
Jackals Courageous Playoff Run Comes to an End
July 28, 2024 - Major League Rugby (MLR)
Dallas Jackals News Release
The Seattle Seawolves scored a try in the 78th minute Sunday and eliminated the Jackals from the Major League Rugby playoffs, 28-25.
It was a close match all the way, which is nothing new for the Jackals. Twelve of their regular season matches were decided by 7 points or less. They have been in every game, highlighted by last week's 34-22 victory over No. 1 seed Houston in the opening round of the playoffs.
They split their matches with No. 2 seed Seattle in the regular season. The Seawolves won the first meeting, 34-32, at home despite five tries from the Jackals' Dewald Kotze. The Jackals put together their best defensive effort of the season in the return match for a 14-7 victory.
They were in position to advance to the MLR championship game Sunday in 72nd minute when Tomas Bekerman scored a try off a maul, one of their most productive phases this season. Juan-Dee Oliver, who had an otherwise outstanding match, missed the conversion kick to give the Jackals a 25-21.
The Seawolves came back in a hurry. The key play was a 35-meter breakaway run by fullback Divan Rossouw, who offloaded to reserve Ryan Rees for the try. Sam Windsor added the conversion.
The Jackals drove into the Seawolves' end of the field before fumbling the ball away as time expired.
The Jackals jumped to a quick early lead. Oliver converted a penalty kick in the second minute and Nick Benn scored the first of his two tries in the match. Both tries were aided by passes from Jeronimo Gomez Vara on the first one and Tomas Cubilla the second.
Things took an unusual turn for the Jackals late in the first half when Juan Pablo Zeiss and Makeen Alikhan received yellow cards seconds apart. Despite being down two players for 10 minutes, they increased their lead to 20-7.
The Seawolves will play New England, a 23-17 winner over Chicago in the East final, for the MLR championship. Sunday's kickoff is scheduled for 3 pm CT on Fox.
• Discuss this story on the Major League Rugby message board...
Major League Rugby Stories from July 28, 2024
- HIGHLIGHTS: Western Conference Final: Seattle vs Dallas - MLR
- Jackals Courageous Playoff Run Comes to an End - Dallas Jackals
- Seattle SeaWolves Best Dallas Jackals to Reach MLR Championship - Seattle Seawolves
- Western Conference Final Review: Seattle Reach Championship with Last-Minute Score - Seattle Seawolves
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Dallas Jackals Stories
- Meet the 2024 MLR Draft's Third Overall Pick: Calvin Ihrig
- 2024 Major League Rugby Forward of the Year - Jero Gomez Vara
- Jackals Courageous Playoff Run Comes to an End
- Jackals Beat Houston to Advance to Conference Final
- SaberCats Squeak Past Jackals on Final Play of Game

