Jeremy Misailegalu grew up playing football at Puyallup High, but he switched to rugby in college and rode his new sport all the way to a pro contract with the Seattle Seawolves. They're one win away from the Major League Rugby finals in their inaugural season.
Rugby has taken Jeremy Misailegalu halfway around the world, all the way back home to play for the fledgling Seattle Seawolves and right into the inaugural Major League Rugby playoffs Saturday, in Glendale, Colo.
The Seawolves, after finishing second in the regular season at 6-2, play the third-place San Diego Legion at 4 p.m. Saturday at Infinity Park in the semifinals. The winner will play for the title July 7 in San Diego.
After spending some time in New Zealand pursuing his rugby career, Misailegalu, a one-time football star at Puyallup High, returned to the Pacific Northwest this spring as a wing for the Seawolves, and is finally playing in front of family and friends again.
“Words can’t even describe it,” Misailegalu said. “Every game that they get to come and watch, I get to see my parents smile and see how excited they are for me. No words, other than feeling blessed.”
Most Read Sports Stories
Misailegalu, a former football running back and teammate of 49ers guard Josh Garnett in high school, said he lost his passion for football during his redshirt-freshman season at Division II New Mexico Highlands University but discovered newfound passion elsewhere.
“I ended up quitting (football),” Misailegalu said. “I wrestled for a season, but I was still kind of lost. Then I had a couple of friends that transitioned from football to rugby. They talked me into going to one practice. After that, I liked what I saw. I played my first game, and afterward we had beers with the other team.“
Misailegalu took to the sport quickly because it gave him focus and purpose after football. But there were some things he had to get used to.
As the old saying goes, if soccer is “a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans,” then, rugby is “a hooligan’s sport played by gentlemen.”
Coming from the ultra-macho culture of football where, Misailegalu said, “there were a lot of fights,” rugby was an adjustment. Fighting is not tolerated in rugby, and players often fraternize with the other team after the game. So it took Misailegalu some time to adapt to rugby culture.
“He progressed considerably,” New Mexico Highlands rugby coach Dick Greene said. “He has a good heart, but there have been a few times on the field where he could be triggered to do the wrong thing. But he’s learned to walk away from trouble. He won’t instigate problems. He’s a gentleman with a look in his eye.”
Misailegalu’s New Mexico Highlands squad won back-to-back National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) 7’s national championships in 2015 and 2016.
After college, Misailegalu moved to New Zealand and got an advanced education in rugby culture.
“It was different, because everyone in New Zealand grew up playing rugby,” Misailegalu said. “They’re all like five times faster, and they know where to be. The culture is way different, way more experience.”
After returning stateside, Misailegalu played seven-man rugby in Denver and planned to take a summer off to rest his body. He had just been offered a consulting job when he got an offer to sign with the first-year Seawolves.
Now he’s two wins from a Major League Rugby championship.
“We played San Diego our first game (a 39-23 Seawolves win), but that was eight games ago,” Misailegalu said. “It’s the playoffs, so whoever you’re playing against will be a lot better. It’s a win-or-go-home type of atmosphere. We’re expecting some hard hits and big runs. They want to win it just as bad as we do.”