Major League Rugby’s only remaining original club plays host to Old Glory on Friday night. The Starfire faithful will watch both DC and the Seawolves play their first match of the 2026 campaign. Both sides were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last year and will be desperate to start on a winning note.
| PLAYER | PREVIOUS CLUB | |
| 5 | Harison Mataele | Mont-de-Marsan (FR) |
| 13 | Mark Bennett | Edinburgh (UK) |
| 21 | Tia’i Vavao | Central Washington University |
 |
PLAYER | PREVIOUS CLUB |
| 18 | Connor Devos | Lindenwood University |
- Injured / unavailable – (Seattle) Callum Botchar, Dan Kriel, Lauina Futi, Michael Hand, Rufus McLean; (DC) Bart Vermeulen, Liam Fletcher, Jason Emery
- with three wingers sidelined and no word yet on when – or if – Matthias Douglas will arrive, the Seawolves have signed ex Utah and LA back Nolan Tuamoheloa… he’ll start in the midfield though most of his previous MLR experience has been out wide… JP Smith and Duncan Matthews are asked to fill in on the wing with Divan Rossouw left at his preferred fullback spot
- other MLR veterans who make their Seattle debuts are ex-Houston quartet Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Marno Redelinghuys, Andre Warner, and Davy Coetzer; Ignacio Peculo (Chicago); Paddy Ryan and Liki Chan-Tung (San Diego); Kalisi Moli (Utah); and Dorian Jones (NOLA).
- Riekert Hattingh leads Seattle out for the 79th time in his 95th MLR appearance… he is the only player in league history who has served as captain in at least one match during every season to date
- the Seawolves have a 6/2 split on the bench but notably three props… LaRome White is the extra body who might find himself in the unusual spot of second row at some point in the game
- MLR veterans making their club debuts for DC include Kirby Myhill, Rick Rose, and Ben Bonasso (Miami); Paul Mullen, Aidan King, Jordan Jackson-Hope, and Ross Depperschmidt (NOLA); Jay Renton and Max Schumacher (Houston); and Connor Robinson (Anthem).
- Jordan Jackson-Hope will play his first MLR game since the 2024 season… the former Australia u20, Brumbies, and NOLA Gold star missed all of 2025 with a knee injury
Simon Cross (Head Coach)
“Seattle’s always been a tough place to play. But I’ve got a lot of confidence in this group. We’re full of energy, toughness and fight – and I think we’re in a good place heading into that first match.”
Cory Daniel (Flanker)
“This preseason’s a little weird – we only have about four weeks. But it helps us in a way. We’re doing a lot more rugby and putting a lot of our attack and defense in, which is good. I think we’ll be ready for our first game.”
Cool but calm conditions are expected at kickoff. The Seawolves had the benefit of a two-week training camp in South Africa and two warm-up games, while DC kept their preseason training in-house. While it’s a makeshift backline for Seattle this week, their first choice pack is intact and will enjoy a size advantage over their opposites. On the narrower pitch Old Glory might struggle to punch through a physical defensive line. The visitors will need to disrupt the lineout with the likes of Bonasso and Rose to have a chance of stealing a win at Starfire. Seattle are favorites at home in Tukwila.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Ignacio Péculo, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Harison Mataele, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 André Warner, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 JP Smith, 12 Nolan Tuamoheloa, 13 Mark Bennett, 14 Duncan Matthews, 15 Divan Rossouw
Replacements: 16 Liki Chan-Tung, 17 Dewald Donald, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 LaRome White, 20 Kalisi Moli, 21 Tia’i Vavao, 22 Nick Boyer, 23 Dorian Jones
OLD GLORY DC
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Rick Rose, 6 Cory Daniel, 7 Aidan King, 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 Josh Renton, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 John Rizzo, 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Max Schumacher
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Connor Robinson, 18 Connor Devos, 19 Tevita Naqali, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 John LeFevre, 22 Owen Sheehy, 23 John Powers
Date: Friday, April 3
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:30 local (22:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 50°F (10°C), wind NE 2-4 mph (4-6 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), Monumental Sports (DC), Kong 6 (Seattle)
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Shanda Assmus (Canada) & Alex Nunnally (USA)
TMO: n/a
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5) – DC 3, Seattle 2
2025-04-05 – Old Glory DC 29, Seattle Seawolves 12 (Maryland Soccerplex)
2024-05-24 – Seattle Seawolves 26, Old Glory DC 24 (Starfire Stadium)
2023-05-27 – Old Glory DC 19, Seattle Seawolves 41 (Segra Field)
2021-05-16 – Old Glory DC 22, Seattle Seawolves 18 (Segra Field)
2020-02-16 – Old Glory DC 28, Seattle Seawolves 22 (Cardinal Stadium)