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Two familiar foes will battle it out at Infinity Park on Saturday evening as the Glendale Raptors host the Toronto Arrows. While this is their first official meeting in Major League Rugby, the Arrows have faced the Raptors twice before under the Ontario Arrows banner with one match prior as the Ontario Blues. It’s 2-1 to the Canadians as it stands and the Raptors will be raring to even the score.
There are three personnel changes to the starting side that tied the Warriors last weekend. Chad Gough’s 100 meter dash has earned him a recall to the starting lineup as he swaps jerseys with Zach Fenoglio, and Marco Fepulea’i takes over from Kelepi Fifita at tighthead prop. In the second row Kody O’Neil makes way for Brendan Daly, and Connor Cook starts on the blindside flank.
Casey Rock returns for the first time in a month to cover second row from the replacements bench. Covering the back row is Malon Al-Jiboori, released from Eagles camp, while veteran winger Nick Johnson is back on the bench for the fourth time this season.
The Arrows are bolstered by the return of three experienced players. Morgan Mitchell is fit for duty at tighthead prop and Mike Sheppard slots into the second row after playing for Canada last weekend. Shawn Windsor is a straight swap for Jack Evans at fullback, the latter dropping to the bench. Jamie Leveridge steps in to provide midfield cover.
This is Glendale’s home opener and the Raptors won all five of their matches at Infinity Park during the 2018 campaign. Though finalists last season, they have not looked convincing thus far in 2019 and it took them an hour to find their groove against the Warriors last week. Toronto, meanwhile, have won two of their four away games including a comfortable win over Houston.
Form and historical results will likely take a back seat to the weather. Snow and sub-zero temperatures are on the forecast and mere survival may be the priority than any kind of result. Picking a winner in those conditions is an exercise in futility. Perhaps the second draw in MLR history is on the cards?
Kickoff is set for 7pm local, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. A live stream will be available on 9News with GameTV broadcasting across Canada.
GLENDALE RAPTORS
1 Blake Rogers, 2 Chad Gough, 3 Marco Fepulea’i, 4 Brendan Daly, 5 Luke White (capt.), 6 Connor Cook, 7 Peter Dahl, 8 Will Munro, 9 Carlo de Nysschen, 10 Ata Malifa, 11 Harley Davidson, 12 Robbie Petzer, 13 Mika Kruse, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson
Replacements: 16 Zach Fenoglio, 17 Max Lum, 18 Kelepi Fifita, 19 Casey Rock, 20 Malon Al-Jiboori, 21 Mickey Bateman, 22 Chad London, 23 Nick Johnson
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 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 Johnny Sheridan, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Dan Moor (capt.), 14 Avery Oitomen, 15 Shawn Windsor
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Tom Dolezel, 19 Josh van Horne, 20 Andrew Wilson, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Jamie Leveridge, 23 Jack Evans
Date: Saturday, March 2
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: 9News, GameTV
