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There are not many players in the world of rugby that are completely synonymous with a single team. JP Smith is.

In Week 10, the Seattle Seawolves scrum-half became the second player in Major League Rugby history to gain 100 appearances in the competition.
He joins Chicago Hounds and USA Men’s Eagles hooker Dylan Fawsitt in North America’s most exclusive club.

On Friday night, Smith started against the Hounds, and Seattle picked up a 28-22 win in front of their home supporters and new team owners Marshawn Lynch and Marcus Peters.

Smith has made all 100 of his MLR appearances with the same team he joined in 2019 and has started 90 of those matches.

“It is something special,” Smith said. “It’s special for me because I’m doing it at the same club.

“I have been at the same place, and I have been fortunate enough to have the Seawolves look after me and put their trust in me for so long.

“It is also a testament to the days that you don’t really want to do it. The days you don’t want to go to the gym, or you don’t want to do the extra stuff.

“It’s a big part of what drives me as a player is doing those small things, the little things that will provide the longevity of your career.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs. Reflecting on it, you don’t know how quickly it does come upon you.”

Smith’s career was at a crossroads before a phone call from a friend led him to MLR.

In 2018, his former Blue Bulls teammate and Seattle captain, Riekert Hattingh, tried to tempt the half-back to North America for the league’s inaugural season.

On that occasion Smith rejected the proposal as he pursued professional rugby at home in South Africa.

As a teenager, Smith wowed Bulls Director of Rugby Heyneke Meyer by playing for the Border Bulldogs, which laid the foundations for his eventual move to Pretoria to represent the team.

Fresh-faced from leaving Queen’s College in his hometown of Queenstown, he quickly became familiar with the rigors of elite-level rugby and represented the Bulls’ various age-grade teams.

Although it was not always the happiest of times. While Smith had talent, promise, and age on his side, the youngster found it increasingly more difficult to get game time with other players ahead of him in the pecking order at Loftus Versfeld.

“I left school, went to the Blue Bulls, and was a professional rugby player at 19,” Smith said.
“You’re getting paid a salary and have all these nice, flashy things. You hit your peak at a young age. I know those things caught up with me really quickly.
“I’m so happy it did happen to me because I wouldn’t have learned. I wouldn’t have been humbled in the way I was.

“You get all that fame, nice cars, sponsored cars. This and that. It overpowered me. it put me in a place where I was very high up and then rock bottom.
“It helped me grow my faith and to realize that you’ve got to be disciplined.”

After leaving the Bulls, Smith joined the Free State Cheetahs and spent 2018 back on the Eastern Cape with the Southern Kings and Eastern Province Kings.

Things never really clicked back into gear for Smith, who then decided to get back in touch with Hattingh to see if there was still an opportunity to come to the Pacific Northwest. The rest, as they say, is history.

In his debut season with the Seawolves, Smith helped the team become back-to-back champions, one All-MLR First XV of the Season nod in 2022, and has been named in two Honorable Mention XVs.

Ask the 31-year-old what his favorite memories in a Seawolves jersey are, and he will unsurprisingly say that the 2019 title, along with the team’s unexpected run to the 2022 Championship Final, where they fell short against Rugby New York at Red Bull Arena.

Not only that, Seattle is now home. Instead of journeying back to South Africa for the offseason, Smith stayed put and worked on the Pennsylvania farm of Seawolves owner, Adrian Balfour. Wool from the farm’s sheep is now sold by the team.

At the end of 2024, he and his wife, Katie, even welcomed their first son, Luka.
“I didn’t really think it was going to be a long-term stint for me in America,” Smith laughed.

“I always thought I’d play a year or two years and then go to play somewhere else. I’ve just loved it so much. I’ve loved Seattle so much. Here I am seven years later and loving it.

“There were growing pains, coming from a professional club in South Africa to Seattle in those early stages.

“But I enjoyed that. I enjoyed being part of something that was growing and a part of something that was completely new. It was refreshing. It is where I was in my life at that stage.”

On top of becoming a Seattle and MLR stalwart, Smith also became an Eagle last September.

Qualifying for the USA on residency grounds, the scrum-half played in four Pacific Nations Cup games as Scott Lawrence’s side finished fourth overall in Japan.

That international reward was recognition not only for Smith’s MLR excellence over the years but also for the years of sacrifice he has made.

“It’s been a long road,” Smith said. “There is so much sacrifice that myself and my wife have put into this.

“We have missed birthdays, funerals, and weddings. We have missed all those things, and we miss our families.

