The Seawolves are heading to their fourth Major League Rugby final in seven years after earning a 28-25 victory over the Jackals in the Western Conference Final on Sunday. In the end Seattle proved the better side, but they were very nearly upset by Dallas in an enthralling back-and-forth contest that wasn’t decided until the final moments.
Calamity struck the visitors before the opening kickoff when top ball carrier Sam Tuifua was injured during the warm-up. Instead Marques Fuala’au started at the back of the scrum, and the first-year pro certainly made his presence felt at the breakdown during his 50 minutes on the pitch.
It was Dallas who opened the scoring through Juan-Dee Oliver’s boot after the scrum had gained the ascendancy. A Jade Stighling line break gave Mack Mason a chance to reply but his strike was pushed wide of the upright. The Jackals came straight back and after several phases Jerónimo Gómez Vara popped the ball over a defender to an open Nic Benn, who slipped out of a diving JP Smith’s grasp to touch down in the corner. Oliver nailed the extras from wide out to make it 10-nil with a dozen minutes played.
Seattle gained possession from the restart and parked themselves in Dallas territory but time and again were turned away. Discipline, however, was a problem for the Jackals and soon the referee lost his patience and sent Juan Pablo Zeiss to the sideline. From the ensuing lineout the maul was collapsed with Makeen Alikhan the guilty party. The flanker joined Zeiss in the bin and the referee awarded the automatic seven points.
Despite now holding a two-man advantage the Seawolves were determined to let more opportunities slip away. Mason kicked the ball dead with a three-man overlap on his left, and then a scoring pass from Mahonri Ngakuru to Cameron Orr was forward. Dan Kriel was forced off with a leg injury and then Conner Mooneyham was caught offside when replacement Sam Windsor knocked on a high ball. Oliver took full advantage with a three-pointer from 40 meters to push the Jackals ahead by six.
Ngakuru saw yellow for a dangerous clearout on Kyle Steeves and the Jackals sensed their opportunity. After moving upfield they attacked the short side and Tomas Malanos fired a backhanded offload to Benn to grab a brace. Oliver was again on song with the extras and a stunned crowd fell silent as the visitors took an improbable 20-7 lead.
A heavy hit from Smith on Fuala’au gave Pago Haini a chance at a turnover and the flanker delivered deep in Dallas territory. The Seawolves turned down the posts in favor of the corner. When the drive was stopped the ball came to Joe Taufete’e who bashed in under the sticks to make it 20-14 at the half.
Both teams looked to secure field position early in the second half until Dallas opted to counter. They made it well inside Seattle territory, but then a turnover saw the home side racing to the opposite end. Liam Murray won a turnover but the ball was knocked on and this time the Seawolves got the shove-on at the scrum. Tavite Lopeti charged ahead and thought he midfielder was felled short, Smith was there to crash over from short range with Mason’s conversion giving Seattle their first lead of the game.
Momentum was now fully swung towards the home side but the Jackals held their line. At last a breakthrough came with Stighling bumped off Connor Winchester and found Smith in support for what appeared to be a crucial try. Instead a TMO review showed that the scrumhalf had dropped the ball while casually reaching down to ground it, and the one-point gap remained.
An opportunity to kick points came to Dallas, with Oliver pointing to the sticks from nearly halfway. The scrumhalf had the distance but not the accuracy. He would make up for it with a 50-22 that bounced out just short of Seattle’s line. On came the lineout drive and with the help of a couple backs the maul was over with Tomás Bekerman getting credit. Oliver’s kick rang off the upright but Dallas held a four-point lead with just six minutes left on the clock.
Zeiss was too slow to roll away from a tackle and Divan Rossouw launched a massive kick aimed at the corner but his angle was off and he missed touch. Dallas cleared to halfway and an overthrow at the lineout put the Jackals in possession, but the Seawolves somehow pinched the ball at the breakdown. It was Rossouw who emerged the hero, busting a tackle on a 50-meter run downfield with a final pass to Ryan Rees for a stunning try. The Jackals won the restart but were tied up in the breakdown and the whistle blew for full-time.
So ends a remarkable campaign for the Jackals, who just a few months ago had only won two games in the past two seasons. Seattle will seek their third title next Sunday in San Diego but head towards the game battered and bruised with the defending champion New England Free Jacks presenting a mighty obstacle standing in the pathway to glory.
| SCORING |
SEATTLE 28
Tries (4) – Penalty try (22′), J. Taufete’e (36′), J. Smith (50′), R. Rees (78′)
Cons (4) – No kick 2 (22′, 36′), M. Mason 1/1 (51′), S. WIndsor 1/1 (79′)
Pens (0) – M. Mason 0/1
YC (1) – M. Ngakuru (30′)
DALLAS 25
Tries (3) – N. Benn 2 (12′, 31′), T. Bekerman (73′)
Cons (2) – J. Oliver 2/2 (13′, 32′)
Pens (2) – J. Oliver 2/3 (3′, 29′)
YC (2) – J. Zeiss (21′), M. Alikhan (22′)
| LINEUPS |
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr (17 Chance Wenglewski 77′), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Jackson Zabierek 63′), 3 Sam Matenga (18 Koby Baker 77′), 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Mahonri Ngakuru, 6 Jean Droste, 7 Pago Haini (20 Reid Davis 60′), 8 Huw Taylor, 9 JP Smith (capt.) (21 Ryan Rees 77′), 10 Mack Mason, 11 Jade Stighling, 12 Dan Kriel (22 Sam Windsor 26′), 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Divan Rossouw
Not used: 19 Isaia Lotawa, 23 Jeremiah Sio
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray (22 Joaquín Horcada 55′), 2 Dewald Kotze (17 Tomás Bekerman 66′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Makeen Alikhan, 7 Ben Fry, 8 Marques Fuala’au (18 Kyle Steeves 26′-31′) (20 Daemon Torres 55′), 9 Juan-Dee Oliver, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Connor Winchester, 13 Tomás Cubilla, 14 Jason Tidwell (21 Brock Gallagher 66′), 15 Tomás Malanos
Not used: 16 Connor Grindal, 19 Javon Camp, 23 Joeli Tikoisuva
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, July 28
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 13:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 68°F (20°C), wind SW 7-11mph (11-18km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Kahlil Harrison (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
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