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It’s the last home game of the season for the Seattle Seawolves as they welcome the NOLA Gold to Starfire Stadium on Sunday. Just two weeks ago the two sides were head-to-head in New Orleans with Seattle crawling back from an early deficit to win 31-29.
Both teams were victorious in the week since. The Seawolves defeated the Utah Warriors in a thrilling match. Though they conceded 31 points, their defensive commitment was impressive as they faced an onslaught from the Warriors arsenal but maintained composure throughout.
Four players have dropped out through injury with Cam Polson, Riekert Hattingh, Peter Smith, and George Barton unavailable. On the other hand Ray Barkwill and Jérémy Lenaerts make timely returns from suspension to bolster the tight five. Aladdin Schirmer moves to No8 and Eric Duechle is handed his first start of the season the blindside flank.
Stepping in at flyhalf is Will Holder, who replaced Smith late in the first half against Utah. Shalom Suniula is back in the squad and takes over the vacant No12 shirt and the captaincy in the absence of Hattingh.
Three players are named on the bench that missed out on last week’s game. Nakai Penny and Andre Coquillard cover the forwards with the latter still to make his Major League Rugby debut. Mozac Samson is set to make just his second appearance having come off the bench in New Orleans.
Tim Maupin returns from a leg injury but will play on the wing for the Gold with Zack Stryffeler retained in the midfield and Bobby Johns dropping to the bench. The backline is otherwise unchanged with Peceli Rinakama named at flyhalf for a third consecutive match.
Up front coach Nate Osborne has once again renounced bulk in favor of work rate. John Sullivan moves to the second row and Chad Joseph gets his first MLR start, the specialist openside flanker named at the unusual position of No8. Matt Wirken drops out, the big lock named among the replacements.
Opting to concede so much weight against the strongest scrum in the league is a curious move by Osborne. The Seattle weather is unlike the searing heat of New Orleans and attempts to wear down the Seawolves pack through ball movement seem unlikely to be particularly effective given their patient defensive approach.
Home field advantage is again significant for Seattle with a sold out crowd expected once again. On paper the scale leans heavily towards the Seawolves, whose only defeat thus far was a four-point loss to league leaders Glendale in Week 2.
With the race to Major League Rugby Semi Finals spots heating up every point counts and NOLA will do well to come away with a losing bonus point. Their high-flying offense is capable of reaching the try bonus but their set piece should be decidedly second best which makes a win at Starfire Stadium unlikely.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 8pm Eastern. Viewers in the USA can watch on AT&T SportsNet, Root Sports, and ESPN+. International viewers, those in Canada included, can access a live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Olive Kilifi, 2 Ray Barkwill, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Taylor Krumrei, 5 Jérémy Lenaerts, 6 Eric Duechle, 7 Vili Toluta’u, 8 Aladdin Schirmer, 9 Phil Mack, 10 Will Holder, 11 Peter Tiberio, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 William Rasileka, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Dan Trierweiler, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 John Hayden, 19 Cole van Harn, 20 Nakai Penny, 21 Andre Coquillard, 22 Mozac Samson, 23 Sequoyah Burke-Combs
NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Ben Tarr, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 John Sullivan, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Chad Joseph, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Peceli Rinakama, 11 Joeli Tikoisuva, 12 Taylor Howden (capt.), 13 Zack Stryffeler, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 Michael Baska
Replacements: 16 Amro Gouda, 17 Cam Falcon, 18 Derrek van Klein, 19 Matt Wirken, 20 Myles McQuone, 21 Brennan Falcon, 22 Vita Makasini, 23 Bobby Johns
Date: Sunday, May 27
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Seattle
Kickoff: 17:00 local (19:00 Central, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Chris Assmus (RC)
Assistants: Adam Leal (RFU) & Michelle O’Brien (USAR)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet, Root Sports, ESPN+, Facebook
