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The seventh weekend of the Major League Rugby regular season comes to a close on Sunday at Archbishop Shaw Field where the New Orleans Gold welcome the Glendale Raptors. It’s the second time the two sides have collided, the first in preseason action at Infinity Park. On that occasion it was a comfortable win for the Raptors but that was three months ago and in decidedly less humid conditions than those greeting the teams in New Orleans.
This weekend’s earlier results have put the Gold in a precarious position. Currently sitting outside of a Semi Final spot, they’ll need to pick up at least some points against the Raptors with only two more games to make up the difference after this one. Both will be challenging – a home match against the San Diego Legion and a road trip to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Warriors.
Nate Osborne has made four changes to the team that were swamped in Seattle last weekend. Vice-captain Eric Howard has returned to Canada for international duty so it’s Cam Falcon who steps into the familiar hooker’s role having been used largely as a tighthead prop this season. To shore up the front row stocks versatile prop Anthony Parry has been secured on loan from Rugby United New York.
In the backs it’s good news as JP Eloff returns from a illness and in an interesting move is named at his preferred flyhalf position for the first time this season with captain Taylor Howden switching to inside center. Tim Maupin starts at outside center where he played the majority of the match against Seattle following Zack Stryffeler’s injury. On the right wing is Joey Sok, who gets his first MLR start, and there is a debut at fullback for LSU graduate Cameron Troxler.
Glendale had a long two-week break and saw their first place position taken by Seattle. They won’t be able to get it back this week but still have a game at hand on the Seawolves. They have made five changes to their starting lineup, three up front and two in the backs.
Connor Cook and Ben Landry returns from their suspensions handed out after their opening weekend red cards and will make an odd couple in the second row with Cook’s usual back row spot now firmly in the hands of Sam Figg. Returning to the run-on side at openside flank is John Quill, with Zach Fenoglio named among the replacements.
The backs had seen a reshuffle with Harley Davidson named on the left wing and Seth Halliman moving to fullback in place of Max de Achaval. Chad London is recalled in the midfield with Bryce Campbell moving to his more familiar inside center role. Mika Kruse continues on the right wing and powerhouse winger John Ryberg is set to make his first regular season appearance after recovering from injury.
With a couple weeks off to rest up and the return of some key players – Landry in particular – this looks a very formidable Raptors outfit. They won’t enjoy the conditions in New Orleans but that shouldn’t stop them from reminding the rest of the league that they remain the top dogs despite the Seawolves nudging ahead on points. Expect them to outclass the Gold up front and retain their unbeaten status.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern. Viewers in the USA can watch on AT&T SportsNet or ESPN+. A live stream will be available to all other international viewers on the official MLR Facebook page.
NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Cam Falcon, 3 Ben Tarr, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 John Sullivan, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Chad Joseph, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 JP Eloff, 11 Joeli Tikoisuva, 12 Taylor Howden (capt.), 13 Tim Maupin, 14 Joey Sok, 15 Cameron Troxler
Replacements: 16 Alec Janotka, 17 Derrek van Klein, 18 Anthony Parry, 19 Myles McQuone, 20 Brennan Falcon, 21 Vita Makasini, 22 Peceli Rinakama, 23 Michael Baska
GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Blake Rogers, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Kelepi Fifita, 4 Connor Cook, 5 Ben Landry, 6 Peter Dahl, 7 John Quill, 8 Sam Figg, 9 Shaun Davies (capt.), 10 Will Magie, 11 Harley Davidson, 12 Bryce Campbell, 13 Chad London, 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Seth Halliman
Replacements: 16 Luke White, 17 Zach Fenoglio, 18 James Del Bozque, 19 Brian Wanless, 20 Kody O’Neil, 21 Jake Christmann, 22 Ata Malifa, 23 John Ryberg
Date: Sunday, June 3
Venue: Archbishop Shaw Field, New Orleans
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 14:00 Mountain, 16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Chris Assmus (RC)
Assistants: Josh Houston (USAR) & Allen Alongi (USAR)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet, ESPN+, Facebook
