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A rivalry that predates Major League Rugby will hold its latest installment on Friday evening. The rejuvenated Colorado Raptors, fresh off their first win of the season, will take on the undefeated Toronto Arrows at Infinity Park.
Last season’s results were split. The first was a home shutout for the Raptors played in a blizzard, the second a one-sided win for the Arrows in Toronto. It’s the first that might have the visitors thinking they have unfinished business.
It’s a short turnaround for Toronto, who opted to stay south of the border during the week after Sunday’s win over Rugby ATL. Chris Silverthorn has freshened up his starting lineup with four changes, two more alterations coming on the bench.
Conscious of player workload, Cole Keith will start on the bench after playing 80 minutes in Marietta. Richie Asiata moves across to tighthead prop with Rob Brouwer making his first start of hte season at loosehead. Andrew Quattrin and Lucas Rumball are recalled to the run-on side and Josh van Horne takes the place of brother Tom as reserve lock.
The only change to the backline is enforced. Dan Moor is rested after twisting a knee against ATL so Gastón Mieres comes in on the right wing. Will Kelly takes up the vacancy on the bench. Rumball assumes the captaincy in the absence of Moor.
Peter Borlase meanwhile has rewarded his side after beating Utah by retaining an identical starting lineup. There are two changes on the bench. Mike Stewart takes Aladdin Schirmer’s spot as loose forward cover, and Ryan James is set to make his MLR debut taking the place of Sean Yacoubian.
Despite the relieving win over the Warriors, it’s the Arrows who who rank higher in the form guide. The scrum favors Toronto and the impeccable goal kicking of Sam Malcolm will punish offenders, though Robbie Petzer is a similar threat for the Raptors. Look for the visitors to make it five wins in a row.
Kickoff is set for 6pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Online streaming will be available on For The Fans (FTF) and their parent company Eleven Sports, with the Raptors website also broadcasting. Those in Canada can watch via TSN Direct. A Facebook stream is available to those located elsewhere.
COLORADO RAPTORS
1 Zak Taulafo, 2 Chad Gough, 3 Marco Fepulea’i, 4 Luke White (capt.), 5 Kody O’Neil, 6 Michael Curry, 7 Connor Cook, 8 Sam Slade, 9 Carlo de Nysschen, 10 Ata Malifa, 11 John Ryberg, 12 Robbie Petzer, 13 Rene Ranger, 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Mason Emerson
Replacements: 16 Jay Finau, 17 Xendy Tatibouët, 18 Kelepi Fifita, 19 Brendan Daly, 20 Mike Stewart, 21 Tomás Quinlan, 22 Ryan James, 23 Nick Boyer
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Richie Asiata, 4 Kolby Francis, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Tayler Adams, 11 Leandro Leivas, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Sam Malcolm
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Josh van Horne, 20 Peter Milazzo, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Mitch Richardson, 23 Will Kelly
Date: Friday, March 6
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 18:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Mike O’Brien (USA)
Assistants: Steve Gore (USA) & Rick Goldammer (USA)
Broadcasts: Eleven Sports, Facebook, For The Fans, Raptors TV, TSN Direct
