NEWS

Round 8 | First XV, Player of the Week

1. Loosehead Prop, James Rochford (Rugby United New York) – James has rounded into form in recent weeks, establishing the left side of the scrum for RUNY with several long shifts. On Friday night, Rochford played a great match versus Morgan Mitchell. In the open field, Rochford got to work carrying eight hard times for 23 meters and aided the defense with nine tackles.

1. Hooker, Dylan Fawsitt (Rugby United New York) – The Butcher continues to display lethal guidance of the New York set piece to gain territory and points, again in another RUNY victory. He scored two tries, carried the ball 10 times for 68 meters and completed 18 tackles.

1. Tighthead Prop, Paddy Ryan (San Diego Legion) – Ryan forced the Raptors to concede numerous scrummaging penalties and help control the pace for the Legion. His work rate continues to be one of the highest in the league as seen Saturday night. The prop recorded 14 carries for 70 meters gained, four offloads in traffic, and 15 tackles on defense.

1. Left Lock, Ben Mitchell (Austin Elite) – Captain Ben continues to bring his team forward with another hard performance. He punished the Seawolves defense with 12 carries for 61 meters gained and one offload. On defense, Mitchell dominated with 18 tackles to keep his side in the match. In the set-piece he completed three lineout takes and proved to be a disruption against Seattle with one lineout steal.

1. Right Lock, Brad Tucker (Seattle Seawolves) – Brad’s shift in the engine room guaranteed the Seattle scrum a great attacking position on restarts. In the loose, he made it count by scoring a try, carrying the ball 15 times for 85 meters, two tackle-breaks, and five offloads to stun the Austin defense. In the aerial game, he completed four lineout takes and one lineout steal. He contributed six tackles on defense to hold the line for Seattle.

1. Blindside Flanker, John Quill (Rugby United New York) – Quill influenced the game early on by providing quality support in defense at the breakdown. On attack, he switched around, carried hard five times for only 11 meters, but made it count by scoring a try with no time left to give New York the victory and history at home. Quill completed 11 tackles on defense.

1. Openside Flanker, Zack Stryffeler (New Orleans Gold) – Zach’s work rate on defense is one of the highest in the league. His 21 tackles ended numerous SaberCats drives in their half. On attack, he carried the ball eight times for 70 meters gained.

1. No 8., Riekert Hattingh (Seattle Seawolves) – In a hard-fought match against Austin Elite, Riekert’s two tries changed the game for the Seawolves. In the open field, he carried 15 times for 73 meters with one offload. In the air he completed six lineout takes. On defense, the No. 8 worked hard in the breakdown and bested the team with eight tackles.

1. Scrum-half, Shaun Davies (Glendale Raptors) – With excellent vision, Davies managed the match well at scrum-half, and eventually snagged the ball in support to go over the line for Glendale’s third try. He carried the ball five times for 31 meters and completed 11 tackles.

1. Fly-half, Sam Malcolm (Toronto Arrows) – The Toronto Arrows played a solid possession game throughout led by Malcolm’s six kicks for 308 meters. Malcolm finished with 11 points, scoring three penalty goals and a conversion. Additionally, Malcolm totaled five carries for 48 meters and one offload. On defense, Malcolm completed 13 tackles.

1. Left Wing, Harley Davidson (Glendale Raptors) – Harley churned his legs through the Legion defenders for five tackle-breaks on his six carries for 63 meters gained. He scored the final try for the Raptors in the 65th minute to push them ahead momentarily. Defensively he accounted for six tackles made.

1. Inside Center, Juan Pablo Aguirre (Austin Elite) – The new addition to the midfield for Austin brought a significant spark to improve the side with excellent footwork, making one line-break and two tackle-breaks on his six carries with 42 meters gained. Defensively JP was a standout with 16 tackles made to stifle the Seattle attack.

1. Outside Center, Tristan Blewett (New Orleans Gold) – Tristan is a BAD man. He tore up the SaberCats defensive line with three tries, and leveled a crushing blow during his second, closing out the half intercepting a Conor Mills pass and taking it to the house. In total, Blewett’s nine carries recorded 237 meters gained, a 2019 Major League Rugby season-high. On top of his record-setting performance, Blewett added three line-breaks, one offload, and six tackles on defense.

1. Right Wing, John Ryberg (Glendale Raptors) – John Ryberg, the Mutant, has been vying for selection off the wing with multiple great performances week after week. His consistency and vision are almost unmatchable. He gashed the San Diego defense with 11 carries for 97 meters and scored a try off the wing. He added two line-breaks, three tackle breaks, and three offloads, and six tackles on defense.

1. Fullback, Jean-Pierre Eloff (New Orleans Gold) – JP’s DNA in the NOLA blowout could be traced a little bit of everywhere. He ran excellent support lines, accounting for 85 meters on six carries. He put the ball in play with two kicks for 85 meters. As the seconds dwindled on the game clock, Eloff added the finishing touch to a dominant victory with a try of his own in the 80th minute. Eloff kicked seven conversions, bringing his total to 19 points in the match for the fullback.

Player of the Week: No 8. Riekert Hattingh (Seattle Seawolves) – The crushing South African brought everything to the table for the Seawolves, taking balls high in the aerial attack to directing mauls. One of his tries was a thing of beauty, picking it off the back of the scrum and bursting through the Austin defensive line. Hattingh initiated the Seawolves attack first half with a try and capped it off with a try in the 75th minute to secure the comeback.