TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Seawolves have announced their matchday 23 for Sunday night’s Major League Rugby Semifinal against California Legion at Starfire Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT in Tukwila.
Seattle returns to Starfire Stadium with a place in the Major League Rugby Championship Final on the line. The Seawolves enter the semifinal backed by an 85% home win rate in last 20 home matches at Starfire Stadium, one of the strongest home records in Major League Rugby.
Standing in their way is a familiar opponent.
California Legion spent much of the season near the top of the MLR standings and arrive in Tukwila with added motivation after last weekend’s result. Seattle defeated California 33-19 at Starfire Stadium, setting up an instant playoff rematch between two teams facing each other on the same field for the second straight week.
Seattle Seawolves: 1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Marno Redelinghuys (C), 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Tiai Vavao, 9 André Warner (VC), 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Rufus McLean, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Ina Futi, 15 Duncan Matthews. Impact Players: 16 Liki Chan-Tung, 17 LaRome White, 18 Charlie Walsh, 19 Kalisi Moli, 20 Nick Boyer, 21 JP Smith, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Drake Davis.
Head Coach Allen Clarke has named a strong starting XV led by captain Marno Redelinghuys and vice captain André Warner.
For Clarke, the focus remains on the present.
“Our mindset has always, first of all, there’s always been belief,” Clarke said. “Belief in the group and belief in what we’re trying to achieve and belief that we could still get there even after rounds two, three, and four where we didn’t pick up any wins.”
After a challenging start to the campaign, Seattle fought its way back into playoff contention through daily improvement, resilience, and trust in the squad.
“We focused on what we can do better on a weekly basis, daily basis, and then performing on the field,” Clarke said. “The credit goes to the player group because lesser men would have folded and lesser teams would have hung up their tools and said it’s not to be our year.”
“We started this week at zero again with a view to purely focusing in on this game and never worrying about what’s happened in the past and not thinking too far down the line. All focus is on the semifinal on Sunday.”
The familiarity of facing California for a second consecutive week has helped sharpen preparations while keeping the group energized for finals rugby.
“There’s more of a feel,” Clarke said. “We start each week recognizing what we did well and what we’re going to do better. Then we build accordingly and we try to maintain that freshness: train fast, faster than the game, and train smart.”
“After the game on Sunday to secure the home semifinal, a big message was congratulations, but also enjoy this week. Too many people in professional sport never actually get to finals rugby, finals knockouts. So to experience that, it’s something to relish, look forward to with excitement.”
The energy around Sunday’s semifinal has been matched by the support Seattle receives at Starfire Stadium.
“It’s been awesome,” Warner said. “Starfire, the fans are always very loud, especially last weekend. It made a massive difference. Meeting the fans afterwards as well and having interaction with them has been absolutely, yeah, it helps you in the tough times in a game.”
Warner has been one of Seattle’s most important players this season. The former Houston SaberCats playmaker arrived in Seattle with playoff experience and has played a major role in the Seawolves’ postseason push.
Warner leads the team with seven try assists and has provided key versatility at both scrum-half and fly-half.
Clarke praised the consistency and leadership Warner has brought to the squad.
“Players like Patty, Davey, Andre, Marno, Divan, they deliver it in spades on a weekly basis,” Clarke said. “Both in the quality of their play, how they prepare for the games, and in their effort throughout the week and in the 80 minutes that matters.”
Nicknamed “The General” by teammates, Warner has embraced his leadership role with humility.
“I think it started off as a joke, to be honest,” Warner said. “As a team, you have to be the general of the team, and we did well those two games. I don’t read too much into it. It’s been awesome playing and I’m honestly enjoying it a lot.”
Clarke believes the nickname now represents far more than a joke.
“He’s more than a general because many generals stand behind the battle line,” Clarke said. “This guy leads from the front. If he’s asking you to do something, he’s going to do it himself, and that’s why he has the respect of the players.”
Another key figure in Seattle’s postseason run has been Paddy Ryan, whose impact has been felt throughout the season.
The experienced USA Eagle leads the Seawolves with seven tries and has also recorded 153 tackles, giving Seattle a strong presence on both sides of the ball.
Davy Coetzer enters the semifinal as one of Seattle’s key attacking threats. The fly-half leads the team with 85 points and has added four try assists.
Divan Rossouw and Duncan Matthews bring added danger across the backline, with Rossouw recording 540 metres gained and Matthews leading the team with 664 metres gained.
The winner of Sunday’s semifinal will advance to the Major League Rugby Championship Final in Chicago on June 21, where they will face either Old Glory DC or the Chicago Hounds.
For a Seattle side that refused to let its season slip away, another opportunity awaits.
“It’s a wonderful story to date, and that’s all it is to date,” Clarke said. “But there are more chapters, and I’m not ready for this to be our last week.”
Match: Seattle Seawolves vs California Legion
Competition: Major League Rugby Semifinal
Date: Sunday, June 14
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
Venue: Starfire Stadium
Location: Tukwila, Washington
Broadcast: ESPN2 / ESPN+