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The NOLA Gold will enjoy a gift-wrapped home match courtesy of Austin Elite on Saturday afternoon. What should have been an Austin home game was originally scheduled to be played in Houston, but problems with the new AVEVA Stadium turf surface led the Elite conceding home field to the Gold.
It’s far from ideal for Austin, who not only have to travel but give away any potential advantage at a time when they need it the most. The Elite have now lost all 11 matches this season, 13 straight dating back to the end of 2018. The nearly shocked the then-league leaders in the first meeting but inexplicably chose to kick away possession only to watch Michael Baska score the winning try for the Gold on full-time.
Alain Hyardet has made three changes to the starting lineup that faced Utah. LaRome White is recalled at loosehead prop with Juan Echeverria swapped back to his preferred tighthead spot. A change at flanker sees Moe Abdelmonem left out with Rikus Zwart named on the blindside flank.
An injury to Doug Fraser means that Reece Czarnecki will play on the wing in an otherwise unchanged backline. Soheyl Jaoudat is once again asked to provide scrumhalf cover from the bench and Simon Bienvenu settles for a reserve spot after making his Major League Rugby debut last weekend.
There are two potential debutants among the reserves. Phil Hanson joins the squad from the Austin Huns. He provides loosehead cover with Chris Schade ruled out with injury. Arriving from Boston is Irish second row Ronan McCusker who joins on loan from the New England Free Jacks until the end of the season.
New Orleans have dipped below San Diego at the top of the table but are only one point behind and have a game at hand. They enjoyed a bye week to relax and recover after the ferocious contest in Seattle a fortnight ago.
Kane Thompson returns in the second row but in a surprise move it’s Uruguayan lock Ignacio Dotti who shifts to the blindside flank, with Kyle Baillie instead left in the engine room. Moni Tonga’uiha moves to openside flanker with Nikola Bursic dropping out of the lineup.
There is no sign of incumbent flyhalf Scott Gale so Taylor Howden steps into the No10 role. Tristan Blewett moves from left wing to outside center, with Nick Feakes called up from the bench to fill the vacancy.
A 6-2 bench split sees Alex Maughan named as a reserve hooker and ready to make his first MLR appearance after signing during the week. Billy Stewart comes in to provide specialist lock support, with Michael Baska and Joeli Tikoisuva the only backs named.
While Austin were certainly not intimidated by Gold Stadium in their last visit, it’s unlikely that the Gold will be complacent in the rematch. The Elite have showed quality in patches but consistency has thus far eluded them. Expect NOLA to have their number this time.
Kickoff is set for 3:30pm local time, 1:30pm Pacific, 4:30pm Eastern. Live streams will be available on the Austin Elite Facebook page for American viewers, with an international stream available on the official MLR Facebook page.
NOLA GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Eric Howard (capt.), 3 Matt Harmon, 4 Kyle Baillie, 5 Kane Thompson, 6 Ignacio Dotti, 7 Moni Tonga’uiha, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Taylor Howden, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Tristan Blewett, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 JP Eloff
Replacements: 16 Alex Maughan, 17 Cam Falcon, 18 Kevin Sullivan, 19 Billy Stewart, 20 Zack Stryffeler, 21 John Sullivan, 22 Michael Baska, 23 Joeli Tikoisuva
AUSTIN ELITE
1 LaRome White, 2 Peter Malcolm, 3 Juan Echeverría, 4 Ben Mitchell (capt.), 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Rikus Zwart, 7 Dom Bailey, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Rodrigo Silva, 11 Sione Fangaiuiha, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 JP Aguirre, 14 Reece Czarnecki, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Erasmus, 17 Phil Hanson, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Ronan McCusker, 20 Kyle Breytenbach, 21 Soheyl Jaoudat, 22 Simon Bienvenu, 23 Aidan McMullan
Date: Saturday, May 4
Venue: Gold Stadium, Marrero
Kickoff: 15:30 local (13:30 Pacific, 16:30 Eastern)
Broadcasts: Facebook (USA), Facebook (International)
