MLR Tightens After Wild Week 6

MLR Tightens After Wild Week 6

A look at Major League Rugby after six weeks.

Feb 26, 2019 by Alex Goff
Chad Gough Goes The Distance
Chad Gough Goes The Distance0:24

Everyone has a loss now in Major League Rugby after the Seattle Seawolves upended RUNY in Tukwila, WA over the weekend.

Utah and Glendale notched the first tie of the MLR.

And while Austin is still winless at 0-5, it's hard to think that anyone else is on the outside looking in.

Brock Staller had a big game for the Seawolves as they turned a 14-14 tie into a 33-21 win over a tough RUNY team.

Meanwhile, it was a wild one in Utah with the Warriors running out to a 16-0 lead, only to see it disappear. Gannon Moore, who had to fly out to the game from his assembly with the USA team, seemed fresh enough to score two tries, but perhaps the play of the game was hooker Chad Gough, a former University of Utah All American, going 100 meters to close the gap for the Raptors. (See video.)

“This was a tale of two halves,” said Warriors head coach Alf Daniels. “We had an almost perfect first half, however Glendale made the right adjustments and we did not. This was a great match if you love rugby, but not the outcome we wanted."

San Diego thumped Austin in ATX, and the problem for the Elite is that what were close games are now becoming decidedly less close. At 0-5, Austin has some questions to answer. Those questions might also apply to Houston, who dropped to 1-2 after Toronto slammed the SaberCats 44-27 in Texas.

Toronto was led by Sam Malcolm, whose superb kicking effort produced 19 points.

“Our players have a lot to be proud about after that performance,” said Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn. “To come out on short rest on this long road trip and put in a strong shift to earn that win was inspiring. Our guys dug deep and left it all on the pitch.”

So where does that leave us? San Diego leads the league, but NOLA has a game in hand and way more bonus points. NOLA is in excellent position to get to 1st. But watch out also for Seattle and RUNY, both with just one loss so far. Utah, also with one loss, hasn't shown enough to be considered a contender, yet.

2019 Major League Rugby Standings
TeamsWLTPFPAPDBTBLPts
San Diego41012378451118
NOLA310141120214117
Seattle21013212753112
Toronto220128117113112
Glendale121999903110
RUNY2107380-7008
Utah1115356-3006
Houston1206181-20116
Austin05078130-52022