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The second half of the Major League Rugby regular season begins in Texas on Friday evening when Austin Elite host the San Diego Legion at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex. It’s the same venue where the two teams met in the preseason with the Legion coming away 32-24 winners. Both rosters have been augmented since then.
It’s safe to say this is do-or-die for Austin if they have any hope of making the Semi Finals. At the bare minimum they’ll need to win two of their three-game home stand and likely all three with their Week 9 match on the road in San Diego.
The good news is that after a week off they have three key players returning to their lineup. A new-look front row sees Chris Schade move to his preferred hooker spot and Siaosi Finau starting for the first time at loosehead prop. US Eagles tighthead Paddy Ryan returns from injury to make his MLR debut.
Pedrie Wannenburg has recovered from hamstring problem to start at No8 so Kyle Breytenbach shifts to the blindside flank. In the midfield Roland Suniula is back to partner brother Andrew and Zinzan Elan-Puttick moves to fullback to accommodate.
San Diego also enjoyed a weekend off and welcome the return of heavyweight lock Siaosi Mahoni who comes in for Jay Harmon. No further changes are made to the starting pack but Tongan prop Faka’osi Pifeleti joins the bench, formerly of Saracens Junior Academy in England.
The backline sees one change and one positional switch. Taku Ngwenya is back on the right wing so captain Nate Augspurger returns to scrumhalf at the expense of Nick Boyer. Versatile back Cody Melphy joins the bench fresh from Eagles Sevens duty.
There are key battles in the front row where Sione Tu’ihalamaka continues his crash course in the scrum against experienced pro Paddy Ryan. In the midfield it’s the Suniula brothers against arguably the in-form duo in the competition in JP du Plessis and Anthony Salaber.
Given the stakes and home field advantage expect Austin to be very fired up for this one. Both teams have had an extra week to work on problem spots and heal up, so a more cohesive performance should be expected from each.
It’s a hot day in Round Rock and while the 8pm local kickoff should cool things off a little, fatigue is sure to play a part in the final quarter. On form it’s hard to look past San Diego who have already tasted victory at these grounds before. Look for the Legion to take a fierce contest but not by much.
Viewers in North American can watch on CBS Sports Network. International viewers have access to the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
AUSTIN ELITE
1 Siaosi Finau, 2 Chris Schade, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Victor Comptat, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 9 Marcus Walsh, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Sani Taylor, 12 Andrew Suniula (capt.), 13 Roland Suniula, 14 Sione Fangaiuiha, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick
Replacements: 16 Mike Brown, 17 Mason Pedersen, 18 Robert Drummond, 19 Todd Clever 20 Ned Hodson, 21 Knute O’Donnell, 22 Zac Mizell, 23 Ross Deacon
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Sione Tu’ihalamaka, 2 Pat Blair, 3 Dolph Botha, 4 Lance Lamprecht, 5 Siaosi Mahoni, 6 Chris Turori, 7 Devin Short, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Nate Augspurger (capt.), 10 Ben Cima, 11 Ryan Matyas, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Anthony Salaber, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 15 Dylan Audsley
Replacements: 16 Gil Covey, 17 Tony Purpura, 18 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 19 Derrick Broussard, 20 Drew Gaffney, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Tadhg Leader, 23 Cody Melphy
Date: Friday, May 25
Venue: Round Rock Multipurpose Complex
Kickoff: 20:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Josh Houston (USAR)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (ARU) & Butch Neuenschwander (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook
