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The first of four Major League Rugby matches slated for Sunday sees Rugby ATL taking their first steps in the competition on home turf against the Utah Warriors. It’s an East vs West battle and the only time the two will meet in the regular season.
Scott Lawrence has named a largely predictable side with four full internationals in the starting pack. Eagles selects Chance Wenglewski and Alex Maughan secure the front row with Canadian pair Conor Keys and Matt Heaton at lock and openside flanker respectively. The latter shares the captaincy with preseason leader Ryan Nell.
The most notable inclusion in the backline is Kurt Coleman in the No10 shirt. This is the Super Rugby veteran’s first professional match since breaking his leg while playing for the Southern Kings in March 2018. Jeremy Misailegalu starts for his third MLR franchise and New Zealander Rory van Vugt gets a chance to show his class at fullback.
Utah are reeling from the news that star flanker Lance Williams will miss the season after a serious knee injury. They will lean on vice-captain Saia Uhila’s experience up front along with Eagles trio Angus MacLellan, John Cullen, and Matt Jensen.
Fiji World Cup hooker Veremalua Vugakoto makes his MLR debut as does South African import Jurie van Vuuren, who is named at the back of the scrum. USA u20 captain Bailey Wilson makes his professional bow on the flank, taking the vacancy caused by the absence of Williams.
It’s an international duo in the halfbacks with captain Dwayne Polataivao paired with Germany’s Hagen Schulte. Blake Hohaia and Tyler Fisher form an all-new midfield and one-time Eagles cap Calvin Whiting will settle for a spot on the wing, with further internationals out wide in Gannon Moore and Josh Whippy.
On paper it’s a formidable Warriors lineup but their preparation has not gone entirely to plan. New coach Chris Latham’s arrival was delayed and their preseason performance were shaky. ATL are new to MLR but have now had three weeks to build on their franchise debut win over NOLA. Give the newcomers the edge in a close contest.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local, noon Pacific, 1pm Mountain time. A local broadcast will be available online at 11Alive with ESPN+ carrying the game nationwide. Those located outside the USA can watch a live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
RUGBY ATL
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Alex Maughan, 3 Duane Aholelei, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Matt Heaton (co-capt.), 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 10 Kurt Coleman, 11 Harley Wheeler, 12 Ryan Nell (co-capt.), 13 Jeremy Misailegalu, 14 Harley Davidson, 15 Rory van Vugt
Replacements: 16 Amro Gouda, 17 Jamie Ferrante, 18 Julian Montes, 19 Jason Damm, 20 Stefan Willemse, 21 Austin White, 22 Kurtis Werner, 23 Martini Talapusi
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Veremalua Vugakoto, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 John Cullen, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Saia Uhila, 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Dwayne Polataivao (capt.), 10 Hagen Schulte, 11 Calvin Whiting, 12 Blake Hohaia, 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Gannon Moore, 15 Josh Whippy
Replacements: 16 Ricky Tu’ihalangingie, 17 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 18 Kalolo Tuiloma, 19 Puna Vuli, 20 Charlie Hola, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 23 Robbie Povey
Date: Sunday, February 9
Venue: Lupo Family Field, Marietta
Kickoff: 15:00 local (12:00 Pacific, 13:00 Mountain)
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Henrique Platais (Brazil) & Joe Burpoe (USA)
Broadcasts: 11Alive, ESPN+, Facebook
