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| Photo Credit: ESPN |
By Zane Miller
On Sunday,
April 27th, 2025, the Miami Sharks hosted Anthem Rugby Carolina at Fort
Lauderdale’s AutoNation Sports Field, with the Sharks looking to get themselves
back to a .500 record in the Major League Rugby standings while Carolina was
simply looking to grab their first victory in team history.
The Sharks
entered the weekend at 4-5, hoping to improve on their inaugural 2024 campaign
which saw them just barely miss out on the playoffs with a 6-10 record. On the
other end, their Eastern Conference competitor in Carolina were far more worse
off, as they too entered MLR in 2024 but finished at a dreadful 0-16. Their
2025 season was unfortunately trending the same way, as they sat with an 0-10
record before travelling to South Florida.
Miami received
the opening kickoff, and would soon score the opening try just before the
eight-minute mark. Back and team captain Tomas Cubelli punched it over the line,
with Santiago Videla knocking though the conversion kick for a 7-0 advantage. Anthem
was unable to go anywhere once they took the ball back, and back Matias Orlando
made them pay with a big run into scoring range. Charlotte put up a good fight
near the goal line, but ultimately back Marcos Young was able to finish the job
with the try, making it a 14-0 game. Carolina sustained another setback later
in the half as starting tighthead prop Alex Maughan went down for the game with
an injury, and Videla capped off the first half scoring for the Sharks as he
hit a penalty kick for a 17-0 lead.
Miami
picked up right where they left off as the second half got underway, capitalizing
on a massive run by Orlando to set up Cubelli for his second try of the night. The
Sharks’ defense held pat for much of the latter half as well, keeping Anthem
outside of scoring range, though Carolina broke through with about 20 minutes
to go in regulation to end the shutout bid. Back Connor Mooneyham sprinted down
the sideline for their best scoring opportunity of the evening, getting brought
down short of the try marker but setting up forward Connor Robinson for the
eventual score. The conversion kick was no good to make it 24-5, though even
without the miss Anthem would need a miracle in order to get back in
contention. Alas, such a miracle was not forthcoming for Carolina, as Miami was
able to put in their backups due to the comfortable lead. One of those backups,
Tomas Bekerman, added another try to give the Sharks four on the game (thus
giving them an extra bonus point in the standings). As time expired, the Sharks
were indeed able to reach the .500 mark while Carolina was still seeking their
first win as a franchise.
The Sharks
were able to maintain their even win-loss record throughout the regular season,
improving on their 2024 showing with an 8-8 finish. This was indeed good enough
to qualify for the playoffs for the first and only time in franchise history,
though they would be thwomped in the first round by the eventual champion New
England Free Jacks 32-10. Meanwhile, Anthem suffered their second straight
winless campaign, going 0-16 once again. However, this does come with a sort of
silver lining for Carolina as the team still has the opportunity to collect
their first victory in 2026. The Sharks would not be so lucky, closing up shop
after the 2025 season.
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