they had all game, the Seawolves wouldn’t go down without a fight. Once again nabbing the kickoff in Legion territory, Seattle’s players drove mere meters from the try line, outlasting a knock-on by Callum Botchar thanks to Bertranou being forced into touch. Futi got the ball within five meters of scoring, and with the Legion drawn hard to the blindside, Coetzer booted it to McLean on the openside for the try and the Seawolves were within six points. But though the battle of the boots between Miln and Coetzer had been even up to this point, the visiting flyhalf finally got the edge as Coetzer’s conversion attempt veered to the right and the score remained 40-34\. Though the Seawolves were within one score of winning, any further points from the Legion could bury the match with just eight minutes left. Seattle energy began to wane by this point. The 72nd minute saw LaRome White become just the second Seattle sub all game and the first that wasn’t forced by the red card; other than him and Moli, the lineup was the same as it was in the first minute. Legion substitute hooker Alex Lopeti ran over Kotze in the 73rd and got a clean break. A high tackle allowed the visitors a penalty, which Miln gladly took through the posts to make it 43-34 in the 75th. That kick was the dagger. The Seawolves weren’t able to score again, but even if their possession in the final couple of minutes had resulted in a try, they would have had to land the conversion before the 80 minute mark and keep uninterrupted possession in order to have a shot at winning. ### Many stalwart efforts dotted the Seawolves lineup, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the team’s mistakes. In many ways, it was the offseason additions who showed the greatest mettle during Seattle’s periods of strength on Sunday. Coetzer was locked in a battle with Miln all game, each making stellar conversions and penalties through the posts while showing off an accurate boot in the field to find their teammates when they needed to. When the game was over, the Seawolf flyhalf accounted for 19 of his team’s 34 points and finished the year having scored 104 points in 11 matches, second most in MLR behind Miln, who got to 116 with 23 of his team’s 43 points. Paddy Ryan logged 29 total tackles and finished the year with 208 total tackles (181 of them successful) according to the MLR website. He also gained two turnovers from California as he continued his stellar jackaling work, and as had been clear for much of the season, he and Coetzer marked the two biggest additions from year to year. Warner at scrumhalf was probably a close third as he put in yet another excellent game. Redelinghuys had the work of captaincy despite joining the team in the offseason, but by the time of the semifinal, he had shown enough to gain the trust of the staff. “I’ve always tried to lead with my play, you know, but I never thought coming into this team that I would be a vice captain or a captain in the semifinal,” Redelinghuys said. “But great opportunity, great challenge.” There were others, too. McLean got two stellar tries and showed threatening footwork despite an injury that had sidelined him for most of the year. Vavao logged 80 full minutes and made 19 tackles, 12 of them successful. But therein lies the fact that the Seawolves lost the game. Despite many strong games during the year both off the bench and starting, the Legion broke seven of Vavao’s tackles. They broke five of Redelinghuys’ tackles and five more from Ezekiel Lindenmuth; all three of these players came to Seattle in the offseason and they were not immune to the issues that plagued the Seawolves during the game. Redelinghuys’ missed lineout catches added up. Just as nearly making it to the final was a credit to all the guys on the team, so was the fact that they didn’t. “Unfortunately we weren’t the better team tonight, with mistakes and discipline costing us a little bit and breaking our momentum,” Redelinghuys said, though he kept his head high with a bit of optimism despite it all. “Hopefully we can come back next year and fix it.” Despite the workmanlike goal of going at it again next year, the down feeling of the raw loss permeated across the field as the Seawolves and their fans met for the last time in the 2026 season. “Tonight wasn’t to be our night,” said Clarke. “I’m immensely proud of the group, I’m immensely proud of the fact we got to a home semifinal, but ultimately frustrated that we’re not going to Chicago next week. Because that’s what the mission was at the start of the season.”