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A heavyweight tilt between two sides billed as title contenders will take place at the sold-out Starfire Stadium on Sunday evening. There the defending champion Seattle Seawolves await the expansion Toronto Arrows in a highly anticipated contest of particular interest to Canadian fans.
Seattle is as close as it comes in Major League Rugby for British Columbians and five Canucks will suit up for the Seawolves on Sunday, four in the starting lineup. Cam Polson returns from injury to start his first match of the season. He lines up on the flank with Brad Tucker shifting to the second row, and openside specialist Nakai Penny is named on the bench after winning his first test caps for Canada in the Americas Rugby Championship.
Riekert Hattingh captains the side as regular skipper Shalom Suniula is named on the bench. He makes way for the George Barton, a Canadian battering ram who forms an enormous midfield alongside William Rasileka. Spiritual leader Phil Mack is restored at scrumhalf and goal kicking supremo Brock Staller continues on the right wing. Awaiting his first appearance of the season from the bench is winger Sequoyah Burke-Combs who started the 2018 final in Staller’s absence.
The Arrows are flying the MLR flag for Canada for the time being, and fresh off their first regular season victory they welcome the return of three Canadian internationals back from the ARC. Mike Sheppard returns at lock in one of two changes to the starting pack. The other sees Tom Dolezel wearing the No1 jersey with Rob Brouwer serving an unusual one-week suspension for a high tackle that was only deemed worthy of a yellow card during the match against Austin.
Guiseppe du Toit was forced into action as an emergency flanker for Canada against Brazil but will play his usual inside center role for Toronto. Spencer Jones pushes out one spot and Dan Moor shifts to the left wing. The latter retains the captaincy as Lucas Rumball is ruled out with injury along with Theo Sauder. Uruguayan pair Leandro Leivas and Gastón Mieres have touched down in Toronto but are left to acclimatise to their new surroundings along with England u20 back row Jack Nay.
With John Moonlight also unavailable, an SOS is answered by Ontario Blues stalwart Andrew Wilson, himself a one-cap international, while a surprise inclusion alongside Cole Keith is 2015 World Cup starter Doug Wooldridge. The latter covers loosehead prop despite being more frequently seen at tighthead in the latter part of his test career.
The Seawolves have now lost an unprecedented two games in a row and will be desperate to make amends at home. Their intent is unambiguously clear, as evidenced by the sheer bulk of the loose forward and midfield combinations. On the narrow Starfire surface and in likely brisk and damp conditions, Seattle will look to impose themselves up front and steamroll their way to victory.
That predictability does play into the hands of the Arrows somewhat. They will have a speed advantage at the breakdown and if they can chop down the gargantuan ball carriers they can mitigate Seattle’s offense. The Arrows also have unique insight into the Seawolves thanks to assistant coach Peter Smith, who wore the No10 shirt for Seattle in the 2018 MLR final.
All things considered the advantage must go to the home side who are also much closer to full strength than the visitors. It’s a fascinating contest, and with Toronto’s scrum in menacing form against Austin there is room for optimism in the Arrows camp. The collisions alone will be worth the price of admission.
Kickoff is set for 5pm Pacific time, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on Root Sports, with nationwide coverage in the USA on ESPN+. Canadian viewers can choose between GameTV or a live stream on either the official MLR Facebook page or that of the Arrows.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Olive Kilifi, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Api Naikatini, 5 Brad Tucker, 6 Cam Polson, 7 Eric Duechle, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 Phil Mack, 10 Ben Cima, 11 Peter Tiberio, 12 George Barton, 13 William Rasileka, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Mike Shepherd, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 John Hayden, 19 Taylor Krumrei, 20 Nakai Penny, 21 JP Smith, 22 Shalom Suniula, 23 Sequoyah Burke-Combs
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Tom Dolezel, 2 AJ Quattrin, 3 Morgan Mitchell, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Peter Milazzo, 7 Marcello Wainwright, 8 Kolby Francis, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Dan Moor (capt.), 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Avery Oitomen, 15 Shawn Windsor
Replacements: 16 Steve Ng, 17 Doug Wooldridge, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Josh van Horne, 20 Andrew Wilson, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Johnny Sheridan, 23 Jack Evans
Date: Sunday, February 17
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Seattle
Kickoff: 17:00 local (20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Ben Crouse (SARU)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook (Arrows), Facebook (MLR), GameTV, Root Sports
