Seawolves Short of Week 9 Glory at DC

Photo by Paris Malone / Old Glory DC

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA (May 16, 2021) – The Seattle Seawolves traveled cross country to face Old Glory DC at Segra Field. In the second-ever meeting between the two sides, Old Glory managed to take a second-half lead and hold on in the MLR Game of the Week.  

Match Takeaways:

• Flyhalf AJ Alatimu’s kicking set the platform for attacking moents and defensive relief all match
• Isolated ball carriers and miscued troubled the visiting side’s scoring chances in the second half
• Wing Ross Neal added another try to his season tally of now six
• Seawolves return to Starfire Stadium for week 10 and week 12, with their final BYE in week 11

Seattle started out strong whilst Old Glory had mistakes that set up the Seawolves first scoring opportunity. After kicking down field to force an Old Glory line out outside of their own try zone, DC knocked on the ball and gave Seattle an attacking scrum. Inside center Kieran Joyce patiently waited for the ball from scrumhalf JP Smith before crashing through the DC defensive line for his Major League Rugby try. Alatimu added two more, 7-0 Seattle at the 10th minute. With a penalty against Seattle midfield, DC set up an attacking set piece to score their first try of the evening with their backs. Kick was no good, 7-5 Seattle at the 18th minute. Back-to-back DC penalties allowed Alatimu to kick Seattle up field and then kick for three points. 10-5 Seattle at the 21st minute. Old Glory answered with a team try to tie up the match at the 24th minute, 10-10. During the next phases of play, Old Glory was penalized for contact in the line out tunnel and Alatimu called for the kicking tee once more. 13-10, Seattle at the 27th minute. The Seawolves worked back into Old Glory’s red zone but a miscue on running lines stalled attacking momentum with an obstruction call. DC kicked to touch for a line out, which ended up not being thrown in straight to gift Seattle a scrum. Moving the ball to the backs on a looping play, fullback Mat Turner was set up to fix the defense and put away wing Ross Neal for his sixth try of the season. Alatimu hooked the conversion for his only miss of the night. 18-10, Seattle at the 32nd minute. Strong defensive work from Seattle earned them the ball back but an awkward tackle saw Turner leave the field with an injury. Play resumed and Old Glory pushed towards the try line, scoring just at the half with a converted kick after to close the score line. 18-17 Seattle at half time.

The second half saw fewer points from both sides. A deep Alatimu kick and big chase from Seattle forced a penalty to tee up another attacking set piece for the Seawolves. Neal carried over the try line, almost scoring another, but the ball got knocked out in contact before touching it down. Seattle began to struggle with discipline and miscues heading into the last 30 minutes of the match. After an intentional knock-on penalty, Old Glory formed a maul from a line out and the home team’s forwards pushed over to take the lead. Kick after was missed, 18-22 Old Glory at the 54th minute. Over the last quarter of the match, Seattle entered Old Glory’s 22 meter five times and was hindered from a game-winning effort from a forward pass, a knock on, a held up grounding, a stolen ball in the scrum, and a final knock on in contact. Final score, 18-22 Old Glory DC.

Tries:
Joyce 10’
Neal 32’

Conversions:
Alatimu 10’

Penalties:
Alatimu 21’, 27’

The Seattle Seawolves (2-6) return to Starfire Stadium in week 10 of Major League Rugby, hosting Rugby ATL (5-3).

The Seattle Seawolves (2-6) return to Starfire Stadium in week 10 of Major League Rugby, hosting Rugby ATL (5-3). Kickoff at Starfire Stadium will be at 5:00 PM PT. Viewers inside the United States can tune in on ROOT SPORTS or The Rugby Network — and The Rugby Network for those outside of the US.