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Dallas have endured a challenging start to their Major League Rugby existence, and fate bestowed further hardship on the club last week. An off-field incident saw multiple players injured and prompted an SOS to other clubs to help replenish their roster. Now the re-jigged Jackals must square off against the defending champion LA Giltinis on their home turf.
Finding inspiration among the chaos will be the task at hand for Dallas this week. Little will be expected of them but the lineup they have managed to put together is not as desperate as it looked a few days ago. There are two new arrivals in the starting pack and another in reserve.
Chilean international Augusto Böhme comes in at hooker, on loan from Seattle, while USA u20 select Charlie Hola makes his MLR debut at lock after being acquired from NOLA. The towering figure of Shawn Clark replaces the suspended Matt Frings on the flank while Carson Shoemaker, another USA age-grade rep on loan from Utah, could make his professional bow as a replacement.
There is some good news in the timely return of scrumhalf Carlo de Nysschen, while Adriaan Carelse becomes the fourth player to captain the side this season. Chad London and Alejandro Torres are the new midfield pairing. NOLA prospect Jack Webster makes his MLR debut on the right wing, with Eric Naposki shifting to fullback.
LA will be sympathetic to Dallas’ plight but have shown them respect with a strong lineup to take the field. They have won two in a row and are starting to look like a playoff team again. A bonus point win will be the only acceptable outcome despite their own injury troubles.
Andrew Tuala starts at loosehead prop for the first time this season, with Charlie Abel checking in at tighthead. Joe Taufete’e has shaken off a minor knock taken against Seattle to continue at hooker and Zach Bonte is handed his first MLR start at No8 in place of the injured Hanco Germishuys.
Tas Smith gets the No9 shirt with Harrison Goddard named on the bench, and Ben LeSage returns from a broken hand to take up his regular spot at outside center. Three players make their first appearances of the season as replacements – second row Sam Peri, whose last MLR game was with San Diego in 2018, former England Sevens captain Tom Mitchell in his MLR debut, and USA Sevens winger Adam Channel.
This is the first matchup between the two sides and while the Giltinis aren’t quite at their championship form of a year ago, they remain a strong outfit who are trending upwards. Dallas have yet to win a game and with so much disruption can’t be expected to do so on the road. Take the home side to show their class and overwhelm the visitors.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 4pm Central, 5pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on Bally Sports SoCal in Los Angeles and TXA 21 in Dallas, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
LA GILTINIS
1 Andrew Tuala, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 Luke White, 5 Dave Dennis (capt.), 6 Nathan Den Hoedt, 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Zach Bonte, 9 Tas Smith, 10 Orene Ai’i, 11 Ryan James, 12 Luke Burton, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Lindsey Stevens, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19 Sam Peri, 20 Cyrille Cama, 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Tom Mitchell, 23 Adam Channel
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Ryan Bower, 2 Augusto Böhme, 3 Tommy Madaras, 4 Bronson Teles, 5 Charlie Hola, 6 Mike Matarazzo, 7 Shawn Clark, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Carlo de Nysschen, 10 Adriaan Carelse (capt.), 11 Cael Hodgson, 12 Chad London, 13 Alejandro Torres, 14 Jack Webster, 15 Eric Naposki
Replacements: 16 Brendan Rams, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Herman Agenbag, 19 Carson Shoemaker, 20 Romain Gadeaux, 21 Tom Brusati, 22 Campbell Johnstone, 23 Dylan James
Date: Sunday, April 3
Venue: Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Kickoff: 14:00 local (16:00 Central, 17:00 Eastern)
Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Austin Reed (USA)
TMO: Jack Gohl (Australia)
Broadcasts: Bally Sports SoCal, The Rugby Network, TXA 21
HISTORICAL RESULTS
n/a
