Seawolves Take Down Old Glory in Second Half, Move Up Table with Second Straight Road Win
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Seattle Seawolves lock Callum Botchar is lifted up in a lineout during his team’s 30-25 win on May 10, 2026. Image credit: Seattle Seawolves/Instagram. [/caption]
The magnitude of the Seawolves’ 30-25 win on Mother’s Day afternoon might not have been immediately obvious. A three-game rut against Anthem, the Legion, and the Hounds early in the 10-game season meant that the team, just as in 2025, needed to put together a massive run to get back in the hunt.
Now, the situations weren’t identical. While Seattle needed to go on a big run just to make it back into a playoff spot by the end of the season in last year’s powerhouse Western Conference, the league’s contractions have resulted in a six-team MLR with four teams bound for the playoffs.’
The big prize, then - though a playoff spot can never be taken for granted - is the guarantee of a home playoff game. The Chicago Hounds, who won their sixth game of six on Sunday, are virtually guaranteed to be the top seed in the MLR, with 30 points in the table.
California is in second with 18 points. And after the Seawolves’ windy, rainy win against Old Glory DC on Sunday afternoon, they have 16. A home semifinal is well within reach.
The long list of Seattle injuries continued to build up in their last match, with loose forward Marno Redelinghuys leaving early with a knock. With Kalisi Moli also unavailable and Harison Mataele out for the season, Sean McNulty - usually a hooker - was available off the bench as the extra loose forward, though he would end up coming into the game as a flanker.
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André Warner filled in as the Seawolves’ flyhalf with Davy Coetzer out for the second straight week, while the backfield saw a big return as Ina Futi returned to the wing.
Old Glory’s lineup was similar to their setup in the season opener when Seattle bested them at home, though with Benjamin Bonnasso unavailable, the eightman for the game was Semi Kunatani.
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Both teams suffered momentum-killing penalties in the first half, though Old Glory put together a pair of late tries before halftime.
Seattle’s forwards held the Flags steady for only about a minute about 10 meters into defending territory, but a penalty was called early in the second minute and OGDC flyhalf Jason Robertson took it through the posts for three early points.
Things appeared to shift as a penalty against DC on Duncan Matthews’ aerial reception allowed a penalty and a corner lineout in the fourth minute, with the team setting up to maul, but the lineout throw went a bit high and no one was able to receive it, eventually resulting in a knock-on and a scrum for the home side. To make matters worse, loosehead prop LaRome White fell down in the scrum under pressure from DC tighthead Paul Mullen, and it became a scrum penalty.
Old Glory worked downfield for a briefly threatening drive before a touchline knock-on of their own allowed Seattle the possession. An offload from Michael Hand II to Divan Rossouw got the Seawolves quite a few meters beyond midfield, and once a penalty was called on DC, Rossouw went for the tee and tied the game with a clean penalty through the posts.
The wind affected more than just Seattle’s decision to go for the posts instead of trying for a corner lineout. A territory kick from deep in defending ground ended up traveling all the way over the endline and Old Glory got a scrum beyond the 22. Futi made a big early impression with a big tackle to force a turnover, however, and the danger subsided.
Neither side, as it turned out, did very well to maintain the ball. Futi and Hattingh barreled from midfield to the 22 in the 16th minute, but a following known-on from Callum Botchar became a DC kick to midfield, which became DC possession at midfield as the wind took the ball out of Matthews’ hands.
The 19th minute home scrum came after referee Luke Rogan called the water break. DC kicked it over to Seattle, but although the Seawolves were the beneficiaries of a brief mistake on the breakdown from Old Glory that allowed Hattingh to roar about 50 meters forward into attacking possession, an attempted chip up the left touchline fell into touch and a subsequent not rolling penalty eased the territory pressure on DC.
Another chance gathered as Warner delivered a gorgeous chip to Rossouw to power past midfield and Hattingh shoved for a few more post-contact meters. When the fortunate whistle went Seattle’s way, the visitors once again avoided the attacking lineout - even only about 15 meters away from the touchline - and Rossouw once again split the posts for three points. Seattle led 6-3 in the 25th minute.
Old Glory turned on the burners out of the ensuing kickoff, maintaining pressure and territory on Seattle and, once Futi got dinged for an offside penalty, the home side had an attacking lineout maul at the 22. Blindside flanker Cory Daniel broke the line and made it deep into the red zone, with DC getting the first true try line drive of the game. And like every other budding chance for either side up to that point, it ended on a penalty. Seattle got the ball back as the Seawall once again held.
