Match Preview – Glendale Raptors vs New Orleans Gold

Infinity Park will get its first taste of Major League Rugby on Saturday as the Glendale Raptors host the New Orleans Gold in a tasty preseason encounter. It’s the third match for the gold in 2018 after previous warm-up encounters against the Capital Selects and Houston SaberCats. For the Raptors this is their first match of the year but it’s fair to say this is not their first rodeo.

Already well established as a club side, the Glendale accelerated their professional ambitions last year, opting to play a series of exhibition fixtures rather than participate in an established division. In the fall they re-branded their amateur arm the Merlins, leaving the Raptors moniker exclusive to their professional side, and competed under the new banner from September onward which included a friendly against the Ontario Arrows.

Most of the familiar names are present for the Raptors including seven test Eagles. World Cup hooker Zach Fenoglio leads the pack with heavyweight lock Ben Landry behind and the abrasive John Quill on the side of the scrum. There are USA Select XV reps in promising tighthead prop Kelepi Fifita and towering lock Casey Rock, and footballing Georgian loose forward Grigor Kerdikoshvili brings his talents to the side having previously represented the Air Force.

The back division is swarmed with internationals. Americas Rugby Championship trio Shaun Davies, Will Magie, and Bryce Campbell are as good as it gets in American rugby with Chad London not far removed from his most recent Eagles cap. The ever-reliable Max de Achaval is at fullback.

There is no shortage of talent among the reserves. Nick Kwasniewski is a Junior All-American prop from GCU and there are senior USA representatives in Peter Dahl, Ata Malifa, and Eagles Sevens cap Seth Halliman. Loose forward Brian Wanless is an impact player and there are Raptors debuts for three 19-year-olds in second row Max Dacey and halfback pair Jake Christmann and Mike Kruse.

NOLA have named their strongest available roster making only two changes to the side that fell short in Sugar Land. Nikola Bursic returns from ARC duty with Chile to bolster the second row but there is no sign of Eagles select JP Eloff at fullback with Australian utility back John Stapleton tabbed to start in his place.

Myles McQuone is the man to make way for Bursic and John Sullivan is again employed as a lock leaving the Gold particularly short at lineout time. No starting forward tops the 1.91m (6’3″) mark. Only one of the Glendale lineout targets falls below it, a foreboding proposition for NOLA dart thrower Eric Howard.

This match could well underline the deficiencies on the New Orleans roster. Glendale are established and well-rounded with only a couple spots of debatable depth. New Orleans have quality in the front and back row but look three or four high quality players short of contention.

The SaberCats won convincingly at Constellation Field and if anything the Raptors are a step up in competition. Look for the Gold to compete in the early going but up against one of the top sides in MLR on their home turf, the outcome is unlikely to be joyful. There is too much class and power for this to be anything but a celebration of Glendale’s rise from amateur champions to professional trendsetters.

Admission is free to the match for those able to attend. Thankfully fans everywhere will be able to watch as a live stream will be provided by Infinity Park. A high school match between Regis Jesuit and Jesuit NOLA will act as the curtain-raiser, kickoff set for 1:30pm local time.

GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Luke White, 2 Zach Fenoglio (capt.), 3 Kelepi Fifita, 4 Casey Rock, 5 Ben Landry, 6 Connor Cook, 7 John Quill, 8 Grigor Kerdikoshvili, 9 Shaun Davies, 10 Will Magie, 11 John Ryberg, 12 Bryce Campbell, 13 Chad London, 14 Harley Davidson, 15 Maximo de Achaval

Replacements: 16 James Del Bozque, 17 Blake Rogers, 18 Nick Kwasniewski, 19 Peter Dahl, 20 Brian Wanless, 21 Maxwell Dacey, 22 Jake Christmann, 23 Mikaele Kruse, 24 Seth Halliman, 25 Ata Malifa

NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Ben Tarr, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 John Sullivan, 6 Vincent Jobo, 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Sebastián Kalm, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Taylor Howden (capt.), 11 Jojo Tikoisuva, 12 Zack Stryffeler, 13 Moni Tonga’uiha, 14 Peceli Rinakama, 15 John Stapleton

Replacements: 16 Derrek van Klein, 17 Cam Falcon, 18 Matt Wirken, 19 Myles McQuone, 20 Bobby Johns, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Melvin DeSouza, 23 Alec Janotka

Date: Saturday, March 10
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 15:00 local (14:00 Pacific, 17:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: Live Stream