Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Two of Major League Rugby’s founding members will collide in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon as the Gold play host to the Houston SaberCats. NOLA are on a short turnaround after beating the Arrows on Sunday while Houston are fresh off a bye week.
It’s been two years since they were last acquainted with NOLA owning a 3-1 edge from their four previous meetings. Notably both teams were winners on the road in 2019, with NOLA claiming a one-sided drubbing in Sugar Land before conceding a close defeat in Marrero.
NOLA’s second half recovery against the Arrows puts them in a tie with New York on 19 points, though they sit second on the East Conference table with one less victory. Improving their first half output will be the task against their guests, with greater urgency on attack likely a focus in this week’s sessions.
Nate Osborne has freshened up his pack with three personnel changes. Matt Harmon and Pat O’Toole start in the front row with Kevin Sullivan and Eric Howard swapping to the bench. Cam Dolan shifts back to his preferred No8 spot with Devin Short moving to the blindside and Billy Stewart coming in at lock. Moni Tonga’uiha settles for a reserve role.
In the backs there is an enforced change at flyhalf with Carl Meyer ruled out after his head clash against the Arrows. Timothée Guillimin starts in his place, and there is a change on the right wing with Joeli Tikoisuva recalled at the expense of Tim Maupin.
The SaberCats are by contrast well rested from their high-octane defeat at Utah a fortnight ago. Scoring points has not been an issue for the team since their back-to-back shutout losses in Weeks 2 and 3, but preventing them is another story with poor concentration on restarts particularly damaging.
There is only one change to the forwards with Nikoloz Khatiashvili tagging in at tighthead prop and Charlie Connolly swapping to the reserves. Second row Jérémy Lenaerts is set to make his club debut as a replacement after recently re-joining the squad and Bronson Teles makes it a 6-2 split on the bench.
While there is also just one new body in the backs there are three jersey swaps. Joe Thomas gets his first start at outside center with Taylor Howden moving to flyhalf. Robbie Povey switches to fullback, and Paula Balekana reverts to the wing with Zack Godfrey the odd man out.
New Orleans has finally escaped the rain with perfect sunny conditions forecast, which should make for an entertaining contest. The Gold will enjoy home field advantage but their inconsistent form makes it difficult to declare them clear favorites despite the win over Toronto. Take NOLA by a small margin but the Cats will fancy their chances on the road.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available in New Orleans on Cox Sports TV with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide. AT&T SportsNet Southwest will offer a delayed broadcast on Sunday.
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Devin Short, 7 Andrew Guerra, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Juan Cappiello, 13 Lockie Kratz, 14 Joeli Tikoisuva, 15 Hanno Dirksen
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 John Sullivan, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Nikola Bursic, 21 Moni Tonga’uiha, 22 Damian Stevens, 23 Kyle Rogers
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Lucas Albornoz, 6 Apisai Tauyavuca, 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Diego Magno, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Taylor Howden, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Sam Windsor (capt.), 13 Joe Thomas, 14 Jake Hidalgo, 15 Robbie Povey
Replacements: 16 Charlie Connolly, 17 Patrick Donovan, 18 Nik Hildebrand, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Adriaan Booysen, 21 Bronson Teles, 22 Zachary Short, 23 Max Tacket
Date: Saturday, May 8
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Rob Halcomb (USA)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest (24hr delay), Cox Sports TV, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2019-05-18 – NOLA Gold 20, Houston SaberCats 27 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
2019-03-16 – Houston SaberCats 11, NOLA Gold 49 (Constellation Field)
2018-05-19 – NOLA Gold 24, Houston SaberCats 20 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
2018-04-21 – Houston SaberCats 26, NOLA Gold 35 (Dyer Stadium)
