NEWS

Week 4 Awards: Cathal Marsh the conductor in RUNY victory and Seattle Seawolves battle back from 13-point deficit

MLR announces Player, Team and First XV of Week 4

Salt Lake City, UT; February 19, 2019: Cathal Marsh is the MLR Week 4 Player of the Week after orchestrating a RUNY attack that handed NOLA Gold their first loss of the season. The Seattle Seawolves scored 18 unanswered points to overcome a 13-point deficit against the Toronto Arrows, earning the victory and the Team of the Week accolade.

Marsh, RUNY’s 26-year-old fly-half, was involved in every scoring play but one, dictating the match with his all-round game. Eight minutes in, Marsh broke the deadlock by converting a penalty goal. Following two straight NOLA tries, Marsh offloaded to Connor Wallace-Sims for a try after breaking the gain line and juking past a defender to keep the game close. Before half time, Marsh’s brute strength carried him over the try line with a defender on his shoulders for the final few meters to even the game at 17 each. In the 72nd minute, scores tied at 24-24, Marsh notched the game’s final points with a kick, leading RUNY to a 27-24 win over NOLA Gold. In total, Marsh scored 17 points on three penalty goals, two conversions, and a try, with 91 meters on nine carries.

Not until the 76th minute did the Seattle Seawolves take their first lead against the Toronto Arrows. At home in the sold-out Starfire Stadium, the Seawolves battled from behind nearly the entire match. The first half ended 17-17, following a pattern of Toronto scoring first and Seattle answering quickly. In the second half, Toronto recorded 13 straight points to build a 30-17 lead. The Seawolves then organized themselves into an efficient offense mixed with a stalwart defense, adding consecutive tries from USA Eagles Shalom Suniula and Ben Cima to close the Arrows’ lead to one. Seattle’s aggressiveness swarmed Toronto to close the game, with Brock Staller’s try in the 76th completing the Seawolves comeback, the home side taking a 32-30 lead. In the 80th, Staller added another three, making it 18 unanswered points for the Seawolves. The win pushes Seattle to third place in the overall standings.

MLR’s First XV of Week 4:

Loosehead Prop (No. 1), Olive Kilifi, Seattle Seawolves

Hooker (No. 2), Eric Howard, New Orleans Gold

Tighthead Prop (No. 3), Paddy Ryan, San Diego Legion

Lock (No. 4), Lou Stanfill, San Diego Legion

Lock (No. 5), Josh Larsen, Austin Elite

Blindside Flanker (No. 6), Lance Williams, Utah Warriors

Openside Flanker (No. 7), Eric Duechle, Seattle Seawolves

No. 8, Tony Lamborn, New Orleans Gold

Scrum-half (No. 9), Carlo De Nysschen, Glendale Raptors

Fly-half (No. 10), Cathal Marsh, Rugby United New York

Wing (No. 11), Connor Wallace-Sims, Rugby United New York

Inside Center (No. 12), Guiseppe Du Toit, Toronto Arrows

Outside Center (No. 13), Ben Foden, Rugby United New York

Wing (No. 14), Brock Staller, Seattle Seawolves

Fullback (No. 15), Dylan Taikato-Simpson, Glendale Raptors

ABOUT MLR

MLR is a professional rugby league launched in April of 2018. It’s an initiative of the American rugby community, in partnership with private investors, who believe that American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level. MLR will be the pinnacle of American rugby, and provide a rallying point for local communities, a focal point for American rugby fans, and an aspirational destination for young athletes.

The teams competing in MLR Season 2 are Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors, Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, Utah Warriors plus new additions Rugby United New York and Toronto Arrows. Agreements are already in place to add at least a further three teams from major North American markets for Season 3.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Major League Rugby: Press Office, 323-476-0016, press@usmlr.com

Photo: Craig Boudreaux.