The Seattle Seawolves opens the 2023 Major League Rugby season against Rugby New York Ironworkers in a rematch of the last year’s Championship Final. Kickoff is at 9:30 pm ET (6:30 pm local) at Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, Washington. The match will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 1, and internationally on The Rugby Network with a 24-hour delay on the latter domestically.
In a curtain raiser, Seattle Rugby Club will play Eastside Tsunami at 4 pm PT.
Seattle Seawolves
The Seawolves played two preseason matches against non-MLR opponents, defeating the American Raptors 47-0 and Seattle RFC 49-0.
Head Coach Allen Clarke selected a starting XV with five new starters: Peter Malcolm, Charles Elton, Ronan Foley, Jordan Chait, and Conner Mooneyham. Three other new players are in the reserves: Jake Turnbull, Mason Pedersen, and Karl Keane, with Taylor Krumrei returning to the team after a year’s absence.
Rugby New York Ironworkers
The depending MLR Shield Champion Rugby New York also won their two preseason matches, defeating the Toronto Arrows 40-28 at the Legacy Center in Brighton, Michigan, and Old Glory DC 33-28 at The St. James in Springfield, Virginia.
New Head Coach James Semple will need to manage 11 foreign player spots with additional foreign players on the roster. The team’s core players have returned for 2023 with some new additions. Three new players are starting: Hamish Dalzell, former Seattle Seawolves back-row/lock Brad Tucker, and Former Super Rugby center Teihorangi Walden. In the reserves, Sam Davies, a tighthead prop, joined the team from New Zealand, and Anthony Parry, a loosehead prop, returned to the team after a year’s absence.
Squads With Player Article Links
Seattle Seawolves: 1 Mazamo Majola 2 Peter Malcolm 3 Sam Matenga 4 Ben Landry 5 Rhyno Herbst 6 Charles Elton 7 Ronan Foley 8 Riekert Hattingh 9 JP Smith 10 Jordan Chait 11 Martin iosefo 12 Tavite Lopeti 13 Dan Kriel 14 Conner Mooneyham 15 Duncan Matthews 16 James Malcolm 17 Jake Turnbull 18 Mason Pedersen 19 Taylor Krumrei 20 Nakai Penny 21 Karl Keane 22 AJ Alatimu 23 Lauina Futi
Rugby New York Ironworkers: 1 Chance Wenglewski 2 Dylan Fawsitt 3 Nic Mayhew 4 Nate Brakeley (C) 5 Hamish Dalzell 6 Brad Tucker 7 Brendon O’Connor 8 Ben Bonasso 9 Conor McManus 10 Sam Windsor 11 Ed Fidow 12 Jason Emery 13 Teihorangi Walden14 Andrew Coe 15 Jack Heighton16 Kaleb Geiger 17 Anthony Parry 18 Sam Davies 19 Charlie Hewitt 20 Kara Pryor 21 Connor Buckley 22 Quinn Ngawati 23 Fa’asiu Fuatai
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