MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNT INCLUDING A STATEMENT WIN AND IMPOSSIBLE PREDICTIONS

Week Eight of the Major League Rugby season was perhaps the finest so far. There were dramatic victories, surprise defeats and much more as North America’s professional rugby competition continued.

Here are five things we learnt last weekend:

Seawolves make statement win

Having led the Western Conference for much of the 2024 season, the Seattle Seawolves have again proven that they are contenders for the Shield this season.

Week Eight offered plenty of big results, but the Seawolves’ 29-21 win against the incumbent champions, the New England Free Jacks, takes top prize in the result of the round competition.

Travelling across the country to Veterans Memorial Stadium, two sides who play physically and intensely went blow for blow in a highly enjoyable encounter.

Just seven points separated the two teams at half-time, but in the second 40, Seattle pulled away thanks to tries for Kara Pryor and Riekert Hattingh.

As much as Allen Clarke’s team may be disappointed with conceding 14 points late on, one thing is for certain, they can be looked at as title candidates.

Former Falcon leads Utah to Victory

By their standards, the Utah Warriors have had a disappointing start to the 2024 season.

While picking up wins against the Chicago Hounds and Anthem RC, those victories were counteracted by losses to the Houston SaberCats, Seattle Seawolves, RFC Los Angeles and Dallas Jackals.

With that form in mind, people had already begun to write off Greg Cooper’s team as challengers for the play-offs.

To get their season back on track, former Newcastle Falcons stalwart Joel Hodgson kicked 18 points to help his team to a 33-32 win over the San Diego Legion.

On the road in Southern California, Michael Manson crossed the whitewash twice for the Warriors, while Caleb Makene dotted down once.

The true jewel in Utah’s crown was Hodgson.

With all his experience honed in the Gallagher Premiership, the 31-year-old was faultless.

Now eight points from the play-offs, there could well be a new life for the Warriors as the season hits its second half.

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Sharks sink their teeth into NOLA

After a frustrating start to life in MLR, the Miami Sharks are certainly starting to come good.

Coming back from their bye week, the Florida club were dominant on their way to victory against fellow Eastern Conference side, the NOLA Gold.

Ex-Scotland centre Nick Grigg crossed the try line for Miami, who now are just four points off third-place Gold and a play-off place.

In the race alongside Old Glory DC, who play the Utah Warriors on Friday night, Miami are now firmly in the race for a place in the post-season.

Chicago hit back at haters as East hots up

The Chicago Hounds’ 54-31 victory over RFC Los Angeles combined with New England’s loss to Seattle means there is just a point separating the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

USA stalwart Nate Augspurger registered a late hat-trick for Sam Harris’ side at SeatGeek Stadium to secure the bonus point win and leave the Hounds hot on the heels of the reigning champions.

Now about to go on their bye week, Chicago will rest and recuperate ahead of a meeting with the Free Jacks in Quincy, Massachusetts

Another test for the team in just its second season, coming into the game fresh could be useful for the Midwest side as they look to put their credentials to the test once again.

It’s impossible to call

Week Eight, more than any other, has proven just how difficult this competition is to call.

More upsets and surprises this week mean that the race for the play-offs have hit breakneck speed.

The Chicago Hounds have made great strides in the East, while the San Diego Legion’s narrow defeat to the Utah Warriors means there is more wiggle room in the West, with the Dallas Jackals and Warriors in pursuit.

With NOLA having dropped points against Miami, it has opened the door to the Sharks and Old Glory.

Even now with so much time to spare, it does not feel like an outlandish statement to say that the final play-off positions will not be decided until the regular season draws its final breath.

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2024-04-24T06:35:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd