NEWS

Round 7 | First XV, Player of the Week

1. Loosehead Prop, Jamie Dever (Houston Sabercats) – Dever went to battle against the Seawolves ball carriers, amassing 14 tackles on Sunday night. The SaberCats prop carried hard into contact seven times for 27 meters gained and completed two offloads in traffic.

1. Hooker, Andrew Quattrin (Toronto Arrows) – With the stamina to go the distance, Quattrin helped turn the tide for the Arrows. With a massive line-break, he sucked the wind from the Legion’s sails by setting up the final try of the match with a try-assist to Mike Sheppard. Quattrin accounted for 75 meters gained from eight carries, one line-break, and 13 tackles.

1. Tighthead Prop, Paddy Ryan (San Diego Legion) – The outstanding scrummager found a match in Arrows’ loosehead prop Rob Brouwer, which was a great bout between two heavyweights. In the loose, Paddy carried the ball 13 times for 61 meters, which dictated the tempo against the Arrows. On defense, he leveled crushing blows with 14 tackles overall.

1. Left Lock, Ben Mitchell (Austin Elite) – Ben helmed the Austin Elite defense with an outstanding 20-made tackles. On offense, he carried the ball eight times as he battered his way through the Raptors defense for 45 meters and one line-break. Ben completed four lineout takes to lead the Austin set-piece attack.

1. Right Lock, Matt Jensen (Utah Warriors) – Matt flew in the Warriors’ aerial attack on Friday night against RUNY with seven lineout takes to establish their set-piece attack. On defense, he proved furious in the midfield with 10 tackles, and carried hard up the midfield with four carries for 18 meters gained on offense.

1. Blindside Flanker, Brendan Daly (Glendale Raptors) – Daly led the team with 16 punishing tackles against Austin. On the other side, he attacked Austin Elite in the midfield with 12 carries for 86 meters made and a try at the end of the first quarter of play. He was the primary threat for Glendale’s aerial attack with five lineout takes and stifled Austin’s set-piece with two lineout steals.

1. Openside Flanker, Mohamed Abdelmonem (Austin Elite) – Mo’s first start for the Elite proved fruitful as he came away with four breakdown steals and 19 tackles on defense.  On attack, he carried the ball six times for 17 meters, scoring a try in the process.

1. No 8., John Cullen (Utah Warriors) – Since shifting to back row this season, Cullen has been coming into form in recent weeks. He destroyed would-be tacklers from Rugby United New York with a bruising running style, accounting for two tries, 69 meters gained on six carries, and two tackle-breaks. On defense, he completed seven tackles, and in the set piece, Cullen successfully completed four lineout-takes.

1. Scrum-half, Nate Augspurger (San Diego Legion) – Running the Legion attack, Nate put the ball in play seven times for 188 meters with his timely box kicks. With his five quick carries, he gained 27 meters out of the breakdown and completed two offloads in traffic.  He helped lead a defense that appeared unbreakable for 60 minutes with 13 tackles made.

1. Fly-half, Chris Mattina (Rugby United New York) – Shifting early in the match to fly-half after Cathal Marsh left the field with injury, Mattina got to work accounting for 10 points from five conversions. He carried the ball seven times for 55 meters gained with two line-breaks. On defense, Mattina aced nine tackles.

1. Left Wing, Sequoyah Burke-Combs (Seattle Seawolves) – With a perfect support line, it was Burke-Combs who exploded through the defense, scoring a try to shift the momentum in favor of the home side. He ended the night with 45 meters gained from seven carries, one line-break, one offload, and five tackles.

1. Inside Center, Mark O’Keeffe (Rugby United New York) – On offense, O’Keeffe carried the ball seven times for 182 meters made, one line-break, one try-assist, two tackle-breaks, one offload, and two tries. On defense, O’Keeffe completed nine tackles to help shut down the Warriors’ attack.

1. Outside Center, Chad London (Glendale Raptors) – London put the Austin midfield defense through the shredder on Saturday night with a try, 13 carries for 159 meters, four line-breaks, and three offloads. Chad played a large part in the Raptors suffocating defense, contributing ten tackles.

1. Right Wing, Avery Oitomen (Toronto Arrows) – Give the ball to Avery! When he carries the ball, good things happen for Toronto. Avery completely shifted the momentum in favor of the Arrows with two tries to ignite the eventual comeback win over the Legion. On attack, he finished the match with nine carries for 96 meters, two line-breaks, one tackle-break, and two offloads.

1. Fullback, Dylan Taikato-Simpson (Glendale Raptors) – Dylan’s kicking game repeatedly forced Austin to play deep from their own half. He punted the ball in play nine times for 301 meters, edging the field possession battle in his Raptors’ favor. On attack, he pushed excellent support lines with five carries for 63 meters and one offload.

Player of the Week: Inside Center, Mark O’Keeffe (Rugby United New York) – Mark was the engine of the match. He dictated the tempo in the midfield for Rugby United New York, punishing the Warriors with his excellent vision. He was everywhere for RUNY on defense, tracking the ball carrier in their suffocating defense for a total of nine tackles.