Major League Rugby reaches the last four

After 103 matches, only three remain in the 2023/24 Major League Rugby .

Day one of the 2024 Major League Rugby Playoffs provided plenty of excitement.

There was a surprise win for the Dallas Jackals in the first Western Conference Semifinal, while the New England Free Jacks were forced to dig deep to beat Old Glory DC.

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS 33-29 OLD GLORY DC

Reigning champions, the New England Free Jacks survived a scare from Old Glory DC to progress to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 33-29 win.
Connor Buckley scored three tries for DC as they went toe-to-toe with New England in Massachusetts, and the boot of reigning MVP Jayson Potroz steered his team into next week.

It was the Free Jacks who opened the scoring at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Firing the ball to Paula Balekana on the left wing, the Fijian broke free on the flank before finding Reece Macdonald on his inside shoulder.

After Potroz added another three points from a penalty kick, Buckley would have his first try of the game when Tevita Naqali found his scrum-half in a flowing attacking move.

Soon the half-back had another as the quick thinking of Jason Robertson left the Free Jacks at odds.

A devastating break from the fly-half’s break made way for Lautaro Bavaro’s carry, who found Buckley with an offload to score.

Before the break, there was a joy for New England as Jed Melvin threw himself across the whitewash from close range and cut the deficit.

With half-time on the horizon, the Shield holders landed two hammer blows.
The first was another Potroz penalty and the second a try for Oscar Lennon made by the pinball running of Wayne van der Bank in midfield.

In the second half both teams proceeded with caution.

Following 15 minutes of play Buckley added his hat-trick score with a confident run, while Potroz and Robertson traded penalties to round out the
clash.

HOUSTON SABERCATS 22–34 DALLAS JACKALS

The Dallas Jackals marked their first-ever Playoff appearance with a 34-22 win against the Houston SaberCats.

A gritty 80-minute performance from the Jackals, the side registered five tries to land themselves a historic victory.

From minute one, the Jackals came out firing in the first half at SaberCats Stadium.

While the hosts may have scored first thanks to a well-struck AJ Alatimu penalty, Dallas would not be disheartened.
Ronan Foley rumbled over the try line after hard carries dented the Western Conference’s top-seed defense.

To keep the momentum a close-range score for Connor Winchester allowed the visitors a nine-point lead.

Against a team of Houston’s quality, Agustin Cavalieri’s Dallas found their resolve tested.

Tautalatasi Tasi’s endless drive to keep the ball in play helped Seimou Smith score the SaberCats’ first try of the game, and a confident carry from Louritz van der Schyff turned the tables for a time.

In response, Dallas took the first penalty awarded to them, got all three points from Juan Dee Oliver’s boot, and leveled the score.

Before half-time there was another twist in the tail as Tomas Cubilla finished off an impressive attack.

More cause for Dallas’s optimism followed in the second half.
With Gideon van Wyk in the sin bin for going in at the side, there was more space for the Jackals to exploit.

A try finally came when a failed clearance from Tasi was scooped up by Jackals back-row Sam Tuifua, whose offload to Jason Tidwell sent the Fort Worth native screeching over the try line.

With less than five minutes to play, Dallas secured a famous win.
Continuing to cause problems for Houston, a hacked ball through was latched onto by Oliver and placed down to send the SaberCats through to the Western Conference Finals.

After the remaining two Major League Rugby Conference Semifinals, the slate for next week’s Eastern and Western Conference Finals is locked in.

On Sunday, the Chicago Hounds traveled to the NOLA Gold to register an impressive win in their first-ever Playoffs fixture, while the Seattle Seawolves frustrated the San Diego Legion once again in knockout rugby.

NOLA GOLD 21–45 CHICAGO HOUNDS

The Chicago Hounds registered a dominant 45-21 win against the NOLA Gold to progress further in the Playoffs.

Scoring six tries at the Gold Mine on Airline as both teams made their postseason debut, it will be Rob Webber’s hounds that move onto an Eastern

Conference Final encounter with the New England Free Jacks in a week’s time.
Despite the full-time score, it was NOLA that took an early lead.

When Nicolas Revol-Pitt went in at the side of a ruck, Rodney Iona took a shot at goal to open the scoring with seven minutes played.
Supporters had barely returned to their seats when the game’s first try was recorded.

From the halfway line, Jordan Jackson Hope picked the ball from the base of the ruck and confounded every Hounds player to score in the left corner.

To steady themselves after a slow start Chicago and Luke Carty took points
from the tee after a high tackle.

