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The second Major League Rugby game on Friday evening, kicking off at the same time as the first, will be played in Texas at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex. Austin Elite are on a high with two wins in a row but will have to front up against one of the heavyweights in the Seattle Seawolves, sitting pretty on top of the table and the first team to qualify for the Semi Finals.
Seattle weren’t at their best against Houston last week but did enough to come away with a comfortable win. Since then they’ve bid farewell to some key players, however, including their player-coach Phil Mack. Two front row starters – Olive Kilifi and Ray Barkwill – are off on international duty with Vili Toluta’u drafted into the Eagles squad this week and Brock Staller getting a late call to join the Canadian camp.
A makeshift backline sees Peter Tiberio named at scrumhalf with Shalom Suniula, a capped international halfback, instead left in the midfield. Sequoyah Burke-Combs fills in for Staller with Dion Crowder taking over the vacancy left by Tiberio’s move. The core of the backs remain the same with Will Holder at flyhalf and Mat Turner at fullback.
Up front there are more conventional alterations. Dan Trierweiler steps in to start at hooker and Tim Metcher is recalled at tighthead prop. Nakai Penny gets his second start at openside flank after two impressive cameos coming off the bench. Louie Henson is set to make his MLR debut as a hooker replacement and Jeremy Misailegalu is back in the match day squad a two week absence.
Austin have predictably kept their team intact with only two changes, both enforced. Hanco Germishuys is away with the Eagles so Ross Deacon steps in on the flank. Roland Suniula was forced off with a head knock against Utah so Ned Hodson continues where he left off at outside center.
The bench is something of a strange mix with only four forwards named against strong Seattle pack that has six forwards in reserve. Michael Reid returns from injury but is one of two scrumhalves among the replacements with Knute O’Donnell also included. Reece Czarnecki back in the squad for the first time since the April 28 game in Houston.
Under normal circumstances this might have been a straightforward pick with Seattle clear favorites, but the loss of five players – coach included – does even up the score a bit. Austin are also full of confidence and keen to finish the season unbeaten at home. The Seawolves have less to play for having already sealed their post-season presence.
The set piece will be of great interest with Paddy Ryan’s return giving Austin a major boost in the scrum last week and the second row duo of Ben Mitchell and Victor Comptat have dominated the lineout at every opportunity. Seattle, of course, have been the form scrum in the competition. They should at the very least provide a platform for the backs.
If Tiberio adjusts to his new position and the heat doesn’t overwhelm the side, the ‘Seawall’ should be able to hold out a Hanco-less Austin attack. The Seawolves remain favorites heading in but not by much.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. Viewers in Canada and the USA can watch on CBS Sports Network. All others have access to a live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
AUSTIN ELITE
1 Chris Schade, 2 Mike Brown, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Victor Comptat, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Ross Deacon, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 9 Marcus Walsh, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Sani Taylor, 12 Andrew Suniula (capt.), 13 Ned Hodson, 14 Alex Faison-Donahoe, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick
Replacements: 16 David LeMasters, 17 Siaosi Finau, 18 Robert Drummond, 19 Junior Naruma, 20 Knute O’Donnell, 21 Michael Reid, 22 Zac Mizell, 23 Reece Czarnecki
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Kellen Gordon, 2 Dan Trierweiler, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Taylor Krumrei, 5 Cam Polson, 6 Eric Duechle, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Aladdin Schirmer, 9 Peter Tiberio, 10 Will Holder, 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 William Rasileka, 14 Dion Crowder, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Louie Henson, 17 LaRome White, 18 John Hayden, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Andre Coquillard, 21 Cole van Harn, 22 Mozac Samson, 23 Jeremy Misailegalu
Date: Friday, June 8
Venue: Round Rock Multipurpose Complex
Kickoff: 20:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Scott Green (USAR)
Assistants: Josh Houston (USAR) & Butch Neuenschwander (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook
