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The New Orleans Gold showed the rest of Major League Rugby that they mean business as they defeated the fancied Toronto Arrows at Gold Stadium last weekend. They will have some more convincing to do on Saturday when the Glendale Raptors arrive with winning on their minds.
Finalists in 2018, the Raptors opened the 2019 season in the same way last year ended. The Seawolves were the better side in Seattle but Glendale were right with them until the final whistle. With both teams absent key players on Americas Rugby Championship duty, the Raptors will be confident they have the depth to take it to the Gold.
They may be right. Called up to the Eagles camp are back rows Hanco Germishuys and Malon Al-Jiboori, and critically the starting halfback pairing of Shaun Davies and Will Magie. Also missing out is second row Kody O’Neil as coach Dave Williams makes four changes to the starting side.
Vice-captain Luke White steps up to lead the side in the absence of Davies. He is partnered by Brendan Daly in the second row who moves in from the blindside flank to make room for Australian import Will Munro. On the openside there is a return for Peter Dahl, the Eagles veteran who played a significant role in Glendale’s success last season.
The only changes to the backs are at the halfbacks. It’s an all-South African pairing this time, with Carlo de Nysschen partnered with new signing Robbie Petzer. The duo made their MLR debuts as replacements against Seattle, with Petzer coming on in the midfield for Mika Kruse.
Casey Rock comes onto the bench to cover lock. Like Dahl he played a significant role last season. The back row cover comes in the form of Clemson standout Jason Damm who will make his regular season debut should he see action. Mickey Bateman and Ata Malifa, both returning players, make their first appearance on the match day roster covering scrumhalf and the midfield respectively.
NOLA have been hit hardest in the pack. They have also lost their captain, Eric Howard, who has joined up with Canada long with Kyle Baillie. Cam Dolan will play for the Eagles against Chile, and Ignacio Dotti is with Uruguay. Nikola Bursic remains unavailable while two players were injured against the Arrows – Vince Jobo and Tim Maupin.
Collegiate All-American Matt Harmon gets his first start at hooker and Junior All-American William Waguespack makes his regular season bow in the second row. Kane Thompson fills in for Dolan at No8 and John Sullivan is named on the blindside flank with Zack Stryffeler continuing on the openside.
Aside from the loss of Maupin the backs are unchanged. Taylor Howden steps into the midfield as a replacement with Tristan Blewett sliding out to the wing. Bench cover comes from Michael Baska and Cameron Troxler, and there are two new forward reserves this week in hooker Mason Briant and Utah Utes utility forward Caleb Meyer.
The Gold flexed their backline muscles against the Arrows and will attempt to do the same against the Raptors, but this time it may be easier said than done. It’s the forwards who must first win the ball and in that department the advantage must go to Glendale. Look for their edge in experience to be the difference in possession with Petzer’s boot able to dictate territory. Take the Raptors in a close battle between playoff contenders.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 3pm Eastern, noon Pacific. A live broadcast will be available on ESPN+ for those in the USA while viewers located elsewhere can watch on the official MLR Facebook page.
NOLA GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Matt Harmon, 3 Ben Tarr, 4 William Waguespack, 5 Billy Stewart, 6 John Sullivan, 7 Zack Stryffeler, 8 Kane Thompson, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Scott Gale, 11 Joeli Tikoisuva, 12 Con Foley, 13 Taylor Howden, 14 Tristan Blewett, 15 JP Eloff (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Mason Briant, 17 Cam Falcon, 18 Kevin Sullivan, 19 Malcolm May, 20 Caleb Meyer, 21 Nick Feakes, 22 Cameron Troxler, 23 Michael Baska
GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Blake Rogers, 2 Chad Gough, 3 Marco Fepulea’i, 4 Luke White (capt.), 5 Brendan Daly, 6 Will Munro, 7 Peter Dahl, 8 Connor Cook, 9 Carlo de Nysschen, 10 Robbie Petzer, 11 Harley Davidson, 12 Chad London, 13 Mika Kruse, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson
Replacements: 16 Zach Fenoglio, 17 Max Lum, 18 Kelepi Fifita, 19 Casey Rock, 20 Jason Damm, 21 Mickey Bateman, 22 Ata Malifa, 23 Nick Johnson
Date: Saturday, February 2
Venue: Gold Stadium, New Orleans
Kickoff: 14:00 local (12:00 Pacific, 15:00 Eastern)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USAR)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Allen Alongi (USAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook
