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The first match postponement in Major League Rugby history will come to a resolution on Thursday evening when the Toronto Arrows host Austin Elite at York Alumni Field. Both teams enter the match on short rest having played on the weekend, and the Arrows will face another match just three days later.
Circumstances have changed considerably since the two sides met in the third week of the season. The Arrows are now in hot pursuit of a playoff spot on the back of three consecutive wins, two against top contenders Seattle and San Diego. For the Elite it’s all bad news with no wins this season and 14 defeats on succession dating back to last year.
As expected the Arrows have moved to freshen up the squad with the congested schedule. There are nine changes to the starting lineup that beat the Legion, including half the pack. Try-scorer Steven Ng gets his second start at hooker with Cole Keith coming in at tighthead prop. Josh van Horne starts at lock with new signing Luke Campbell thrown straight in at No8.
There is a new halfback combo in Andrew Ferguson and Patrick Parfrey, the latter shifting in one spot. The new midfield is Mitch Richardson alongside captain Dan Moor, with Kainoa Lloyd and Leandro Leivas on the wings. It’s the first start of the season for Richardson, and the second for Lloyd. Shawn Windsor is named at fullback.
If things get uncomfortable there is experience on the bench. First-stringers Morgan Mitchell, Mike Sheppard, and Peter Milazzo are ready to be called upon as are midfielder Spencer Jones and boy-wonder Avery Oitomen.
Austin has made seven changes to their side that came up short in New Orleans. Mason Pedersen runs out at tighthead and Ronan McCusker is given his first MLR start with no sign of captain Ben Mitchell. Rikus Zwart and Dom Bailey are swapped to the bench with Kyle Breytenbach and Moe Abdelmonem restored on the flank.
An interesting call comes at scrumhalf where outside back Soheyl Jaoudat will be tested in a new position. Simon Bienvenu gets a start at outside center after a couple replacement appearances, and Aidan McMullan is recalled on the wing. Zinzan Elan-Puttick assumes the captaincy in the absence of Mitchell.
While the first meeting was a close contest in Austin, the Arrows enter this match as clear favorites at home. Campbell is new to the team but a familiar face to many of the team and nearly all the stand-ins have meaningful game experience this season. Look for Toronto’s forwards to wear down their opposites in damp conditions.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local, 4pm Pacific, 6pm Central. The match will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+ and on Facebook with an alternative stream available for Canadian viewers on GameTV+.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 Steven Ng, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Josh van Horne, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Marcello Wainwright, 7 John Moonlight, 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Leandro Leivas, 12 Mitch Richardson, 13 Dan Moor (capt.), 14 Kainoa Lloyd, 15 Shawn Windsor
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Morgan Mitchell, 19 Mike Sheppard, 20 Peter Milazzo, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Spencer Jones, 23 Avery Oitomen
AUSTIN ELITE
1 LaRome White, 2 Peter Malcolm, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Ronan McCusker, 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Moe Abdelmonem, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Soheyl Jaoudat, 10 Rodrigo Silva, 11 Aidan McMullan, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 Simon Bienvenu, 14 Reece Czarnecki, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Erasmus, 17 Juan Echeverría, 18 Phil Hanson, 19 Rikus Zwart, 20 Dom Bailey, 21 Marcelo Torrealba, 22 Andrew Suniula, 23 JP Aguirre
Date: Thursday, May 9
Venue: York Alumni Field, Toronto
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 18:00 Central)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, GameTV+
