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It’s back to the bayou for the NOLA Gold as they look to continue their march towards title contention against Austin Elite on Saturday afternoon. Currently one point clear at the top of the table, a bonus point win would put them out of reach of the rest for at least another week.
For Austin it’s a different situation entirely. Heading into their 8th match of the season, they have yet to taste victory and haven’t scored a bonus point since their third match against Toronto. In their defense they have been cursed by injuries and visa delays, but started to look a more cohesive unit in their last outing against Seattle.
There are four changes to the Elite’s starting lineup, two in the pack. LaRome White is handed his first Major League Rugby start at loosehead prop, with Chris Schade sliding to the bench. On the blindside flank one South African replaces another as Kyle Breytenbach is recalled at the expense of Rikus Zwart.
Andrés Vilaseca returns at inside center with JP Aguirre left out despite making a strong impression in his debut last week. Young Canadian prospect Aidan McMullan is handed his run-on debut on the right wing, and countryman Doug Fraser is set to make his first MLR appearance after getting visa clearance just a few days ago.
New Orleans have no intentions of messing with a winning formula. The only change to the first XV is at outside center where Taylor Howden steps in for Tristan Blewett, left out due to head injury protocol. Front rowers Matt Harmon and Kevin Sullivan are injured so Mason Briant is the backup hooker with Kavika Peniata joining the club from Metropolis as loosehead prop cover.
Picking a winless Austin side over the league’s best side at home is inadvisable to say the least, but Austin can at least build on some of the promising signs they showed against the Seawolves. Vilaseca’s return adds experience in the midfield and Fraser can be expected to make an impact off the bench. NOLA should win comfortably but with fair weather on the forecast this should be an entertaining spectacle.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, noon pacific, 3pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available in New Orleans on Cox Sports TV, with ESPN+ available nationwide. Those located outside the USA can watch a live stream on the MLR Facebook page.
NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Eric Howard (capt.), 3 Ben Tarr, 4 Kane Thompson, 5 Ignacio Dotti, 6 Kyle Baillie, 7 Zack Stryffeler, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Scott Gale, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Taylor Howden, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 JP Eloff
Replacements: 16 Mason Briant, 17 Cam Falcon, 18 Kavika Peniata, 19 Billy Stewart, 20 Nikola Bursic, 21 Moni Tonga’uiha, 22 Michael Baska, 23 Joeli Tikoisuva
AUSTIN ELITE
1 LaRome White, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Juan Echeverría, 4 Ben Mitchell (capt.), 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Moe Abdelmonem, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Mickaël Romera, 10 Rodrigo Silva, 11 Peni Tagive, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 Sione Fangaiuiha, 14 Aidan McMullan, 15 Soheyl Jaoudat
Replacements: 16 Dom Bailey, 17 Chris Schade, 18 Brendan Rams, 19 Dylan Pieterse, 20 Rikus Zwart, 21 Marcelo Torrealba, 22 Doug Fraser, 23 Reece Czarnecki
Date: Saturday, March 23
Venue: Gold Stadium, Marrero
Kickoff: 14:00 local (12:00 Pacific, 15:00 Eastern)
Referee: Derek Summers (USAR)
Assistants: Paul-Henri Courbier (USAR) & Ed Gardner (USAR)
Broadcasts: Cox Sports TV, ESPN+, Facebook