These little mistakes had been piling up for each side as the half wore on, but although they had been staggered between each team up to this point - the Seawolves got the good end of another one inside OGDC territory, but Rossouw missed the kick and Seattle remained at six points - even a couple mistakes in a row for one side made a big difference.
An Old Glory knock-on gave Seattle the ball late in the half, but then a muffed pass from Dan Kriel to Futi and a high contact on Seattle on the defense after that muffed pass allowed a bunch of meters for OGDC. Kirby Myhill crashed forward out of a lineout maul, the Flags pressed hard around the center, and then a quick openside turnaround from scrumhalf John Lefevre to flyhalf Jason Robertson to winger John Rizzo gave DC a go-ahead try.
Rossouw, to that point, had been having a very solid game. But a midfield set of phases for Old Glory instantly turned on its head as Rizzo, with the 40th minute expiring, blasted past Rossouw and roared all the way up the field for a quick brace. Robertson easily made the chip shot and made it 15-6 going into the sheds at halftime.
The Seawolves took advantage of DC’s mistakes in the second half, pouncing for four tries and all five points.
The second half opened with the wind turning a would-be DC deep lineout into a ball through the endline. Another bounce of luck went Seattle’s way as a through kick to touch five meters out ended up bouncing off a DC player and giving the Seawolves a corner lineout not even five minutes out of the sheds. But DC stole the ball away and Matthews found himself with the ball around midfield.
Where the Seawolves wouldn’t get the try thanks to luck, they would have to make one with their skill. Matthews dummied his way past several men and roared well over the 22 and nearly to the try line. Seattle didn’t let up the pressure, spinning around to the left and then back around to the right. Hattingh nearly made it all the way over the line, then Kriel. But it was Futi along the touchline who finished the job and brought the Seawolves their first try. The score stood at 15-11 in the 45th minute, though Rossouw missed the touchline kick.
That was the first time in the match when the Seawolves really took advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. They did so again in the 52nd minute, with a penalty turning into a Seattle lineout in attacking territory. With a lightning-quick swivel to the openside, Seattle began drilling forward for meter after meter before Warner deked into an open lane and darted into the try zone to give his team a second-half lead.
Rossouw, by the slimmest of margins, booted the ball over the crossbar for the conversion. The Seawolves were up 18-15.
This positive trend continued. Seattle pushed at midfield a few minutes later, but even though OGDC got a scrum thanks to a Seawolves knock-on, an errant pass from Damien Hoyland went straight into Hand’s paws and the Seawolf winger launched himself all the way into the try zone.
It was pyrrhic for Hand, who clearly tweaked or pulled something and had to be carried off the pitch, with Nolan Tuamoheloa replacing him. For Seattle, however, the constant knocks are something for the coming weeks. During the game itself, they soon found themselves once again benefitting from a breakdown in Old Glory form.
Rogan initiated a review of his own in the 61st minute as Matthews, Hoyland, and Old Glory captain lock Rob Harley. The review found two things: one, that Matthews’ shoulder had hit Hoyland’s head, though there was mitigation and so it was a yellow card. But as Harley came into the breakdown, he made a dangerous tackle with no mitigation, and he was given the red and the penalty went Seattle’s way.
The Seawolves, as they had done for the whole half, took advantage. Cleanly and quickly, they brought the ball out of the lineout and shoved forward up the middle. Old Glory held for a couple of minutes, though they were clearly on the back foot, and as home loosehead Calixto Martinez got sent to the bin for repeated infractions, Seattle’s vise-grip tightened. A DC knock-on gave the visitors a scrum.
Both sides held their end of the scrum cleanly and scrumhalf JP Smith sent it to Kriel in the center of the pitch. Kriel lurched forward, a man on a mission, and he drove past three tacklers as he landed the ball underneath the posts for a try. Seattle had hit the four-try mark, and when Rossouw made the easy conversion, it was 30-15 for Seattle.
Old Glory didn’t go down easy, not even while they were down a man for the rest of the match and two for a couple of minutes. They pushed Seattle back quickly after the kickoff to restart, and although the Seawolves won a scrum in the 67th minute to get the ball back and set themselves up well to potentially ease pressure, the Flags recovered, and they held the balance between frenzy and quality as winger Owen Sheehy broke the line on the openside and dropped the ball off to Hoyland, who landed the try.
