Lauti Pair Leads Utah To Victory And Completes MLR Playoff Quartet

Lauti Pair Leads Utah To Victory And Completes MLR Playoff Quartet

Jun 25, 2018 by Alex Goff
FloRugby Technique: The Box Kick

The final week of the Major League Rugby regular season produced two games with important playoff ramifications.

Utah took on Houston and needed a win to take that 4th spot from Austin. They did it behind Tonata Lauti's Player Of The Week performance. Lauti scored two tries to claim the try-scoring title for the entire league, and helped Utah overcome Houston 31-27. 


Meanwhile, San Diego stayed ahead of Houson with a somewhat surprising win, beating Glendale 23-5. This was Glendale's first loss of the season,but might be forgiven since the Raptors five of their players were suiting up for the USA on Saturday. The Legion were missing two, and while they were an important two, (Cam Dolan and Nate Augspurger, who combined for four tries against Canada), the San Diego came away with an impressive victory. 

San Diego looked sharp from the opening kick, converting their opportunities and capitalizing on any Glendale mistake. Controlling the territory battle and showcasing the more physical brand of rugby propelled the Legion into unchartered waters - a victory over the No. 1 seed Raptors.  

What that means is the Legion plays Seattle, not Glendale, in the semis.

Top Four Teams: 

Seed

Team

Wins

Losses

Points

1

Glendale Raptors

7

1

34

2

Seattle Seawolves

6

2

29

3

San Diego Legion

5

3

24

4

Utah Warriors

3

5

22

 

MLR Championship Series Schedule
MLR Playoffs:
Seattle vs. San Diego, 7 p.m. EDT, Infinity Park, Glendale, CO
Glendale vs. Utah, 9:30 p.m. EDT, Infinity Park, Glendale, CO

MLR Championship:
Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 9 p.m. EDT, Torero Stadium, San Diego, CA

Weekly Top 15:

  1. Loosehead Prop, Alex Tucci, Utah Warriors

  2. Hooker, Lindsey Stevens, Houston Sabercats

  3. Tighthead Prop, Adam Macklin, Houston SaberCats

  4. Left Lock, Casey Rock, Glendale Raptors

  5. Right Lock, Matt Trouville, Houston SaberCats

  6. Blindside Flanker, Alec Barton, San Diego Legion

  7. Openside Flanker, Cecil Garber, Houston SaberCats

  8. No 8., Drew Gaffney, San Diego Legion

  9. Scrum-half, Nick Boyer, San Diego Legion

  10. Fly-half, Tadgh Leader, San Diego Legion

  11. Blindside Wing, Fetu’u Vainikolo, Utah Warriors

  12. Inside Center, AJ Tui’neau, Utah Warriors

  13. Outside Center, Ryan Matyas, San Diego Legion

  14. Openside Wing, Takudza Ngwenya, San Diego Legion

  15. Fullback, Don Pati, Utah Warriors


2018 MLR Weekly Honors
Week 1
Team of the Week: Seattle Seawolves
Player of the Week: Phil Mack

Week 2
Team of the Week: San Diego Legion
Player of the Week: Zach Fenoglio

Week 3
Team of the Week: Austin Elite
Player of the Week: Anthony Salaber

Week 4
Team of the Week: Glendale Raptors
Player of the Week: Marcus Walsh

Week 5
Team of the Week: NOLA Gold
Player of the Week: Vili Toluta'u

Week 6
Team of the Week: Utah Warriors
Player of the Week: Brock Staller

Week 7
Team of the Week: Austin Elite
Player of the Week: Will Magie

Week 8
Team of the Week: San Diego Legion
Player of the Week: Harley Davidson

Week 9
Team of the Week: Glendale Raptors
Player of the Week: JP Eloff