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The last game of the weekend will see the Gilgronis traveling to the northwest to face off against the Seattle Seawolves. Their meeting in Austin earlier in the season was a decisive win for the Texans but Starfire Stadium has a tendency to make mortals of all who enter.
A shockingly one-sided win over the Arrows last weekend gave the AG’s some confidence and more importantly five vital points that keeps them alive in the Western Conference playoff race. They’ll need another polished performance on Sunday if they are to have any chance of catching Utah.
Injuries have hit their front row hard with Robbie Coetzee, Mason Koch, Paddy Ryan, and LaRome White all ruled out. Hugh Roach starts at hooker with Brendan Rams and Phil Hanson answering the SOS to take up spots on the bench. Jake Turnbull rotates in for Jamie Mackintosh at loosehead.
Sebastien de Chaves returns to partner Isaac Ross at lock and former Brumbies vice-captain Locky McCaffrey is poised to make his Major League Rugby debut at No8, with Dominic Akina switching to the blindside flank. The only alteration in the backs sees Eagles starter Ruben de Haas starting with Pele Cowley providing backup.
The Seawolves looked better against New England last week but once again couldn’t close out the game. That makes it four defeats in a row since the win over San Diego. There are three personnel changes this week including the arrival of two new names acquired in a trade with San Diego.
Victor Comptat and Travis Larsen jump straight into the starting side at lock and openside flanker respectively. Samu Manoa and Naulia Dawai are the ones who are replaced in an otherwise identical pack. It’s a conventional 5-3 split on the bench with no sign of Eric Duechle this week.
The experiment of JP Smith at No10 has been shelved for now with the South African reverting to his favored scrumhalf spot. AJ Alatimu similarly moves from the midfield back to flyhalf, with Kieran Joyce filling the gap in the No12 shirt. Outside back Moses Lalasava could to make his first appearance of the season as a replacement.
All the pressure is on Austin in this match, with a loss almost certain to end their playoff hopes. The addition of McCaffrey is a boost to Austin but similarly Comptat and Larsen will give energy to Seattle. With home field advantage the Seawolves cannot be counted out, but on form and purpose the AG’s should be considered favorites.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on KBVO in Austin and Root Sports in Seattle, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 2 James Malcolm, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Victor Comptat, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Brad Tucker, 7 Travis Larsen, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Suliasi Tamaivena, 12 Kieran Joyce, 13 Ross Neal, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Akihito Yamada
Replacements: 16 Mike Shepherd, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Conor McGill, 20 Tommy Clark, 21 Devereaux Ferris, 22 Seta Tuilevuka, 23 Moses Lalasava
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Hugh Roach, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Isaac Ross, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 6 Dominic Akina, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Locky McCaffrey, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Kurt Morath, 11 Conner Mooneyham, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Frank Halai, 14 Zinzan Elan-Puttick, 15 Mack Mason
Replacements: 16 Brendan Rams, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Phil Hanson, 19 Kyle Breytenbach, 20 Michael de Waal, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Ned Hodson, 23 Nick Johnson
Date: Sunday, June 20
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 17:00 local (19:00 Central, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Denny Russell (USA) & Ryan Curtis (USA)
Broadcasts: KBVO, Root Sports, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2021-04-25 – Austin Gilgronis 42, Seattle Seawolves 15 (Bold Stadium)
2019-06-02 – Seattle Seawolves 38, Austin Elite 26 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-03-16 – Austin Elite 17, Seattle Seawolves 29 (Dell Diamond)
2018-06-08 – Austin Elite 19, Seattle Seawolves 20 (Round Rock Multipurpose Complex)