Crunch time was on. Robertson nailed the conversion and Seattle’s lead was down to eight points with 10 minutes left. Robertson scored three more after a penalty in Seattle territory to make it 30-25 with eight minutes left.
The best defense, as they say, is a good offense, and the Seawolves held the ball for a few minutes as they marched upfield. An opening was beginning to show itself in the 76th, but as Warner passed it to the touchline for substitute winger Drake Davis, the pass missed its target and went into touch.
It was a DC lineout, but one that was still at their own 22. But the momentum was with the home side in those waning minutes and they worked upfield once more. A high tackle around midfield gave Old Glory a kick to touch and a lineout at the 22. The specter of an awful defeat was clear for Seattle; of course, that same ghost presented itself as the possibility of a season-saving comeback for OGDC.
That ghost fled into the wind as Old Glory’s lineout wasn’t straight. Seattle maintained a good scrum and kicked to touch to end the game.
Three key performances: Hattingh, Kriel, and Futi.
Sunday’s match was captain Riekert Hattingh’s 100th game in the MLR, all played for the Seattle Seawolves. The captain has seen plenty of twists and turns in his nine seasons in the league, and another milestone is fast approaching.
According to the North American Rugby Database (NARDb), Hattingh came into the game having made 5759 meters across his whole career. Much of it on the half-pitch run he made in the middle of the first half, Hattingh made a total of 80 non-contact meters on Sunday, bringing his career total up to 5839. With four regular games left, making it to 6000 will be a race, but Hattingh - especially on Sunday against Old Glory - has shown an ability this season to break through lines and make meterage for his team. He isn’t as explosive as he was in his heyday, but he is still a weapon in Seattle’s arsenal.
Where Hattingh made a heap of pre-contact meters on Sunday, Dan Kriel made the bulk of his after contact. The try he scored was a perfect example of this, as he launched himself forward even as three men tried to take him down. But he has been a beast at making these post-contact meters all season long, and paired with his defense on the other side of the ball, it made for one of the best all-around showings of the backline.
When it comes to impact on backline defense, however, it’s hard to argue with Futi’s performance in his first game since the season opener. The scoresheet can be a little deceiving: the try of his was the definition of a team try, while his tackling and pressuring were instrumental in keeping Sheehy (and many other OGDC players who tried to break through up that side) off the board. Like both Kriel and Hattingh, Futi played all 80 minutes, though he moved to more of a fullback position when Matthews was in the sin bin, and this opened up DC’s right for their late try.
Three under-the-radar performances: Vavao, White, and Rossouw.
Although Tiai Vavao, Seattle’s first round 2025 draft pick, had played in all five games to begin the 2026 season, Sunday’s match marked his first start in a Seawolves uniform. In a very strong sign for the side, he played all 80 minutes and didn’t look out of place for one of them, rucking well, tackling well, and showing some explosiveness with the ball. The team saw rock-solid performances from all over the forward pack, but with Vavao looking like a veteran already, it makes clear that the team can put together these kinds of performances even when Redelinghuys and Moli aren’t available - and that Vavao can also be depended on as a starter.
With Ezekiel Lindenmuth still suspended from a red card earlier in the year, LaRome White was the team’s starting loosehead prop. Despite a collapse in the scrum early in the game, White held Old Glory at bay defensively with eight tackles while providing attacking pressure alongside his companions in the forward pack - and he only tired out near the very end of the match, going 76 minutes for being subbed off for Charlie Walsh (a tighthead who, despite being a bit out of position at the one, held his own in the final minutes).
It’s hard to call Divan Rossouw’s performance under-the-radar, but perhaps the extent of how well he played shows his versatility on the pitch. He scored two penalties and two conversions for 10 total points, filling in at the tee for the still-injured Coetzer. He made 16 tackles over the course of the game, providing a big service to an already-stalwart team-wide defensive performance.
Official Man of the Match: Duncan Matthews.
The Seawolves’ fullback made 65 meters pre-contact and 36 post-contact despite playing 70 minutes due to his yellow card. He beat four defenders during the totality of his runs, and his near-goal line run early in the second half set the tone for Seattle’s comeback in the final 40 minutes.
Matthews was given the Man of the Match honors by the broadcast, but - perhaps speaking to the fullness of Seattle’s performance - there are legitimate arguments to be made for guys like Kriel, too.
A complete victory was what Seattle needed to get back into the home playoff match race with four games left. More promising for the Seawolves is that three of their final four matches will be played at home in Starfire Sports, the soonest on May 17 against Anthem.
