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The third week of the 2022 Major League Rugby season begins on Friday evening in Leesburg where Old Glory plays host to the New England Free Jacks. It’s the first match at Segra Field this season and DC are planning to make it a festival atmosphere with a number of events planned prior to kickoff.
On the field Andrew Douglas will be looking for considerable improvement from his charges after setting club records in consecutive weeks for points conceded. Some injury concerns remain but there is finally some good news for Old Glory fans with the arrivals of flyhalf Rohan Saifoloi and winger Peni Lasaqa from Australia and New Zealand respectively.
Both players are immediately injected into the starting backline that also shows two positional switches. William Talataina pushes out one spot to inside center with Junior Sa’u sidelined this week. In an effort to get him the ball more frequently, star attacker Renata Roberts-Te Nana moves to outside center with Doug Fraser switching to the wing.
Four more changes are made to the pack. Rob Irimescu is handed his first MLR start, swapping jerseys with Mo Katz, and Jake Ilnicki comes in at tighthead prop with Kyle Stewart this week covering loosehead prop from the bench. Cory Daniel takes over from Fintan Coleman on the flank, and Stan South returns from injury to replace Matt Gordon at lock.
It was a cozy weekend off for the Free Jacks, who have had extra time to absorb their opening round victory over the Gold in New Orleans. They now have a full compliment of overseas signings at their disposal with two set to debut on Friday. Scotland international Dougie Fife, however, will serve the first game of his three-week suspension.
Mitch Wilson comes straight in at fullback in Fife’s absence in one of two changes to the backline. The other sees Holden Yungert handed his first start for the Free Jacks with Sean Yacoubian providing scrumhalf cover from the bench. South African center Wayne van der Bank should make his MLR bow as a replacement, with Collegiate Draft pick Zach Bastres also making his first match day appearance.
There is an identical starting lineup in the forwards, with only one new name on the bench. Spencer Krueger makes way for Tonga u20 international Tevita Sole as reserve tighthead prop. Terrell Peita continues at No8 with Jesse Parete not quite fit to make his MLR debut.
Sleeves and leggings might be advisable given the brisk temperature expected come game time. Whether it affects handling remains to be seen. New England are coming in rested and showed impressive defense against the Gold, while DC have really struggled in that department and are not beaming with confidence. Take the Free Jacks while Old Glory tries to find their mojo.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 5pm Pacific. Local broadcasts will be available on NBC Sports Boston and NBC Sports Washington, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Rob Irimescu, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Api Naikatini, 5 Stan South, 6 Dom Bailey, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala (capt.), 10 Rohan Saifoloi, 11 Doug Fraser, 12 William Talataina, 13 Renata Roberts-Te Nana, 14 Peni Lasaqa, 15 Owen Sheehy
Replacements: 16 Mo Katz, 17 Kyle Stewart, 18 Jack Carroll, 19 Fintan Coleman, 20 Luke Campbell, 21 Danny Thomas, 22 Simi Moala, 23 LJ Koi-Larbi
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Foster DeWitt, 2 Pieter Jansen, 3 Erich de Jager, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Reegan O’Gorman, 6 Joe Johnston, 7 Slade McDowall, 8 Terrell Peita, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Harry Barlow, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Jack Reeves, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Mills Sanerivi, 17 Alex Johnston, 18 Tevita Sole, 19 Stan van den Hoven, 20 Cam Davidowicz, 21 Sean Yacoubian, 22 Wayne van der Bank, 23 Zach Bastres
Date: Friday, February 18
Venue: Segra Field, Leesburg
Kickoff: 20:00 local (17:00 Pacific)
Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
Assistants: Gavin McCandless (USA) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Luke Rogan (USA)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Washington, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2021-06-06 – New England Free Jacks 38, Old Glory DC 34 (Union Point Stadium)
2021-04-25 – Old Glory DC 35, New England Free Jacks 22 (Segra Field)
