Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The first half of the Major League Rugby season will officially come to a close on Sunday as the Seattle Seawolves play host to the San Diego Legion on Sunday. It’s a match certain to hold playoff implications with the defending champions pushing towards the top of the table after a slow start, while the Legion have dipped slightly after their promising opening.
This will be the fourth time the two sides have met in MLR competition. Seattle took both results decisively in 2018, the season opener and the semi final, but it was San Diego who held on in the pouring rain for a 17-13 win eight weeks ago. It will be dry weather this time at Starfire Stadium, and the Seawolves are hungry for revenge.
Richie Walker has restored his first choice front row with Olive Kilifi and Stephan Coetzee on from the start. It’s a heavyweight back row trio as Cam Polson returns on the blindside flank with Eric Duechle again selected as a wrecking ball openside and Aladdin Schirmer dropping to the bench.
The only change to the backs from the side that beat Austin in Texas sees the return of captain Shalom Suniula at inside center. George Barton misses out but it’s not the Canadian who is on the bench, instead it’s former SaberCats powerhouse Joey Iosefa who is set to make his regular season bow for the Seawolves after being officially signed during the week.
Louis Stanfill returns to the San Diego second row after missing the draw against Glendale. Siaosi Mahoni drops to the bench, and there is an interesting selection on the flank as Jasa Veremalua becomes the first player in MLR history so start both in the backs and forwards. The 6’5″ (1.95m) Fijian was a replacement lock against the Raptors and this time fills in for the absent Devin Short.
With Ryan Matyas fit for duty again the Legion have shuffled their outside backs. Matyas starts on the left wing with Conor Kearns moving to the right and Mike Te’o to fullback. It’s somewhat unusual given Kearns’ preference to play fullback and suggests that San Diego will look to counter-attack rather than return fire against Ben Cima.
That kicking game will be important but it’s the battle up front that will be most fascinating. The new-look San Diego scrum gave Seattle all they could handle at Torero Stadium. Tim Metcher & Co. have looked in better form of late, however, and if they can’t get the shove on in the scrum they will certainly look to soften up their opponents in the tight-loose.
On paper the advantage in the backs leans towards the Legion, though Suniula’s presence adds x-factor in the Seawolves midfield and the likes of Iosefa and starter William Rasileka are physical threats that San Diego do not have at their disposal. It should be a tight contest but give the overall advantage to the home side who also have momentum having won four straight.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local, 8pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on FOX 5 San Diego and Root Sports, with ESPN+ showing the game nationwide. Those located in Canada or elsewhere around the world can watch the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Olive Kilifi, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Taylor Krumrei, 5 Brad Tucker, 6 Cam Polson, 7 Eric Duechle, 8 Riekert Hattingh, 9 JP Smith, 10 Ben Cima, 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 William Rasileka, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Peter Tiberio
Replacements: 16 Dan Trierweiler, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 John Hayden, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Aladdin Schirmer, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Joey Iosefa, 23 Mat Turner
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Dean Muir, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Louis Stanfill, 5 Keni Nasoqeqe, 6 Jasa Veremalua, 7 Psalm Wooching, 8 Jordan Manihera, 9 Nate Augspurger, 10 Joe Pietersen (capt.), 11 Ryan Matyas, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Dylan Audsley, 14 Conor Kearns, 15 Mike Te’o
Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Aaron Mitchell, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Drew Gaffney, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Tai Enosa, 23 Kyle Rogers
Date: Sunday, March 31
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Seattle
Kickoff: 17:00 local (20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Elgan Williams (WRU)
Assistants: Robin Kaluzniak (RC) & Lee Bryant (USAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, FOX 5 San Diego, Root Sports
