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The playoffs are out of reach for both the Utah Warriors and Austin Elite, but there is still plenty to play for in the closing weeks of the season. Pride being one, future employment could well be another. It’s been a frustrating season for both sides and for those in the bubble, it’s shape up or ship out.
Austin are locked in the worst run of form that Major League Rugby has seen in its short history. The Elite have dropped all 10 of their games this year and 12 in a row dating back to last season. They were put to the sword by the Legion in San Diego but have since had two weeks to recover after the Arrows match was postponed and a bye last week.
There is some good news for Austin fans. A new-look front row sees the return of Peter Malcolm and Mason Pedersen after long injury absences. This will be Malcolm’s first start of the season, while Pedersen hasn’t played since February 8 against Toronto. Juan Echeverría will start at loosehead prop for the first time having been used as a tighthead almost exclusively thus far.
Ben Mitchell was due to miss the Arrows game but is fit to captain the side as he has in every match thus far. There are dual-openside flankers as Dom Bailey is named at No6 with Rikus Zwart again settling for a spot on the bench alongside Fijian lock Maikeli Naromaitoga.
The return of JP Aguirre and Zinzan Elan-Puttick to the starting backline also sees some shuffling. Doug Fraser moves to the unfamiliar position of wing as Soheyl Jaoudat swaps to the bench and Aidan McMullan misses out entirely.
Utah have been competitive at times this season but are yet to put in an 80-minute performance and their results reflect that. They might well have toppled Rugby United New York in Brooklyn but a hesitance to use the forward reserves and a lack of staying power cost them in the final quarter.
It’s an identical scrum this week and there is only one change in the backs where Fetu’u Vainikolo replaces Tonata Lauti. On the bench there is a return to the squad for John Cullen, Les Soloai, and Nolan Tuamoheloa, while front rowers Metai Tu’imoala and Frikkie de Beer await their MLR debuts.
Given home field advantage and their improved showing last weekend, Utah enter the game as clear favorites. The tactical advantage of Josh Reeves and Tim O’Malley is significant, with Austin’s inaccurate kicking game costing them dearly against San Diego.
Utah’s speed advantage out wide is another problem for Austin, who effectively have two centers playing on the wing. Unless the Elite can conjure enough turnovers from flankers Bailey and Moe Abdelmonem, the Warriors will be confident of achieving their second win of the season.
Kickoff is set for 6pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with a live stream available to those outside the USA on the official MLR Facebook page.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Jeremy Leber, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Saia Uhila, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ara Elkington, 8 Arthur Bergo, 9 Johnny Ika, 10 Josh Reeves, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 12 Tim O’Malley (capt.), 13 Gannon Moore, 14 Don Pati, 15 James Semple
Replacements: 16 Metai Tu’imoala, 17 Frikkie de Beer, 18 John Cullen, 19 Les Soloai, 20 Alex Tucci, 21 Nolan Tuamoheloa, 22 Josh Whippy, 23 Ian Luciano
AUSTIN ELITE
1 Juan Echeverría, 2 Peter Malcolm, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Ben Mitchell (capt.), 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Dom Bailey, 7 Moe Abdelmonem, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Silva, 11 Sione Fangaiuiha, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 JP Aguirre, 14 Doug Fraser, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Erasmus, 17 LaRome White, 18 Chris Schade, 19 Maikeli Naromaitoga, 20 Rikus Zwart, 21 Mickaël Romera, 22 Reece Czarnecki, 23 Soheyl Jaoudat
Date: Saturday, April 27
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 18:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Kage Green (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook
