The Seattle Seawolves came tantalizingly close last year to their third Major League Rugby title in five seasons.
Seattle, which won titles in the league’s first two seasons in 2018 and 2019 (the league didn’t play in 2020 because of COVID-19), lost to the New York Ironworkers 30-15 in the league championship last June.
Coach Allen Clarke and the Seawolves players believe this year’s team is ready to go one step further and win that third title.
The team will get a quick gauge on where it stands, opening its 16-game regular-season Saturday with a rematch of last year’s title game against the Ironworkers. The 6:30 p.m. match at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila and will be telecast on FS1.
Clarke said the opener will be a “litmus test” for his club. He took over as Seawolves coach late in the season in 2021 and he said he likes what he sees from his team.
“There’s huge ambition amongst them athletically,” Clarke said. “We’re good across the board.”
One of the team’s key players is flanker Ben Landry, who joined the Seawolves in the middle of the 2021 season at about the time Clarke became the coach.
Landry knows something about playing with great players. He was a teammate of NFL star J.J. Watt and fellow NFL player Derek Watt while at Pewaukee High School in Wisconsin.
“J.J. was two years older than me and his younger brother Derek was two years younger than me,” Landry said, “When J.J. was a senior, I was a sophomore and he kind of took me under his wing in football and basketball. When I was a senior, Derek was just coming up so I tried to do the same thing for him.”
“J.J. was a tight end and a defensive end and I was a tight end and a defensive end. J.J. was a senior and the big man on campus, so they kept him at tight end and moved me to offensive tackle at 170 pounds, which was fun. We played on opposite sides as D-ends.”
Landry grew to 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, but he elected to play rugby over football in college, becoming an All-American at Wisconsin Whitewater.
“I have been playing rugby since I was in seventh grade,” he said. “My dad and my uncle played for a long time with the Milwaukee Rugby Club and they won a national championship in 1985. So I grew up on the rugby field.”
Landry, 32, began his pro career with a short stint with the Seattle Rugby Club. Not long after, in 2016, he earned the first of many appearances with the U.S. men’s national team.
Landry, who tried out for the Seattle Seahawks and a few other NFL teams in 2016, was happy to return to Seattle and he said the team is well positioned to make a title run in coach Clarke’s second full season. Landry said last year everyone needed to learn Clarke’s system and it took time to jell during a 9-7 regular season.
“The guys have now had a full year under their belt, and the players he added this year — Pete Malcolm, Ben Mitchell, Jake Turnbull and more — are already on the same page,” Landry said. “So coming out here in preseason, it’s like running with a team in midseason form.
“And it’s clear that when (Clarke) picks players, he doesn’t only pick them for their skills on the rugby field, he also picks them for their character. He’s built his brand of rugby, which is high energy, high enthusiasm, team-first guys.”
Turnbull, a prop, played the past two seasons with Austin. He has been in the MLR since its inception in 2018 and was selected by Seattle in a dispersal draft after Austin folded.
“I’ve definitely been around the block,” Turnbull said. “To come here has been an amazing experience. It’s one of the most established clubs and they’ve had the most passionate fans. Since Year 1, they have always had the loudest and most packed stadium.”
Turnbull said “for sure” when asked if the Seawolves can win the title.
“If you look at our forward pack, we put out a big, mobile pack,” he said. “But most important is that we have really strong depth in key positions. Obviously, this team was a grand finalist last year, and with Clarke as coach, I think we’re in good position to win the cup for the third time.”
For Clarke, the team’s mission goes beyond just winning.
“Obviously we’re here to win rugby games and win championships, but even deeper than that and greater than that is to grow the game and show the American public what a wonderful game it is.”
Clarke said he would tell people unfamiliar with rugby that it encompasses the best of soccer and football, but with a lot more game action than football.
Said Landry: “You go to a Seahawks game and it’s electric, but it is a massive stadium and you could be in nosebleed seats. Here, everybody is engaged, the crowd is into it. They’re close to the field and close to the action. You can feel the energy from the players in the stands.”
Turnbull talked about the bonds that are created at home matches.
“It’s a smaller stadium where you can meet anyone from any walk of life and they will have a rugby story,” he said. “You can have a beer, share a story and watch the game. Then afterward you can meet the players, have a conversation and can see we’re just normal human beings.”