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It’s a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Final in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. The Ratlers play host to Rugby New York in a clash between two sides with their sights set firmly on the postseason.
On that day in July it was ATL who were successful by the slimmest of margins, a late Alex Maughan try delivering a one-point win at Lupo Family Field. All of their prior meetings have been close with only one finishing by a margin greater than a converted try.
ATL look to have shaken off any potential psychological hurdles stemming from off-field disruptions and have ‘ratl-ed’ off back-to-back wins to start the campaign. Stephen Brett has nonetheless opted to freshen up his lineup with numerous changes from the team that beat the Gold in New Orleans last weekend.
Maughan played loosehead prop in that East Final but gets the start at hooker on Saturday. Evan Mintern comes in at lock, one of two former New York players in the lineup, with Connor Cook and Ross Deacon filling the No6 and No8 shirts respectively. Justin Basson and Vili Helu are named on a bench that shows a 6-2 split between forwards and backs.
It’s another rotation at the halfbacks with Rowan Gouws and Duncan van Schalkwyk getting the nod. Will Leonard is the second ex-New York man in the team at inside center and Nolan Tuamoheloa gets his first start for ATL on the wing. Te Rangatira Waitokia sits out after taking a bang on the knee against NOLA.
After starting the season with a bye week, New York got their campaign underway with a hard-fought victory over the SaberCats in windy Houston. Marty Veale has gone for continuity in his side, making only one change to the starting lineup.
Kara Pryor is a straight swap for Pago Haini at No8, with US-eligible back row Joe Basser set to make his MLR debut from the bench. Connor Buckley has shaken off the head knock that saw him leave the game early against Houston to again wear the No9 shirt, with Andy Ellis playing a reserve role.
Meanwhile Chance Wenglewski squares off against his former team in the New York front row. The Eagles prop was sent to the Big Apple in exchange for Mintern in September, with Leonard shipped to ATL in a separate move involving salary cap considerations in October.
After a bout of heavy rain, weather conditions are expected to be mild on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. It should give New York a chance to get their potent backline into action, but they’ll have to deal with ATL’s notoriously stingy defense. Expect a close battle that could go either way, with home advantage giving the favorites tag to the Ratlers.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, noon Pacific. A live stream is available worldwide on The Rugby Network.
RUGBY ATL
1 Will Burke, 2 Alex Maughan, 3 John Sullivan, 4 Evan Mintern, 5 Johan Momsen, 6 Connor Cook, 7 Matt Heaton (co-capt.), 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Rowan Gouws, 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 11 Nolan Tuamoheloa, 12 Will Leonard, 13 Ryan Nell (co-capt.), 14 Austin White, 15 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 18 Wikus Groenewald, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Conor Keys, 21 Vili Helu, 22 Ryan Rees, 23 Kurt Coleman
RUGBY NEW YORK
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Nic Mayhew, 4 Nate Brakeley (capt.), 5 Charlie Hewitt, 6 Benjamín Bonasso, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 8 Kara Pryor, 9 Connor Buckley, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Ed Fidow, 12 Jason Emery, 13 Fa’asiu Fuatai, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Troy Lockyear
Replacements: 16 Kaleb Geiger, 17 Zak Taulafo, 18 Wilton Rebolo, 19 Will Tucker, 20 Joe Basser, 21 Andy Ellis, 22 Jack Heighton, 23 John Powers
Date: Saturday, February 19
Venue: Silverbacks Park, Atlanta
Kickoff: 15:00 local (12:00 Pacific)
Referee: Damián Schneider (Argentina)
Assistants: Cisco Lopez (USA) & Dave Edwards (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-07-24 – Rugby ATL 10, Rugby United New York 9 (Lupo Family Field)
2021-06-13 – Rugby United New York 31, Rugby ATL 24 (Belson Stadium)
2021-04-11 – Rugby ATL 17, Rugby United New York 27 (Lupo Family Field)
2020-02-23 – Rugby ATL 19, Rugby United New York 22 (Lupo Family Field)
