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After the frustration of having their game against Austin postponed a week ago, the Toronto Arrows will welcome another team from Texas to York Alumni Field on Sunday afternoon. The Houston SaberCats had a torrid time against Seattle in the ill-fated AVEVA Stadium opener and now need to rebound on the road.
After a poor second half against the Seawolves, it’s no surprise that a third of Houston’s team has been changed. Jamie Dever and Paul Mullen are the new props, the latter getting his first start of the season after recovering from a hand injury. Towering lock Victor Comptat also gets a start at the expense of captain Matt Trouville, who finds himself on the bench for the first time.
It’s blindside flanker Luke Beauchamp who wears the armband in Trouville’s place. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz is given his first Major League Rugby start at No8 after debuting off the bench last weekend. Los Teros incumbent Alejandro Nieto moves to openside to accommodate as Cecil Garber drops to the bench.
The only change to the backline is a big one, figuratively and literally. Thretton Palamo‘s try-scoring cameo has seen him instantly promoted to the run-on side with Max Tacket swapping to the reserves.
Toronto has made six changes from their lineup that came up short against NOLA two weeks ago. Cole Keith is given a start at tighthead prop, Kolby Francis moves into the second row, and Marcello Wainwright will play at No8 with Lucas Rumball switching to the flank.
In the backs there are first MLR starts for three internationals. Canadian pair Jamie Mackenzie and Theo Sauder will play scrumhalf and fullback respectively, with Uruguay’s Leandro Leivas playing on the right wing with captain Dan Moor pushing in one spot to outside center.
The first meeting between the two sides ended in a sizable win for Toronto in Houston. Will the changes be enough to help the SaberCats overcome that gap on the road? The scrum contest should be a point of interest but elsewhere the Arrows appear the most cohesive side and enter as clear favorites.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 11am Pacific, 1pm Central. A local broadcast will be available on KUBE57 in Houston, with ESPN+ airing the game nationwide. Those in Canada can watch on GameTV or access the live stream on the MLR Facebook page.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Kolby Francis, 6 Lucas Rumball, 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Marcello Wainwright, 9 Jamie Mackenzie, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Leandro Leivas, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Dan Moor (capt.), 14 Avery Oitomen, 15 Theo Sauder
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Morgan Mitchell, 19 Tom van Horne, 20 John Moonlight, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Kainoa Lloyd, 23 Shawn Windsor
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Jamie Dever, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Diego Magno, 5 Victor Comptat, 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Alejandro Nieto, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Connor Murphy, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Malacchi Esdale, 12 Thretton Palamo, 13 Osea Kolinisau, 14 Deion Mikesell, 15 Zach Pangelinan
Replacements: 16 Amro Gouda, 17 Mateo Sanguinetti, 18 Charlie Connolly, 19 Matt Trouville, 20 Chris Coyle, 21 Cecil Garber, 22 Max Tacket, 23 Joe Kelly
Date: Sunday, April 21
Venue: York Alumni Field, Toronto
Kickoff: 14:00 local (11:00 Pacific, 13:00 Central)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, GameTV, KUBE57
