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All eyes are on Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday night as the Utah Warriors host the Ontario Arrows in Major League Rugby preseason action. The Arrows, of course, are not yet part of the new competition but the Canadian team proved their class with a well-earned draw against the Houston SaberCats in Texas at the beginning of March.
The Warriors were hoping for a good turnout last week and while there were plenty of empty seats in the 20,000 seat stadium, the official attendance of more than 9,000 was a tremendous achievement for the first match in franchise history. With an extra week’s worth of buzz behind them, is it possible they might top that mark in game two?
Head coach Alf Daniels has opted for mass changes to the lineup after the heavy defeat to Glendale. Only five players remain in the run-on side with two of them shifting positions.
Alex Tucci switches from loosehead to tighthead prop with another tall body in Maika Hafoka set to start at prop. Much of Tucci’s senior rugby has been in the back row while Hafoka has been a second row. Even more dramatic is the transition from center to hooker that Peni Pahulu is attempting.
Co-captain Saia Uhila moves up into the engine room and with Jackson Kaka and Ara Elkington both out injured it’s an all-new loose forward trio. Kenny Scott, Wineera Elkington, and Lance Williams each start where they finished against Glendale.
A change at scrumhalf sees Eagles Sevens cap Don Pati given a chance with Ben Nicholls dropping out of the side. In the midfield there is a first look at Tongan ‘A’ rep Paki Afu, who forms an enormous center pairing with the other co-captain, Paul Lasike.
The most notable addition to the side is the arrival of Tongan World Cup winger Fetu’u Vainikolo, who will prowl on his familiar left sideline. On the right is AJ Tu’ineau and at fullback is another new name in Fijian sevens exponent Kisa Kalougata.
An extended bench features five backs but only four forwards. Former USC football lineman John Martinez is named as a reserve front row. Joseph Nicholls covers halfback and Havea Unufe, whose brother Maka is in Hong Kong with the Eagles, should get a run as a replacement center.
After a disappointing start against New York in their last outing the Arrows have made five changes to their starting lineup. The first choice front row is restored with Canadian internationals Rob Brouwer and Tom Dolezel on either side of former national u20 rep AJ Quattrin.
Captain Mike Sheppard moves from the blindside flank up into the second row and Kolby Francis shifts over into the vacancy from No8. At the back of the scrum is one-time Canada cap Andrew Wilson who starts for the first time in this campaign.
The backs are addition by the arrival of Andrew Ferguson at scrumhalf, who arrives after featuring on Canada’s South American tour during the Americas Rugby Championship. He partners Canada u20 kicker Will Kelly with another impressive set of halfbacks – Alex Gliksten and Shawn Windsor – ready to make an impact from the bench.
Jamie Leveridge returns alongside Mitch Richardson in a restoration of the midfield that faced the SaberCats. Josh Campbell moves from outside center to the wing to accommodate. Counter-attack expert Aaron McLelland starts at fullback for the third straight game.
The firepower contained in the Warriors backline is more than enough to cause nightmares but getting clean possession from the set piece could be a problem. Utah struggled at the scrum against Glendale and with an experimental front row set to pack down against two grizzled Canada props they will do well to hold their own put-in.
Goal-kicking was another concern against the Raptors and in that regard the Arrows have a clear advantage with Ferguson and Kelly each more than capable from the tee. If penalties are leaked in the scrum or elsewhere it could be a long night for the Warriors. It’s an interesting match-up that should prove highly entertaining.
Thankfully as they did last week fans unable to attend can watch the live stream on Utah Warriors TV. Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 9pm Eastern.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Maika Hafoka, 2 Peni Pahulu, 3 Alex Tucci, 4 Matt Jensen, 5 Saia Uhila (co-capt.), 6 Kendrick Scott, 7 Wineera Elkington, 8 Lance Williams, 9 Don Pati, 10 Jared Whippy, 11 Fetu’u Vainiholo, 12 Paul Lasike (co-capt.), 13 Paki Afu, 14 AJ Tu’ineau, 15 Kisa Kalougata
Replacements: 16 Ray Forrester, 17 Angus MacLellan, 18 John Martinez, 19 Kory Olsen, 20 Joseph Nicholls, 21 Josh Whippy, 22 Havea Unufe, 23 Tonata Lauti, 24 Tana Afeaki
ONTARIO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 AJ Quattrin, 3 Tom Dolezel, 4 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Kolby Francis, 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Andrew Wilson, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Will Kelly, 11 Josh Campbell, 12 Jamie Leveridge, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Johnny Sheridan, 15 Aaron McLelland
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Mike Smith, 19 Tom van Horne, 20 Marcello Wainwright, 21 Alex Gliksten, 22 Shawn Windsor, 23 Kyle Lagasca
Date: Friday, April 6
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium, Salt Lake City
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: Utah Warriors TV