Seven minutes later Chicago had the lead.

A kick to the corner and lineout drive saw hooker Dylan Fawsitt over the whitewash, and Carty converted from the right touchline to give the Hounds a two-point lead heading into the water break.

Carty added another penalty for the Hounds but saw the five-point lead he carved out wiped away from Iona’s restart.

James Scott could not reclaim the ball from the air, and the bounce fell on the onrushing Julian Roberts.

As half-time approached, the lead changed twice.

An Iona penalty put NOLA back in front, but when Jackson-Hope received a yellow card for a tip tackle, it was advantage to Chicago.
With the extra man the Hounds were able to create width from the back of a lineout maul.

Billy Meakes and Adriaan Carlese combined to send Julian Dominguez over in the corner, the wing rolling through the tackle of Taniela Filimone and dotting down to hand his side a 18-16 half-time lead.

A seventh try of the season for wing Nate Augspurger kept Chicago in the driver’s seat, as Carty fired a looping kick in the air that fell at the USA international’s feet.

Even when back to a full complement, NOLA was pinned back in their own 22m, and after giving away one too many penalties, they were punished by another Carty place-kick.

Two stunning scores followed in Louisiana to keep the game well and truly alive.

First was the Gold with a stunning lineout move that saw Jonah Mau’u bulldoze through the Hounds, before Carlese again was the provider for the Hounds and unleashed club captain Billy Meakes to register a fourth Chicago try of the match.

Another yellow card proved costly to the Gold and put an end to the contest.
Alex Lopeti was sent to the sin bin for a tackle off the ball and scored for Chicago’s Scott, and Jason Higgins completed a handsome victory for the Midwesterners.

Photo provided by the Chicago Hounds

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES 30–28 SAN DIEGO LEGION

Thanks to their 30-28 win against the San Diego Legion, the Seattle Seawolves are advancing to the Western Conference Final.
It was the fourth time that the Seawolves had knocked San Diego out of the postseason and did so with tries from Duncan Matthews, Rhyno Herbst, and Pago Haini.

From the kick-off, San Diego started positively and made Seattle’s time with the ball in hand as uncomfortable as possible.

Soon that paid off when the Seawolves did not roll out of the ruck and allowed Matt Giteau the opportunity to score the game’s first points from the kicking tee.

A competitive start continued as Seattle’s Mack Mason got his team on the scoreboard with a penalty, and a second soon followed for Giteau.
In spite of being under pressure from the first whistle Seattle soon had a try.

Photo provided by the Seattle Seawolves

Turning the ball over in Legion’s half, a prod-through from Divan Rossouw was latched onto by Duncan Matthews in the corner.

As the half went on, the raucous home crowd had more reason to cheer.
When San Diego’s Marcel Brache received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Rossouw, Mason added another penalty and kept the two-time champions on top.

With a minute of their player-advantage left Seattle scored their second try of the fixture.

A Toni Pulu carry got the hosts within 15 meters of the whitewash and allowed a heavily bandaged Rhyno Herbst to barrel over from close range after receiving JP Smith’s pin-point pass.

San Diego’s confidence took another blow after being restored to 15 men.
To restore some confidence on the brink of half-time Giteau kicked another three points when Seattle went off their feet and went back into the changing rooms nine points adrift of their hosts.

When the game resumed, it continued to be tight. Neither side could find that scoring touch.

Mason’s penalty kick missed the mark, and each team’s attacks fizzled out because of individual errors or penalty concessions.

After the second-half water break, the Legion found themselves with a player advantage.

Replacement back Tavite Lopeti was sent to the sideline for a deliberate knock-on, and San Diego took full advantage of the following lineout maul as Cyrille Cama crashed across.

In response, Seattle resorted back to their dynamic backs to push them up the field.

When Pulu was chasing a Mason grubber kick, Tomas Aoake was judged to have pulled the ball forward. A penalty try was awarded, and the wing was shown a yellow card.

As the game opened, each side searched for a score that would end the contest or ignite a comeback.

That score came in the 74th minute and for replacement back-row, Pago Haini.
Starting at the back of a scrum, Smith unleashed Pulu on the wing and was dragged down five meters out; Haini picked up the ball and dove across in the corner to put the result beyond doubt.

A frantic finish saw Aoake dot down in the right corner for Legion, and a sin-binning for Seattle’s Chance Wenglewski helped the road team push their hosts at the maul and receive a penalty try to end the game