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The first rematch of PRO Rugby will take place at Infinity Park in Glendale on Friday evening, where undefeated Denver host San Francisco. When last they met in Week 2, Denver left Boxer Stadium 35-18 winners.With no wins in four attempts the visitors are at the opposite end of the table and and will need a massive effort to change their fortunes on the road.
They will have to do so without injured trio Tom Coolican, Siaosi Mahoni, and Alec Gletzer, but have picked up a couple reinforcements in their week off to boost the side. SFGG captain Brendan Daly jumps straight in at lock to replace another injury victim, Alex Bowman. Daly arrives fresh off a Pacific Rugby Premiership Grand Final where he faced off against a handful of the Denver lineup last weekend.
Tonga u20 and Southland Stags loose forward Bill Fukofuka has arrived from New Zealand and lines up at no8, pushing David Tameilau into the second row. A tall, rangy 21-year-old, Fukofuka should bring a bit of dynamism to a San Francisco pack that could use a jolt of youthful energy around the pitch. Giant prop Fancy Namulau’ulu replaces Patrick Latu in the only other change to the pack.
The backs are nearly identical to the ones that faced San Diego in Week 4, with Michael Haley replacing Jake Anderson on the wing the only difference. Volney Rouse steps in as skipper with Latu on the bench. Holo Mo’ungala, Naikuka Tawake, and Charles Mateo drop out of the reserves with Devereaux Ferris and Isaac Helu returning from injury and Jack O’Hara asked to cover the back row.
Denver will look to continue where they left off against Sacramento, and have opted for minimal disturbance with all three changes to the starting lineup in the pack. Luke White starts at prop in place of Chris Baumann, with Ben Tarr switching back to tighthead. The new second row is a plus-sized one with Casey Rock and Brodie Orth paired for the first time, and Logan Collins returning to his preferred spot on the blindside flank.
Zach Fenoglio, Peter Dahl, Mose Timoteo, Martin Knoetze, and Dustin Croy all return from their PRP win with the Raptors to take up spots on the bench. Left out are Soane Leger, Brian Wanless, Justin Pauga, Gannon Moore, Michael Al-Jiboori, and Bobby Impson.
There’s no secret to how Denver likes to play, so the message for San Francisco is simple. Front up for 80 minutes or be left behind. The visitors have some creative attacking threats in the backs but could have serious problems dealing with the Denver scrum. On paper this is the home team’s game to lose.
As of the time of writing there is no live broadcast planned for this match.
DENVER
1 Luke White 2 Nick Wallace 3 Ben Tarr 4 Casey Rock 5 Brodie Orth 6 Logan Collins 7 Hanco Germishuys 8 Pedrie Wannenburg (capt.) 9 Niku Kruger 10 Will Magie 11 Timana Tahu 12 Ata Malifa 13 Chad London 14 Mike Garrity 15 Maximo de Achaval
16 Zach Fenoglio 17 Jake Turnbull 18 Chris Baumann 19 Christian Wiessing 20 Peter Dahl 21 Mose Timoteo 22 Martin Knoetze 23 Dustin Croy
SAN FRANCISCO
1 Niko Lolohea 2 Jacob Finau 3 Fancy Namulau’ulu 4 Brendan Daly 5 David Tameilau 6 Siupeli Sakalia 7 Sam Finau 8 Bill Fukofuka 9 Michael Reid 10 Volney Rouse (capt.) 11 Pila Iongi 12 Orene Ai’i 13 Nick Blevins 14 Michael Haley 15 Martini Talapusi
16 Codi Jones 17 Maka Tameilau 18 Patrick Latu 19 Isaac Helu 20 Jack O’Hara 21 Devereaux Ferris 22 Junior Helu 23 Jake Anderson
Date: Friday, May 20
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 PDT, 21:00 EDT)
Referee: Nick Ricono
Assistants: Kurt Weaver & Paul Knowles
Broadcasts: n/a
Tickets: TicketsWest
