Seawolves romp to thrashing of Jackals with 61-19 victory
By Charles Hamaker
Tukwila, WA – For the second straight week, the Seattle Seawolves were able to handle business against an opponent that sat near the bottom of their respective conference's standings. Seattle welcomed second-year club Dallas back to Starfire and weren’t the nicest hosts as they clobbered the Jackals for a final score of 61-19. Captain Riekert Hattingh was able to log a hat trick of tries before we hit the halftime whistle, as nine tries were logged by the Seawolves on the day. Following losses to San Diego and Utah, these past two victories over Toronto and now Dallas have been excellent opportunities to get back on track and heading in the right direction as the regular season winds down.
Pre-game scenes ahead of the Dallas Jackals at Seattle Seawolves match (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Rumbling Riekert
Number eight and team captain Riekert Hattingh has been Seattle’s rock for years, and this match was no different. Hattingh bulldozed his way through Dallas in the first half alone, as he was able to compile a hat trick of tries within the first 40 minutes of play. His first came shortly after Dallas had answered the Seawolves first try of the night with one of their own, fresh off a lineout right near the try line. Hattingh received the ball and was able to stretch over the line for a score that put him as the top try scorer in MLR. His next two of the match, and the half, were more so finishers as Hattingh got the ball near the doorstep of the try zone and was able to finish off the play with his combination of speed and power.
Seawolves captain Riekert Hattingh scores one of his three tries on the day (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Helping hands make light work
In addition to Hattingh’s hat trick, four of his Seawolves teammates were able to record tries in the blowout of the Jackals. Seattle was able to use their speed and size to overpower Dallas, including a try that saw them first lose possession, regain the ball and then quickly perform a heads up play to touch one down. Dan Kriel logged two tries, while Ben Landry, Pete Malcolm, and former Jackal Adriaan Carelse found the try zone in the big victory for the Seawolves.
Seattle’s offensive attack in the match, through pictures (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Getting back on track before a break
Seattle needed a victory like this where they racked up numerous standing points, in addition to the landslide of points they tallied on the scoreboard tonight. The Seawolves were able to force the Jackals into 18 penalties on the day and take heavy advantage of that while numerous players got on the scoreboard for nine tries total in the match. Seattle dominated the physical aspect of the game as they won 12 of the 15 scrums in the match and were generally able to tune things up against a Dallas squad that has struggled in their two seasons in Major League Rugby. While there is a reason why games are played in the first place, this match always seemed like an opportunity for the club to tune up and build onto the win in Toronto the week before after Seattle had a two-match skid.
Post-game scenes after Seattle’s blowout victory over Dallas (Photos by Liz Wolter)
What’s next?
The Seawolves will take a break off from head-to-head competition prior to a big battle against the Houston SaberCats on the road. As we continue towards the MLR Playoff and the regular season is beginning to wind its way down, matches like this will have significant importance not only towards general standings but also seeding, as Houston is the third team in the Western Conference with Seattle in second. Just three standings points separate the two teams at this point in team, while the Seawolves are only one point below rival San Diego for the top spot in the West and all of Major League Rugby, for that matter. The Seawolves and SaberCats will do battle on Saturday, May 13th with a kickoff time of 5PM PST.