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Rugby will arrive at SoFi Stadium for the first time on Saturday evening where the LA Giltinis play host to the Utah Warriors. It’s another bold new venue for Major League Rugby, if only temporary as a scheduling conflict required LA to look elsewhere from the Memorial Coliseum.
LA suffered their first ever defeat at the hands of New York on Sunday. While their godly status may have dimmed, they remain seven points clear of Utah – the next best team in the West Conference. With a date against Austin scheduled for Wednesday playing time will be managed and there are eight changes in all to the run-on side.
JP Smith and Mahe Vailanu return in the front row and Corey Thomas replaces Nathan Den Hoedt at lock. Harry McNulty comes in at openside flanker with Pago Haini at No8. Both Christian Poidevin and Adam Ashe are rested entirely.
Matt Giteau is back to wear the No10 shirt and Bill Meakes has recovered sufficiently from a fractured cheekbone to start at inside center. Glenn Bryce is ruled out with injury so Luke Burton moves to fullback, and DTH van der Merwe settles for a bench role with Ryan James named on the left wing.
Utah meanwhile pulled off a stunning last-gasp victory over Old Glory last weekend. It gives them back-to-back wins heading into the game, a major shift in momentum from the three-game losing streak earlier in April. Their most significant changes come in the front row.
Franco van den Berg and Sama Malolo make timely returns to start alongside Paul Mullen. Incredibly it’s the first time in MLR that Angus MacLellan will not wear the No3 shirt, a run of 37 consecutive games. MacLellan instead settles for a spot on the bench.
The forward pack is otherwise unchanged with the only alteration to the backline coming on the left wing where James Vaifale replaces Joe Mano. It’s a 6-2 split among the reserves with last week’s backup hooker Chad Gough set to act as extra loose forward cover.
Some may point to New York’s win as a blueprint to defeat LA, but the circumstances are very different for Utah – no cross-country travel, a different field, and a favorable kickoff time. The Warriors defense is also cause for concern having conceded an average of nearly 36 points over the last three games. Expect LA to enjoy their Inglewood staycation.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 8pm Mountain, 10pm Eastern. Fox Sports 2 will broadcast in Canada and the USA with The Rugby Network streaming to viewers abroad.
LA GILTINIS
1 Jean-Pierre Smith, 2 Mahe Vailanu, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Corey Thomas, 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Harry McNulty, 8 Pago Haini, 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Matt Giteau, 11 Ryan James, 12 Bill Meakes, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Luke Burton
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Ma’ake Muti, 18 Blake Rogers, 19 Nathan Den Hoedt, 20 Langilangi Haupeakui, 21 Cristian Rodriguez, 22 Luke Carty, 23 DTH van der Merwe
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Sama Malolo, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Jurie van Vuuren, 5 Aston Fortuin, 6 Thomas Tu’avao, 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Lance Williams, 9 Michael Baska, 10 Hagen Schulte, 11 James Vaifale, 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Mika Kruse, 14 Josh Whippy, 15 Mike Te’o
Replacements: 16 Veremalua Vugakoto, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Saia Uhila, 20 Mike Gieselman, 21 Fraser Hurst, 22 Derek Ellingson, 23 Chad Gough
Date: Saturday, May 15
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Kickoff: 19:00 local (20:00 Mountain, 22:00 Eastern)
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Andrew Stockton (USA)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 2, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
n/a
