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The Major League Rugby preseason continues on Saturday when the New Orleans Gold host Austin Elite at Archbishop Shaw Field. It’s the first of a home-and-away series between the two sides with the return match in Texas booked for next Saturday.
A 32-all draw against the SaberCats last weekend was a step forward after back-to-back defeats and they’ll be keen to take another step forward against Austin. Head coach Nate Osborne has made three changes to the starting side with a few others shuffled in on the bench.
Derrek van Klein runs out at loosehead prop for the first time in a Gold jersey and Matt Wirken comes in at lock. Hubert Buydens and Myles McQuone shift to the bench. Chile international Nikola Bursic returns to the squad but settles for a spot among the replacements. Front row reserve Amro Gouda is set for his first action since making a brief cameo against the Capital Selects.
The only change to the backline sees Peceli Rinakama replace Moni Tonga’uiha on the left wing. Midfielder Zack Stryffeler and wing Melvin DeSouza return among the reserves after missing last week’s match.
Austin came up short against a powerful San Diego Legion side in Round Rock but as with NOLA will stick have made minimal changes. In the only two are in the backs where Knute O’Donnell tags in for Michael Reid at scrumhalf and Zinzan Elan-Puttick starts at fullback. Sione Fangaiuiha moves up to the midfield and Sani Taylor slides out to the wing.
An extended bench features Allan Hanson and Zac Mizell, both of whom missed the San Diego game. Curiously there is a positional imbalance with only four replacement forwards name, three of them front rowers, and a full compliment of reserve backs.
With only three weeks until the start of the regular season both these sides will be seeking greater accuracy in execution. New Orleans had some set piece struggles against Houston while Austin were outdone by a star-studded San Diego backline. Getting out of the blocks early will be key for both sides as they aim to take the first leg heading towards next week’s rematch.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 3pm Eastern, noon Pacific. A live broadcast will be available on the GiftTime Rugby Network.
NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Derrek van Klein, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Cam Falcon, 4 Matt Wirken, 5 John Sullivan, 6 Vince Jobo, 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Sebastián Kalm, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Taylor Howden (capt.), 11 Peceli Rinakama, 12 JP Eloff, 13 Tim Maupin, 14 Bobby Johns, 15 Michael Baska
Replacements: 16 Ben Tarr, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Myles McQuone, 19 Nikola Bursic, 20 John Stapleton, 21 Zack Stryffeler, 22 Melvin DeSouza, 23 Amro Gouda
AUSTIN ELITE
1 Tim Fitzgerald, 2 Chris Schade, 3 Mason Pedersen (capt.), 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Kyle Breytenbach, 6 Junior Naruma, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Deon Minnaar, 9 Knute O’Donnell, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Sani Taylor, 12 Andrew Suniula, 13 Sione Fangaihuia, 14 Reece Czarnecki, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick
Replacements: 16 David LeMasters, 17 Siaosi Finau, 18 Robert Drummond, 19 Dylan Goulding, 20 Michael Reid, 21 Pat Sullivan, 22 Joedee Reyes, 23 Alex Faison-Donahoe, 24 Allan Hanson, 25 Vetekina Malafu, 26 Zac Mizell
Date: Saturday, March 31
Venue: Archbishop Shaw Field, New Orleans
Kickoff: 14:00 local (12:00 Pacific, 15:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: GiftTime Network
