Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Saturday evening brings to fans the most anticipated rematch of the Major League Rugby season as the Seattle Seawolves arrive at Infinity Park to challenge the Glendale Raptors. It’s a heavyweight tilt featuring the top two teams in the competition, with the only loss between them the result of Glendale’s 19-15 win at Seattle in Week 2.
The scales have shifted slightly since then but remain virtually level, with each team absent five starters from that rainy day in April. That each side has maintained their standards throughout the season regardless of personnel is a measure of their professionalism.
Glendale are missing their Eagles with Dylan Fawsitt the latest pulled away. Sam Figg is also out after a very physical match against the SaberCats. Zach Fenoglio moves back to hooker with Brian Wanless set for his first MLR start on the flank and Peter Dahl named at No8. Blake Rogers rotates with Luke White at loosehead prop.
The backs have made one change with John Ryberg starting on the wing and Mika Kruse shifting to the midfield in place of Ata Malifa. Lindenwood scrumhalf Mickey Bateman is set to make his MLR debut as a replacement, as are academy midfielder Siale Maka and former Denver Stampede flanker Logan Collins.
Seattle are given a major boost this week with the return of player-coach Phil Mack from international duty. There are two other changes to the team that edged the Elite in Round Rock. Fellow Canadian cap Mozac Samson gets his run-out in the midfield in place of absent captain Shalom Suniula. The other adjustment sees Jeremy Misailegalu start on the wing with Dion Crowder named among the reserves.
This is as close to a coin-toss decision as it gets. Seattle weren’t quite as sharp against Austin but Mack’s return should see them back at their best. Glendale have some bumps and bruises but are always a formidable outfit with no obvious weaknesses.
A memorable takeaway from their first encounter was the effectiveness of the Seawolves scrum, and only Glendale have conceded less points than the trademark ‘Seawall’ defense. With Peter Smith on the bench and Brock Staller away with Canada there is perhaps a question of whether Seattle can take advantage of penalties that come their way.
There is an argument that this is the weakest Glendale lineup of the season, but with half the side having represented the USA at senior ‘A’ level or higher the Raptors still aren’t exactly on a shoestring budget. Look for their class to stand up again and home field advantage might be just enough to get the result in a match that could well be a precursor of the July 7 final in San Diego.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. Local viewers can watch on ROOT Sports, with AT&T SportsNet and ESPN+ also broadcasting across the USA. Those in Canada and elsewhere can access the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Blake Rogers, 2 Zach Fenoglio (capt.), 3 Kelepi Fifita, 4 Casey Rock, 5 Kody O’Neil, 6 Connor Cook, 7 Brian Wanless, 8 Peter Dahl, 9 Jake Christmann, 10 Maximo de Achaval, 11 John Ryberg, 12 Mika Kruse, 13 Chad London, 14 Harley Davidson, 15 Seth Halliman
Replacements: 16 Luke White, 17 Nick Kwasniewski, 18 James Del Bozque, 19 Devin Vaughter, 20 Logan Collins, 21 Mickey Bateman, 22 Nick Johnson, 23 Siale Maka
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 Phil Mack (capt.), 10 Will Holder, 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs, 12 Mozac Samson, 13 William Rasileka, 14 Jeremy Misailegalu, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Louie Henson, 17 John Hayden, 18 LaRome White, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Cole van Harn, 21 Andre Coquillard, 22 Peter Smith, 23 Dion Crowder
Date: Saturday, June 16
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Adam Leal (RFU)
Assistants: Scott Green (USAR) & Steve Gore (USAR)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet, ESPN+, ROOT Sports, Facebook
