After a cracking first round, the staff here at The Runner Sports has reconvened to update our power rankings, as we will do every week.

NOLA Gold made the biggest jump from our preseason rankings, moving up two spots. Houston SaberCats also moved up two on the leg of Sam Windsor, but remain lower in the overall ranks.

Utah finds themselves in the basement, having not played in Round 1. They’ll get a chance to show their mettle against Austin in Round 2, which will give us a better idea of where they belong.

#1 SEATTLE SEAWOLVES (Record: 1-0; Last Week: #1)

Major League Rugby made sure to give us a mouth-watering Round 1 matchup when they rehashed last year’s championship. Glendale owned the 2018 regular season, stuffing the Seawolves twice. But then Seattle toppled the nearly invincible Raptors in the finals, laying claim to the title. This year, it was Seattle’s turn to grab early season honors. They out-fought Glendale in a dramatic, two-point victory. Glendale held up better in the scrum this time around but Seattle got the penalty that mattered. A few minutes before the death, Glendale’s scrum conceded the penalty goal attempt to Brock Staller that proved to be the difference-maker. Seattle will have a tough contest away against San Diego Legion this weekend.

#2 RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK (Record: 1-0; Last Week: #3)

The “Roosters” bump up a spot with a validating road win against the Legion. In the first quarter of the match, New York looked nigh unstoppable. They breezed to a 15-0 lead. San Diego fought back, to their credit. Ultimately, RUNY would need a penalty try in the final minutes to seal a victory. But when they needed a try, they dialed one up. When they needed to hold a skilled Legion side, they held.

New York will now have two bye weeks to put the lessons of live MLR play to work in training. They resume play against the Round 1 team of the week, NOLA, on February 16.

#3 GLENDALE RAPTORS (Record: 0-1; Last Week: #2)

Glendale did not idle away the offseason. They returned to action with a more diversified platform, striking from every possible angle and width. Hanco Germishuys continued to ball, though hot-headedness may have limited him towards the end. A rebuilt pack looks like it was designed to take on Seattle, which is precisely what they did.

Errors did them in. Too many errors. Mika Kruse, an up-and-coming Eagle, struggled from the center position. But in truth, there may have been too many emotions involved to really get the best out of clinical Glendale.

They travel to the bayou for Round 2.

#4 NOLA GOLD (Record: 1-0; Last Week: #6)

NOLA sits at the top of the table after one week, having registered the only bonus-point win. They faced a tough and ill-known Toronto side and ran right through them. Cam Dolan and Scott Gale were epic, playing all the right chords to complete New Orleans’ offensive symphony.

Still, concerns remain. NOLA benefited from a first half in which Toronto seemed allergic to possession, kicking every ball away. Then, when the game seemed in hand, Toronto came blazing back and New Orleans could not find a way to make a stop.

Still, that offense looked inspiring, and in the end, the men in gold and white did what they needed to do to win a slugfest against a team full of experienced internationals. That says a lot. Winning is a habit and after one week, NOLA is building good habits.

#5 SAN DIEGO LEGION (Record: 0-1; Last Week: #4)

The Legion lost, but they looked good doing it. Perhaps caught off guard by RUNY’s quick start, the Legion kept their cool and fought their way back, taking the lead. Their scrum looked strong, winning the battle of the Paddy Ryans up front. Joe Pietersen’s effort at fly half was impressive.

All told, they couldn’t quite contain NY’s array of attacking options. They conceded a penalty try that surrendered the lead for good. But that doesn’t diminish the shift they put in to come back after such a demoralizing start.

#6 TORONTO ARROWS (Record: 0-1; Last Week: #5)

Alas, a stunning comeback fell just short when the Arrows air-mailed a pass at the death. They dropped their MLR debut to the Dolan Gold.

Down 7-24 at the half, the Arrows took too long to adjust to what NOLA was offering. The second half was more encouraging, as the Arrows ripped off 24 points. Testing the NOLA defense a bit more, they started to find their groove. But they’ll have to make those adjustments more quickly if they want to move back towards the top of the rankings.

They’ll have a bye week to work it all out.

#7 HOUSTON SABERCATS (Record: 1-0; Last Week: #9)

Fly half Sam Windsor, season one’s leading point scorer, picked up his team and put it on his back. Luckily for the ‘Cats, it’s a broad back. He scored all 21 of his team’s points from his boot, going a perfect seven-for-seven on penalty kicks. Many from long range.

But Houston had little else to offer. Weather conditions were admittedly poor, but the SaberCats barely even threatened to cross the whitewash. There was no offensive connectivity or creativity to speak of, and only Austin’s poor discipline and the range and accuracy of Windsor’s leg ticked over the scoreboard.

They will need to do more to beat the teams north of them in these rankings. They have a bye in Round 2, but will travel to San Diego in Round 3.

#8 AUSTIN ELITE (Record: 0-1; Last Week: #7)

Austin handled the SaberCats in a preseason friendly, but could not do so in their home opener. The defense played adequately as a whole but gave away far too many penalties. Houston managed to score 21 points without having many scoring opportunities.

The bad weather may have limited some of Austin’s skilled players. Timothee Guillimin was quiet. But Austin was arguably the least-rehearsed looking team in Round 1. With all the new faces in town, it isn’t clear that they’ve yet figured out their respective roles.

We’ll see if they can figure it out hosting Utah this weekend.

#9 UTAH WARRIORS (Record: 0-0; Last Week: #8)

Utah experiences an unfortunate drop in the rankings, despite not taking the pitch. They drop because the overall quality of play in Round 1 seems to compare favorably to Round 1 last year. The teams are just better than they were, plain and simple. Right now, we haven’t seen enough of Utah to believe that they’ve likewise improved.

But we will find out soon. A trip to Dell Diamond in Round 2 should be a good measuring stick.