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The San Diego Legion will look to continue their unbeaten run but will face stiff competition on Saturday afternoon in the form of the NOLA Gold. Clear skies are on the forecast in New Orleans, which suggests an exciting match between two sides who prefer to play high tempo attacking rugby.
Having overcome injuries and illness to get the win over Colorado last week, the Gold have managed to put together their strongest lineup of the season in time for San Diego’s visit. Kyle Baillie returns to skipper the side at lock with Nikola Bursic getting his first start of the campaign on the blindside flank.
Scott Gale jumps back in to partner Robbie Coleman in the halfbacks, and JP Eloff makes his first 2020 appearance at fullback. Eloff’s return sees Carl Meyer moving back up into the midfield, with Tim Maupin pushing out one spot to the wing.
A 6-2 split on the bench sees John Sullivan covering his old position of loose forward after desputising as a loosehead prop against ATL. Another addition sees the versatile Nick Feakes finally available after being forced to wait for green card clearance.
The Legion ran hot and cold in their victory over New England and have lost Nate Augspurger to a knee injury, though reports suggest he could return sooner than later. Devereaux Ferris fills in at scrumhalf and the good news is that Joe Pietersen is finally available to start in the No15 shirt. Dylan Audsley moves to the left wing to accommodate the captain’s return.
Three players have been handed their first starts of the season in the San Diego pack. Peter Malcolm comes in at hooker with Ben Mitchell packing down beside Joshua Furno in an imposing second row duo. Keni Nasoqeqe comes in for Tevita Tameilau at No8.
San Diego have also opted for the 6-2 bench with Louis Stanfill back as extra lock cover. There is no specialist scrumhalf cover named but there is a first selection for Canadian international Josh Thiel who covers flyhalf, center, or fullback.
This has all the makings of a classic with NOLA keen to get one back having lost all three previous matches between the two. Both teams feature star-studded rosters with no shortage of firepower in the backs. San Diego’s selection up front suggests they will target the Gold lineout. If they can disrupt first phase possession, it may be enough to get the win on the road.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on Cox Sports TV in Louisiana, and both Antenna TV and Fox 5 San Diego in California. ESPN+ will air the game nationwide. Those located outside the USA can access the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Billy Stewart, 5 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 6 Nikola Bursic, 7 Moni Tonga’uiha, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Scott Gale, 10 Robbie Coleman, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Con Foley, 13 Carl Meyer, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 JP Eloff
Replacements: 16 Cam Falcon, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 Ben Tarr, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 John Sullivan, 21 Malcolm May, 22 Holden Yungert, 23 Nick Feakes
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Nathan Sylvia, 2 Peter Malcolm, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Joshua Furno, 6 Jasa Veremalua, 7 Psalm Wooching, 8 Keni Nasoqeqe, 9 Devereaux Ferris, 10 Luke Burton, 11 Dylan Audsley, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Save Totovosau, 15 Joe Pietersen (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Dean Muir, 17 Jamie Dever, 18 Aaron Mitchell, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Louis Stanfill, 21 Ryan Matyas, 22 Josh Thiel, 23 Devin Short
Date: Saturday, February 29
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Lex Weiner (USA) & Allen Alongi (USA)
Broadcasts: Antenna TV, Cox Sports TV, ESPN+, Facebook, Fox 5 San Diego
