MLR Preview – NOLA Gold vs Old Glory DC

Old Glory DC will take their first Major League Rugby steps in New Orleans on Saturday. The first of three expansion sides kicking off this weekend will square off against NOLA in an intriguing contest that will serve as the first rugby match at the Gold’s new home on Airline Drive.

While they won’t have their prized signing Tendai Mtawarira just yet, Old Glory will hand MLR debuts to three forwards. Gordon Fullerton anchors the scrum with an all-Fijian second row combination behind including newcomer Tevita Naqali. Co-captain Mungo Mason makes his long-awaited first appearance after a failed visa application scuttled his intentions to play for San Diego in 2018.

Danny Tusitala and Jason Robertson form an all-Mitre 10 Cup halfback duo as promised, and there is a World Cup combo served up in the midfield with Canada’s Ciaran Hearn partnering Thretton Palamo. A third Mitre 10 recruit is on the left wing in goal kicker Renata Roberts Te-Nana.

Of note is the 6-2 split on the bench, and the nomination of Dante Lopresti – normally a prop – as reserve hooker. Former Gold standout Matt Hughston is one of two flankers in reserve along with Jack McLean and lock Dylan Pieterse wears the unusual No23 shirt.

NOLA are led by new skipper Kyle Baillie who packs down in the second row behind Eagles prop Dino Waldren, the latter making his regular season Gold debut after signing from San Diego in the off-season. Malcolm May gets a run in the No7 shirt having fully recovered from a serious Achilles injury that kept him out of most of last season.

There are three new signings featured in the backline. Carl Meyer lines up opposite Palamo at outside center with Argentine arrival Julián Domínguez on the left wing. JP Eloff misses out with injury but the ultra-versatile Robbie Coleman slots seamlessly into the fullback spot.

The visitors have a dangerous backline and a pack full of ball carriers that can threaten in the loose. They will be champing at the bit to finally make their competitive debut. Getting one up on the Gold in their new back yard, however, will be a tough task. NOLA’s bench offers more experience and that could make the different if the scores are close in the second half.

Kickoff is set for 3pm local, 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on Cox Sports TV in New Orleans and NBC Sports Washington in DC. Those in the USA can watch nationwide on ESPN+ with a Facebook stream available to those located elsewhere.

NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Malcolm May, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Scott Gale, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Con Foley, 13 Carl Meyer, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 Robbie Coleman

Replacements: 16 Lindsey Stevens, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 Ben Tarr, 19 Nikola Bursic, 20 Billy Stewart, 21 Kevin O’Connor, 22 Ross Depperschmidt, 23 Shawn Riley

OLD GLORY DC
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Max Lum, 3 Gordon Fullerton, 4 Tevita Naqali, 5 Api Naikatini, 6 Travis Larsen, 7 Mungo Mason (co-capt.), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Renata Roberts-Te Nana, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 13 Thretton Palamo (co-capt.), 14 Doug Fraser, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson

Replacements: 16 Dante Lopresti, 17 Wale Williams, 18 Will Vakalahi, 19 Jack McLean, 20 Matt Hughston, 21 Michael Reid, 22 Mike Dabulas, 23 Dylan Pieterse

Date: Saturday, February 8
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Moe Chaudhry (Canada) & Allen Alongi (USA)
Broadcasts: Cox Sports TV, ESPN+, Facebook, NBC Sports Washington