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Toronto wraps up a three-game homestand when they welcome NOLA Gold to York Lions Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It’s a match with significant playoff implications. A bonus-point win for the Arrows would put them level on points with third-place New York, while a loss would nail the door shut on any faint hopes that NOLA might still have.
This will be the sixth meetings between the two, with NOLA owning a 4-1 advantage in the series. The Arrows beat the Gold for the first time in February, a one-point result at The Gold Mine featuring a 14-point kicking performance from Sam Malcolm.
The flyhalf will be a key figure again this weekend as the Arrows look to follow up their nervous victory over DC last weekend. Peter Smith has changed a third of his starting lineup, with a couple notable alterations among the reserves.
Andrew Quattrin and Isaac Salmon are back in the starting front row, with Lucas Rumball returning at openside flanker. James O’Neill is rested this week with Tomás de la Vega and Siaki Vikilani named as back row subs. The latter will make his first appearance of the season as a replacement.
It’s all change in the midfield where Ueta Tufuga and Spencer Jones are partnered again. This time their configuration is reversed with Tufuga shifted to inside center. Mitch Voralek moves to fullback with Conor McCann injured, and Mitch Richardson sliding out to the wing.
The Gold have dropped two in a row, with last week’s disappointment coming against ATL at home. They also feature five changes to the run-on side while two players are set to make their Major League Rugby debuts from the bench.
Eric Howard starts at hooker and Taylor Krumrei is recalled in the second row. Ignacio Dotti returns albeit on the bench, where uncapped Alex Lopeti is included among the front row reserves.
With no Damian Stevens it’s Devereaux Ferris at scrumhalf, with another new name in Christian Alvarez nominated as his backup. Out wide there are starts for Nick Feakes and Kyle Rogers at left wing and fullback respectively with no sign of JP Eloff this week.
It’s been three years since NOLA last made the trip north of the border and brisk temperatures await. Carl Meyer’s continued absence gives the Arrows a kicking advantage, though Krumrei boosts the Gold’s lineout. Toronto are back in the playoff hunt and have more to play for. Take the home side in a competitive match-up.
Kickoff is set for noon local time, 11am Central, 9am Pacific. A local broadcast will be available on YurView in New Orleans while Canadian viewers can watch on TSN 2 or their digital services. The Rugby Network will stream to viewers across the USA and abroad.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Cole Keith, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Kyle Baillie, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Riley DiNardo, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Mitch Richardson, 12 Ueta Tufuga, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Johnny Sheridan, 15 Mitch Voralek
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Lolani Faleiva, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Tomás de la Vega, 20 Siaki Vikilani, 21 Gordon McRorie, 22 Guiseppe du Toit, 23 Will Kelly
NOLA GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Taylor Krumrei, 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Devin Short, 8 Cam Dolan (capt.), 9 Devereaux Ferris, 10 Robbie Coleman, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 Kyle Rogers
Replacements: 16 Alex Lopeti, 17 James Irey, 18 Brian Nault, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Malcolm May, 21 Christian Alvarez, 22 Ross Depperschmidt, 23 Aaron Matthews
Date: Saturday, April 16
Venue: York Lions Stadium, Toronto
Kickoff: 12:00 local (09:00 Pacific, 11:00 Central)
Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Peter Pender (Canada) & Chris Micheletti (Canada)
TMO: Andrew Hosie (Canada)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network, TSN 2, YurView
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-02-19 – NOLA Gold 23, Toronto Arrows 24 (The Gold Mine)
2021-06-19 – Toronto Arrows 12, NOLA Gold 18 (Lupo Family Field)
2021-05-02 – NOLA Gold 22, Toronto Arrows 14 (The Gold Mine)
2019-04-07 – Toronto Arrows 31, NOLA Gold 35 (York Alumni Field)
2019-01-26 – NOLA Gold 36, Toronto Arrows 31 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
