NEWS

Martin Iosefo on Why the Gilgronis Will be a Good Test for the Seawolves

Written by Joe Harvey | Photos by Quinn Width

Following the Seattle Seawolves’ 20-14 win over the Utah Warriors at Zions Bank Stadium, majorleague.rugby heard from Martin Iosefo as the two-time Major League Rugby champions prepare for a trip to Austin for a clash with the Gilgronis at Bold Stadium.

Joining Allen Clarke’s side during the latest offseason, Iosefo brought nearly eight years of professional rugby experience. Having been a centrally contracted player on the USA Sevens squad between 2014 and 2021. 

Playing at two Olympic Games, a 15-a-side World Cup and a sevens World Cup, Iosefo became one of the most experienced players at Starfire Sports as the Seawolves looked to return to the postseason for the first time since 2019.

A SEAWOLVES RESURGENCE

After the latest round of MLR action, Seattle are currently third in the Western Conference. Level on points with the Houston SaberCats who are in fourth and two points behind the LA Giltinis, the Seawolves shook up their squad as they headed to a win over the Warriors last weekend.

With JP Smith starting at fly-half, Reid Watkins coming off the bench and the additions of Jeremiah Sio and Sean McNulty late in the week, tries from the team’s captain, Riekert Hattingh and the boot of Smith did the job, the squad’s display of depth pleasing to Iosefo who watched on from home.

“I think the guys that were called on for that performance did a really good job and did the job for us,” Iosefo said. “There were a lot of new guys that hadn’t played very many minutes heading into the season, so it was good to see them out their getting a full 80.

“It is a great environment for us after seeing the performance from the weekend in Utah. Having that thought of anyone filling in a role has boosted energy throughout the group and created that competitive environment that not one spot is guaranteed.

“It has given the opportunity for everyone to train at their best and knowing that when one person gets called in to do a job at the weekend, we are confident enough to put in a good performance and that is the person that is going to do us a job over the weekend.

“It is great to see all these guys get some game time in and seeing they are capable of doing a job. Now it has made that training environment all the more fun going into this playoff run for us, knowing that we have the depth of players that will back the team.”

Joining the Seawolves project for Allen Clarke’s first full season in charge of the franchise, Iosefo’s move to Washington came after his second Olympic Games. Competing in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and then at the 2020 Olympic Games, the 32-year-old’s full-time move to the 15-a-side game has come at a time of change for him.

Now a father and on the hunt for a spot in Gary Gold’s USA squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Iosefo says that his move to Seattle has come at the perfect time.

“Most importantly, now I have more time to be with family, especially with the new-born, but being at home more has been great for me,” Iosefo said.

“Being in the sevens program, you are training, traveling, competing full-time for nine or 10 months out of the year and you’re lucky to see your family for maybe two weeks of that whole time.

“Being in the 15s environment, it is different because you are with over 30 guys, rather than the 15 core [sevens players] that you are with day in and out. It has been really fun traveling domestically and MLR has gotten a lot better than where it first started.

“It has been fun and a great challenge for me, because 15s has always been my first game, but sevens picked up before my 15s career kicked off, so it has been a good challenge for me to do it full-time because it will put my hand up for the next World Cup.”

PARENTHOOD

When it comes to becoming a father, Iosefo has a story to tell. Playing in the Seawolves’ 31-12 loss to the LA Giltinis, the wing left the field just after the second half got underway, sprinting straight off the field and into his car to make his way to his wife, Dani.

“It was planned beforehand,” Iosefo laughed. “I had been talking to my wife and her mom that whole day, because she went into hospital earlier and she thought she was going to have the baby, but they were told to go home.

“Prior to kick-off, I talked to our team manager on the sideline that my wife could be calling him if anything was to happen. He got the call just after the kick-off after half-time and as soon as he said my wife was going into labor, I ran out of the field.

“I just yelled out to the sideline ‘somebody go in for me’. There was no thought to it, I just ran out of the field.”

Welcoming Mikaele ‘Mika’ Iosefo later that day, the following month has been something of a whirlwind. Although it has been challenging at times, the 32-year-old says that he has grown into the role of ‘dad’ as the days have gone by.

“For any first-time parent, it is terrifying for the first two weeks because for the first two or three days, they do everything for you without telling you or showing you how anything is done,” Iosefo said.

“They change the diaper, help feed the baby, check in on you every 30 minutes or so. Once the baby is healthy, they check you out, walk you out the door and then tell you to go figure it out yourself.

“When you get home, you have got a little guy who is breathing heavily, and that concerns you as a parent because you are not sure what is going on. It is just terrifying because you are hyper-focused, just trying to make sure that everything is fine.

“As the weeks go on, you figure it out, the baby starts showing emotions and you get to interact a bit and that is when you get that joy of being a parent, because you know everything is going to be okay and you are not in that freaked out stage anymore.”

THIS WEEKEND

In the latest test of Seattle’s playoff hopes, the team will be going to Texas for a Sunday afternoon game with Western Conference table toppers, Austin.

While the Seawolves were on the road to Utah, Sam Harris’ Gilgronis were also away from home and picking up a 32-10 win over the NOLA Gold in Louisiana.

This weekend will certainly be a tester for Seattle, who also have games against Rugby New York, Houston SaberCats and the Giltinis to close out the regular season.

“Austin have been playing really good rugby all year,” Iosefo said. “They are top of the Western Conference for a reason, and it is credit to them because they are a very disciplined team, they stick to their game plan, and everyone just backs each other. That is what they do very well.

“They have sparky individuals who do things around the field, but as a team they play really good together. For us, that is something we want to get to because through some of this season we have had some great performances, but there are some parts throughout the game where we have silly little errors and a bit of ill-discipline.

“I think that the second half of the season for us, we have managed to put a little bit of the good that we have started off with and some of the work-ons that we had into the second half of the season. It will be a good test for us this weekend.”