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A close rivalry that has been on ice for two years resumes on Sunday as NOLA rolls out the Gold carpet for the Toronto Arrows. It’s the second time the Arrows have visited The Big Easy this season having played a neutral-venue clash against LA as part of a double-header three weeks ago.
New Orleans was the backdrop for Toronto’s first ever Major League Rugby match in late January of 2019. On that day the Gold were a step ahead, taking the win by four points. Their second meeting later that season in the Great White North was no less captivating, ending in a near-identical score.
Toronto have vaulted into first place in the East Conference after blasting through first Seattle and last week New York in record-setting fashion. Their early-season jitters are gone and the lopsided results reflect strength in both attack and defense.
Chris Silverthorn has made only minor alterations to freshen up his forward pack. Jack McRogers and Tyler Rowland swap to the bench to make room for Andrew Quattrin and Gastón Cortes in the front row, with Mason Flesch coming into the second row in an otherwise unchanged 23.
NOLA’s fluctuating trajectory dipped last week as they lost to ATL on the road though they at least salvaged a four-try bonus point. The highs of their own dominant win over New York have faded and Nate Osborne is still trying to work out his best XV.
Flyhalf remains a conundrum with preferred options Robbie Coleman, JP Eloff, and Nick Feakes, all sidelined with long-term knee injuries. Timothée Guillimin and Hanno Dirksen have been tried in the last two games but this week it’s a new experiment as Carl Meyer wears the No10 shirt.
Dirksen will move into Meyer’s fullback slot with Tim Maupin handed his first start of the campaign on the right wing. Holden Yungert is recalled at scrumhalf to partner Meyer as Damian Stevens drops to the reserves. Canadian midfield prospect Lockie Kratz could make his pro debut as a replacement.
There are more changes up front. Cam Dolan starts at lock for the first time this season with Andrew Guerra coming in at openside flanker and Devin Short switching to the back of the scrum. Eric Howard comes in at hooker to square off against his former Ontario Blues understudy Quattrin.
Through the Gold are only a single point behind the Arrows with a game at hand, the form guide points strongly towards Toronto. Travel from Atlanta is of lesser importance though an equalizer may be the conditions with rain again on the forecast. NOLA will not be easy outs but Meyer’s inexperience as a pivot also counts against them. Take the Arrows on the road.
Kickoff is set for noon local time, 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on TSN 2 in Canada, Cox Sports TV in New Orleans, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
NOLA GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Cam Dolan, 5 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Andrew Guerra, 8 Devin Short, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Carl Meyer, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Juan Cappiello, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 Hanno Dirksen
Replacements: 16 Pat O’Toole, 17 Matt Harmon, 18 John Sullivan, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Nikola Bursic, 21 Damian Stevens, 22 Lockie Kratz, 23 Timothée Guillimin
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Cole Keith, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Gastón Cortes, 4 Mason Flesch, 5 Mike Sheppard, 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball (co-capt.), 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Tayler Adams, 11 Manuel Montero, 12 Patrick Parfrey, 13 Ben LeSage (co-capt.), 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Joaquín Tuculet
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Marcello Wainwright, 21 Jason Higgins, 22 Leandro Leivas, 23 Spencer Jones
Date: Sunday, May 1
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 12:00 local (10:00 Pacific, 13:00 Eastern)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Rob Halcomb (USA)
Broadcasts: Cox Sports TV, The Rugby Network, TSN 2
Historical Results
2019-04-07 – Toronto Arrows 31, NOLA Gold 35 (York Alumni Field)
2019-01-26 – NOLA Gold 36, Toronto Arrows 31 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
