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Rugby ATL will put their undefeated record on the line when Rugby United New York rolls into town on Sunday. It’s the first meeting between the two, and with New York already tasting defeat against one expansion side there is no suggestion of complacency from the visitors.
Greg McWilliams has made three changes to the starting lineup that overwhelmed Austin in Las Vegas, all in the pack. First choice props James Rochford and Paddy Ryan return, the first game of the season for Rochford after returning home for the birth of his daughter.
Set to make his RUNY debut is new second row Charlie Hewitt, with fellow addition Hanco Germishuys named on the bench. Reserve tighthead Kirk Hamilton is also named in his first match day appearance of the 2020 season. The backs are unchanged with Mathieu Bastareaud again wearing the No8 shirt.
Scott Lawrence meanwhile has opted to rotate his squad after physically taxing wins over Utah and NOLA. Chance Wenglewski and Cronan Gleeson come in at prop, with Conor Keys replacing Johan Momsen in the second row. The back row is all changed with Jason Damm, Harry Higgins, and new arrival Bill Fukofuka nominated to start. Ross Deacon awaits his turn to face his former teammates from the bench.
In the backs there is an opportunity for Sean Coughlan at outside center with two new wingers. Austin White comes in on the left side with Zander van Schalkwyk on the right. Both will be making their league debuts, with White an unused replacement against the Warriors.
It’s a refreshed ATL lineup but one that may suffer slightly for cohesion given the changes. New York will be confident after their first win of the season and with the arrival of reinforcements. There are interesting match-ups throughout starting with the Eagles props Wenglewski and Ryan. Give RUNY the edge based on experience, but not by much.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, noon Pacific. A local broadcast will be available on WATL with both ESPN+ and the RUNY Facebook stream available nationwide. Those located outside the USA can access the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
RUGBY ATL
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Alex Maughan, 3 Cronan Gleeson, 4 Stefan Willemse, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Jason Damm, 7 Harry Higgins, 8 Bill Fukofuka, 9 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 10 Kurt Coleman, 11 Austin White, 12 Ryan Nell (capt.), 13 Sean Coughlan, 14 Zander van Schalkwyk, 15 Rory van Vugt
Replacements: 16 Amro Gouda, 17 Jamie Ferrante, 18 Julian Montes, 19 Johan Momsen, 20 Ross Deacon, 21 Kurtis Werner, 22 Martini Talapusi, 23 Harley Wheeler
RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK
1 James Rochford, 2 Dylan Fawsitt (capt.), 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Charlie Hewitt, 5 Nate Brakeley, 6 Kyle Sumsion, 7 James Denise, 8 Mathieu Bastareaud, 9 Marcus Walsh, 10 Cathal Marsh, 11 Connor Wallace-Sims, 12 Chris Mattina, 13 Troy Lockyear, 14 Mark O’Keeffe, 15 Ben Foden
Replacements: 16 Mike Brown, 17 Anthony Parry, 18 Kirk Hamilton, 19 Rob Irimescu, 20 Hanco Germishuys, 21 Mike Petri, 22 Harry Bennett, 23 Quentin Pradère
Date: Sunday, February 23
Venue: Lupo Family Field, Marietta
Kickoff: 15:00 local (12:00 Pacific)
Referee: Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)
Assistants: Henrique Platais (Brazil) & Dave Edwards (USA)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, RUNY Stream, WATL
