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The Toronto Arrows will move downtown to host the San Diego Legion at Lamport Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It’s the first time they will have played at the venue that holds three times as many as York Alumni Field. A strong turnout is expected to greet the league-leading Legion in what could be a pivotal match for the Arrows as they eye the post-season.
San Diego are on a hot streak having won five in a row. There are four changes to the side that overwhelmed the SaberCats in Houston. Kapeli Pifeleti has recovered from a head knock to start at hooker, meanwhile his brother Oti swaps to the bench with Nathan Sylvia handed the start a loosehead. Louis Stanfill has not made the trip so Jasa Veremalua switches from flanker to lock and Devin Short is promoted to the starting lineup.
Their vaunted backline was in top form against the SaberCats and sees only one alteration. Nick Boyer’s experiment on the wing is over for now with Conor Kearns recalled to the run-on side. Boyer drops to the bench to cover scrumhalf.
Two significant additions bolster the reserve pool. Eagles prop Dino Waldren arrives from England to provide extra depth behind Paddy Ryan, and former Seawolves flyhalf Will Holder takes over from Tai Enosa as backup to captain Joe Pietersen. Aaron Mitchell could act as emergency lock cover if required.
The Arrows are also a team on the rise after putting in arguably their best performance of the season against the defending champion Seawolves last weekend. They are now faced with the stern challenge that San Diego presents, the first of three games they will play in the span of a week with the postponed match against Austin set to be played on Thursday.
Getting the win over San Diego is the task at hand and there are just three changes to the team this week, one enforced. Leading flanker Lucas Rumball was forced off early against Seattle with a knee injury but there is a welcome replacement available in the vastly experienced John Moonlight.
Jamie Mackenzie’s strong second half performance against Seattle has earned him the start at scrumhalf with Andrew Ferguson switching to the reserves. Poor discipline may have cost Leandro Leivas his spot. Theo Sauder is handed his second start at fullback with Gastón Mieres sliding over to the wing. Avery Oitomen returns to the match day squad as a replacement.
[EDIT: A late change sees Guiseppe du Toit drop out with Patrick Parfrey getting his first start in the midfield. Leandro Leivas fills the vacancy on the bench.]
On paper this is the most contentious match of the weekend, and the pundits are split on the result. Both teams boast powerful scrums and lineups full of internationals caliber players. Home field advantage will be significant for Toronto given the distance and time change that San Diego are forced to endure.
The first meeting between the two sides ended in a stunning come-from-behind win for Toronto at Torero Stadium. If the Arrows can starve the Legion’s backline of possession and limit mistakes, a more conventional win could be on the table. Anything short of their best could leave their playoff hopes dancing on thin ice.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 11am Pacific. A local broadcast will be available on Fox 5 San Diego, with ESPN+ carrying the game nationwide. Those in Canada can watch live on GameTV or access the international live stream on the MLR Facebook page.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Morgan Mitchell, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 John Moonlight, 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Marcello Wainwright, 9 Jamie Mackenzie, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Dan Moor (capt.), 12 Patrick Parfrey, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Theo Sauder
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Tom van Horne, 20 Kolby Francis, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Leandro Leivas, 23 Avery Oitomen
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Nathan Sylvia, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Jasa Veremalua, 5 Keni Nasoqeqe, 6 Psalm Wooching, 7 Devin Short, 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 Pat Blair, 17 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 18 Aaron Mitchell, 19 Dino Waldren, 20 Drew Gaffney, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Will Holder, 23 Nick Lupian
Date: Sunday, May 5
Venue: Lamport Stadium, Toronto
Kickoff: 14:00 local (11:00 Pacific)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USAR)
Assistants: Moe Chaudhry (RC) & Peter Pender (RC)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, FOX 5 San Diego, GameTV
