Seawolves earn road victory over misfiring Free Jacks

Seattle emerged as the better side in Saturday’s battle between the two conference leaders, departing Boston with a 29-21 result over the defending champions. New England’s pack was outplayed by the Seawolves, with the Free Jacks lineout badly misfiring and the scrum under pressure throughout.

Mack Mason opened his account with a penalty goal just two minutes in, but it would be nearly 20 minutes until either side would influence the scoreboard. Kara Pryor was binned for a dangerous tackle and the Free Jacks took advantage, with a delayed pass by Jayson Potroz on the gainline sending Wayne van der Bank through a gap to score.

At the ensuing restart New England conceded a penalty, and Mason closed the gap to one with his right boot. He would nudge the visitors ahead with his third successful kick just after Pryor returned to the pitch. The Free Jacks had an opportunity for three points well within the range of Potroz but instead opted for a kick to the corner. There would be no pay-off, however, as the throw-in didn’t connect and the Seawolves cleared their lines.

Ryan Rees temporarily replaced JP Smith for an HIA, and the scrumhalf broke from an advancing scrum to set Conner Mooneyham clear down the right sideline. When the ball was recycled Rhyno Herbst’s offload found Dan Kriel and the big center thundered in for a try, leaving it 14-7 to Seattle at the break.

New England called for fresh legs in the pack not long into the second half. Ill-discipline cost them, however, as a late hit by Ben LeSage on Divan Rossouw put the Free Jacks on the back foot. The pressure stayed on until Pryor squeezed over from short range. Not long after the restart a chip kick from Mason was regathered by Tevita Kuridrani. Quick hands down the line found Riekert Hattingh loitering on the wing and there was no stopping the Seawolves captain from 40 meters out.

The frustration grew for the Free Jacks when Seattle won a scrum penalty on New England’s put-in deep in Seawolves territory. A 50-22 from Reece MacDonald earned another opportunity, but after van der Bank had created a line break his offload went to deck leaving a three-man overlap begging.

With the clock ticking down a penalty try was given to New England when Joe Taufete’e was deemed to have collapsed a maul, the Seawolves hooker getting a yellow card in the process. The Free Jacks immediately turned over possession, however, and Mason’s fourth penalty put the game out of reach.

A high-light reel try from 30 meters out by Kaleb Geiger gave the home crowd something to cheer about, but there would be no bonus point for the Free Jacks. Holden Yungert’s line break in the dying moments ended with a knock-on, and when star forward Wian Conradie trudged off injured four minutes from time the wind came out of New England’s sails.

The Seawolves can celebrate during their bye week before returning to action at home against Anthem on Friday, May 3. For New England it’s a road game against Los Angeles as part of a double-bill with the USA Women’s Eagles hosting Canada for their Pacific Four match in Carson.

SCORING

NEW ENGLAND 21
Tries (3) – W. van der Bank (21′), Penalty try (68′), K. Geiger (72′)
Cons (3) – J. Potroz 2/2 (22′, 73′), No kick (68′)

SEATTLE 29
Tries (3) – D. Kriel (39′), D. Pryor (53′), R. Hattingh (56′)
Cons (1) – M. Mason 1/3 (57′)
Pens (4) – M. Mason 4/4 (2′, 23′, 31′, 70′)
YC (2) – K. Pryor (19′), J. Taufete’e (68′)

LINEUPS

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera (17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai 47′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Sean Ralph 47′), 3 Cole Keith (18 Kaleb Geiger 47′), 4 Josh Larsen, 5 Conor Keys (19 Jackson Thiebes 61′), 6 Piers von Dadelszen (20 Seta Baker 47′), 7 Mitch Jacobson (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie*, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti (21 Holden Yungert 51′), 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana (23 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi 51′), 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage (22 Killian Coghlan 64′), 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Reece MacDonald

*8 Wian Conradie left the field at 76 minutes and could not be replaced

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Dewald Donald, 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 DaQuan Perry 78′), 3 Sam Matenga (18 Chance Wenglewski 64′), 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Jean Droste (19 Taylor Krumrei 73′), 6 Charles Elton (20 Pago Haini 79′), 7 Kara Pryor (16 DaQuan Perry 76′-78′), 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith (21 Ryan Rees 35′-HT), 10 Mack Mason (22 Sam Windsor 73′), 11 Toni Pulu, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Tevita Kuridrani (23 Tavite Lopeti 68′), 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Divan Rossouw

Not used: 17 Kellen Gordon

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 20
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 14:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 55°F (13°C), wind SW 5-10mph (8-16km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)

HIGHLIGHTS