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It’s do or die for the Utah Warriors as they host the Houston SaberCats at Zions Bank Stadium with a spot in the Major League Rugby Semi Finals up for grabs. A loss by less than 5 points might also be enough, but the task is simple – win or miss out.
To do so they will have to topple the SaberCats, a team that has already been ruled out of playoff contention and are assured their spot at the bottom of the table. To say it’s been a disappointing campaign for the Cats is an understate. They will be keen to play the role of spoilers on the way out to finish their season on a high.
Houston enjoyed a bye week after their loss to the Raptors in Glendale, and return with a team showing five changes. The only alterations up front see Irish prop Jamie Dever making his MLR debut after finally solving his visa problems, and Lindsey Stevens is back in at hooker with Diego Maquieira missing out.
The backs see both Connor Murphy and Conor Mills recalled to the run-on side after being dropped against Glendale. Alex Elkins also returns to the starting lineup after a two-try cameo against the Raptors. Josua Vici is conspicuously absent.
At the time of writing Utah have yet to reveal their starting lineup but are not expected to make many changes from their narrow defeat against the Gold.
[ROSTER UPDATE]
Utah has made two changes to their side. Maka Tameilau comes in for Alex Tucci at loosehead prop, and in the absence of Matt Jensen there is a start for Lance Williams on the blindside flank with John Cullen moving into the second row. Tino Mafi and Kenny Scott are added to the bench as hooker and back row cover respectively.
Recent fortunes would suggest that this is Utah’s game to lose given their heavyweight forward pack and explosive outside backs. A team with nothing to lose, however, is a dangerous animal. Look for the Warriors to scrape through to the Semi Finals in the end but not without a ferocious battle from their willing combatants.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 4pm Eastern. Viewers in the USA can watch on AT&T SportsNet and ESPN+. All those based internationally can access a live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Maka Tameilau, 2 Lote Tu’ipulotu, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 John Cullen, 5 Saia Uhila (capt.), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ara Elkington, 8 David Tameilau, 9 Joseph Nicholls, 10 Jonny Linehan, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 12 AJ Tu’ineau, 13 Iniki Fa’amausili, 14 Tonata Lauti, 15 Don Pati
Replacements: 16 Ray Forrester, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Les Soloai, 19 Kenny Scott, 20 Tino Mafi, 21 Josh Anderson, 22 Vernon Ale, 23 Ben Nicholls
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Jamie Dever, 2 Lindsey Stevens, 3 Adam Macklin, 4 Charlie Hewitt, 5 Matt Trouville, 6 Chris Coyle, 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Kyle Sumsion (capt.), 9 Connor Murphy, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Malacchi Esdale, 12 Conor Mills, 13 Osea Kolinisau, 14 Alex Elkins, 15 Zach Pangelinan
Replacements: 16 Gabe Romero, 17 Jake Turnbull, 18 Jack Riley, 19 Robert Meeson, 20 Chris Parker, 21 Chris Slater, 22 Joey Iosefa, 23 Dan Paul
Date: Saturday, June 23
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 14:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Adam Leal (RFU)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Kage Green (USAR)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet, ESPN+, Facebook
