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Two founding members of Major League Rugby will meet for the fifth time on Saturday to open Week 9. It marks the midpoint of a season that has not gone to plan for the San Diego Legion, but for the NOLA Gold remains one with promise.
To this point San Diego have had NOLA’s number, winning all four previous matches. Their most recent clash, in New Orleans last February, had the Gold ahead by 9 points at halftime only to be held scoreless in the second forty and see their lead evaporate.
The Legion remain uprooted from their usual home of Torero Stadium but will at least be in the vicinity for the next two games as they shift from Los Angeles to Chula Vista. It saves on travel time though the home benefit is muted somewhat with no fans permitted to attend.
San Diego are already crossing the threshold into their second half of the campaign, one of two teams in MLR who have had no bye weeks in the first half. Amazingly the six losses on their record this season equals their total from the previous three seasons combined.
Injuries have derailed their plans and even the return of second row star Joshua Furno couldn’t inspire a victory on the road at Seattle last Sunday. They will now have to piece together a side on only five days rest to face a Gold side dreaming of a first ever playoff run.
The good news is a return for captain Joe Pietersen after missing the past four games. He forms a new halfback partnership with Ethan McVeigh, who makes his first MLR start after debuting last weekend. Tiaan Loots returns at inside center with Thomas Morani arriving on loan from Houston to play outside center, having played for Old Glory for the past three weeks.
Up front there are three changes to the run-on side. Faka’osi Pifeleti comes in at loosehead prop with Nathan Sylvia his backup on the bench. Siaosi Mahoni partners Furno at lock, and Tevita Tameilau is recalled at the back of the scrum.
EDIT: Late changes see Bjorn Basson added on the left wing with Cameron Clark retaining the captaincy despite Pietersen’s return. Ryan Matyas now wears the No23 shirt.
NOLA bounced back from a disappointing loss in Atlanta to record back-to-back victories at home. The bonus-point win over Houston last Saturday nudged them into first place in the East Conference, just one point ahead of Rugby United New York.
The Gold have freshened up their pack with four changes. Eric Howard rotates in for Pat O’Toole at hooker, with Ignacio Dotti doing the same with Billy Stewart at lock. Nikola Bursic starts on the blindside flank and Moni Tonga’uiha will play No8 in place of Cam Dolan.
Two former Legion backs are named in the starting lineup. There is a notable return for JP du Plessis in the midfield as Juan Cappiello drops to the bench, and Kyle Rogers gets his first MLR start since the 2019 season at fullback, with Hanno Dirksen switching to the right wing.
With only two home games remaining in the season, the Gold will have to earn some wins on the road to stay near the top of the standings. A depleted San Diego on a short turnaround represents a perfect opportunity for NOLA to finally get one over on the Legion. Give the favorites tag to the visitors.
Kickoff is set for 1pm local time, 3pm Central, 4pm Eastern. A live stream will be available worldwide on The Rugby Network.
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Dean Muir, 3 Chris Baumann, 4 Joshua Furno, 5 Siaosi Mahoni, 6 Psalm Wooching, 7 Michael Smith, 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Ethan McVeigh, 10 Joe Pietersen (capt.), 11 Bjorn Basson, 12 Tiaan Loots, 13 Thomas Morani, 14 Cameron Clark, 15 Cecil Afrika
Replacements: 16 Peter Malcolm, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Cronan Gleeson, 19 Jasa Veremalua, 20 Ben Mitchell, 21 Carlo de Nysschen, 22 Tai Enosa, 23 Ryan Matyas
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 6 Nikola Bursic, 7 Andrew Guerra, 8 Moni Tonga’uiha, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Lockie Kratz, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 15 Kyle Rogers
Replacements: 16 Pat O’Toole, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 John Sullivan, 19 Billy Stewart, 20 Cam Dolan, 21 Devin Short, 22 Damian Stevens, 23 Juan Cappiello
Date: Saturday, May 15
Venue: Elite Athlete Training Center, Chula Vista
Kickoff: 13:00 local (15:00 Central, 16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Jack Gohl (Australia)
Assistants: Austin Reed (USA) & Jacob Gonzalez (USA)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2020-02-29 – NOLA Gold 21, San Diego Legion 25 (The Gold Mine)
2019-06-02 – San Diego Legion 22, NOLA Gold 10 (Torero Stadium)
2019-05-11 – NOLA Gold 19, San Diego Legion 26 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
2018-06-09 – NOLA Gold 22, San Diego Legion 39 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
