Lauti Pair Leads Utah To Victory And Completes MLR Playoff Quartet
Lauti Pair Leads Utah To Victory And Completes MLR Playoff Quartet
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:
Loosehead Prop, Alex Tucci, Utah Warriors
Hooker, Lindsey Stevens, Houston Sabercats
Tighthead Prop, Adam Macklin, Houston SaberCats
Left Lock, Casey Rock, Glendale Raptors
Right Lock, Matt Trouville, Houston SaberCats
Blindside Flanker, Alec Barton, San Diego Legion
Openside Flanker, Cecil Garber, Houston SaberCats
No 8., Drew Gaffney, San Diego Legion
Scrum-half, Nick Boyer, San Diego Legion
Fly-half, Tadgh Leader, San Diego Legion
Blindside Wing, Fetu’u Vainikolo, Utah Warriors
Inside Center, AJ Tui’neau, Utah Warriors
Outside Center, Ryan Matyas, San Diego Legion
Openside Wing, Takudza Ngwenya, San Diego Legion
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