“It (Smith’s Test debut) was a special moment. If you had asked me in 2019 that in six years’ time, I’d be playing in America for the Eagles and have this whole life set up, I would have laughed at you.

“I’m so fortunate to be here. It’s just been amazing to see where I am at the moment compared to where I was.”

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• 23 Tackles Made
• 11 Ruck Arrivals
• Three Carries Made

Hooker, Pita Anae-Ah Sue – Houston SaberCats

• One Try Scored
• 35 Meters Made
• 10 Tackles Tackles Made

Tighthead Prop, Mason pedersen – Seattle Seawolves

• 20 Tackles Made
• Five Ruck Arrivals
• Two Ball Carries Made

Left Lock,  Tevita Naqali – Old Glory DC 

• One Try Scored
• 16 Tackles Made
• 17 Ruck Arrivals

Right Lock, Matt Jensen – Utah Warriors

• 19 Tackles Made
• 28 Ruck Arrivals
• Six Ball Carries Made

Blindside Flanker, Jed Melvin – New England Free Jacks

• One Try Scored
• 24 Tackles Made
• 71 Meters Made

Openside Flanker, Charles Elton – Seattle Seawolves

• 27 Tackles Made
• 28 Ruck Arrivals
• Three Ball Carries Made

No 8., Sam Tuifua – Houston SaberCats

• One Try Scored
• 107 Meters Made
• 10 Tackles Made

Scrum-half, Zion Going – Utah Warriors

• One Try Scored
• 48 Meters Made
• 50 Kicking Meters

Fly-half, Rodney Iona – Seattle Seawolves

• 13 Points Scored
• 52 Meters Made
• Nine Tackles Made

Left Wing, Paula Balekana – New England Free Jacks

• Two Tries Scored
• 123 Meters Made
• Seven Tackles Made

Inside Center, D’angelo Leuila – Utah Warriors

• Six Points Scored
• 71 Meters Made
• 130 Kicking Meters

Outside Center, Matias Orlando – Miami Sharks

• One Try Scored
• 10 Tackles Made
• 36 Meters Made

Right Wing, Nic Benn – Utah Warriors

• 100 Kicking Meters
• 81 Meters Made
• Six Tackles Made

Fullback, Shane O’Leary – Miami Sharks

• 15 Points Scored
• 36 Meters Made
• 42 Kicking Meters

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Old Glory DC vs Seattle Seawolves | SATURDAY, April 5 at 5:00 PM ET

US TV: ESPN+

And Monumental and KZJO FOX 13+

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa 1 / ESPN Africa 2 and The Rugby Network
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ and The Rugby Network
England/Ireland: Premier Sports

Everywhere else: The Rugby Network

Following a 72-hour tape delay, the match will be available to stream for all viewers on The Rugby Network.

Anthem RC vs Nola Gold | Saturday, April 5 at 7:00 PM ET

US TV: ESPN+

And And Gulf Coast Sports + Entertainment Network

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa 1 / ESPN Africa 2 and The Rugby Network
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ and The Rugby Network
England/Ireland: Premier Sports and The Rugby Network
Everywhere else: The Rugby Network

Following a 72-hour tape delay, the match will be available to stream for all viewers on The Rugby Network.

Houston Sabercats vs RFCLA | Saturday, April 5 at 8:00 PM ET

US TV: ESPN+

And CW39 and FanDuel Sports Network SOCAL

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa 1 / ESPN Africa 2 and The Rugby Network
New Zealand: Sky Sports and The Rugby Network
England/Ireland: Premier Sports and The Rugby Network
Everywhere else: The Rugby Network

Following a 72-hour tape delay, the match will be available to stream for all viewers on The Rugby Network.

San Deigo Legion vs Chicago Hounds | Saturday, April 5 at 10:00 PM ET

US TV: ESPN+

And YURVIEW and FOX Chicago Plus

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa 1 / ESPN Africa 2 and The Rugby Network
New Zealand: Sky Sports
England/Ireland: Premier Sports and The Rugby Network
Everywhere else: The Rugby Network

Following a 72-hour tape delay, the match will be available to stream for all viewers on The Rugby Network.

new england free jacks vs Miami Sharks | Sunday, April 6 at 2:00 PM ET

US TV: ESPN+

And NBC Sports Boston and FanDuel Florida App

Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN Africa 1 / ESPN Africa 2 and The Rugby Network
New Zealand: Sky Sports
England/Ireland: Premier Sports
France: Sport en France in French on delay and The Rugby Network
Everywhere else: The Rugby Network

Following a 72-hour tape delay, the match will be available to stream for all viewers on The Rugby Network.

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