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The Dallas Jackals take their show north of the border for the first time on Saturday when they take on the Toronto Arrows at York Lions Stadium. Only a bonus-point victory will do for the Arrows, who are clinging on to playoff hopes by a thread. For the visitors it’s one of three chances remaining to find a win in 2022.
Toronto’s last two games were hugely disappointing with not even a bonus point won between them. A dreadful opening quarter against New York saw them ship 17 points with the defense nowhere to be found. The Arrows now need help from others to catch either ATL or New York, who lead by 11 and 12 competition points respectively.
Peter Smith has opted to rest some of his senior players against the winless Jackals. Jack McRogers gets the start at hooker with Adrian Wadden coming in at lock. James O’Neill wears the No7 jersey with Siaki Vikilani at No8. It’s the first starts of the season for Wadden and Vikilani. Kyle Baillie has made a sufficient recovery from injury to take up a spot among the reserves.
Also returning is scrumhalf Ross Braude, while Conor McCann will play at outside center for the first time in Arrows colors. Johnny Sheridan starts on the left wing with Guiseppe du Toit assuming the captaincy in the absence of Mike Sheppard.
For Dallas it’s another tough match-up in the wake of their record defeat to the Seawolves in Seattle. With the team already reeling from numerous injuries, they are without another dozen-odd players who are unable to make the trip to Canada for various reasons. As a result five players in the match day squad could make their Major League Rugby debuts.
It’s all change in the front row with Liam Murray, Dewald Kotze, and Tommy Madaras getting the starts – the first for Kotze after making his league debut a week ago. Jack Paloucek makes his professional bow at openside flanker with Asa Carter coming in at the back of the scrum. Front rower Ryheem Powell and back row Matthew Gash-Gilder could make their pro debuts as replacements.
New arrivals in the backline include scrumhalf Cian Barry, outside center Lui Sitama, and right winger Jalen Tatum. The latter is winning his first MLR cap, while backup scrumhalf Danny Carlton could do the same. Carlton, 33, is another emergency call-up, the former Head Coach of the Dallas Harlequins and, remarkably, the husband of Jackals Head Coach Elaine Vassie.
This has been a difficult season to say the least for Dallas and now they make the long trip north with a makeshift roster, many of whom are new to the team. The only conceivable prediction is that the Arrows will cruise to an overwhelming victory with their eyes quickly turning to a much bigger clash against the Free Jacks next weekend.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 6pm Central, 4pm Pacific. Fox Sports 2 will broadcast nationwide while Canadian viewers can watch on TSN 2 and their digital services. The Rugby Network will stream live for viewers located abroad.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Lolani Faleiva, 2 Jack McRogers, 3 Tyler Rowland, 4 Adrian Wadden, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 James O’Neill, 8 Siaki Vikilani, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Will Kelly, 11 Johnny Sheridan, 12 Guiseppe du Toit (capt.), 13 Conor McCann, 14 Matthew Hood, 15 Gastón Mieres
Replacements: 16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Cole Keith, 18 Isaac Salmon, 19 Kyle Baillie, 20 Ronan Foley, 21 Sam Reimer, 22 Ueta Tufuga, 23 Mitch Voralek
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Tommy Madaras, 4 Bronson Teles, 5 Charlie Hola, 6 Mike Matarazzo, 7 Jack Paloucek, 8 Asa Carter, 9 Cian Barry, 10 Tom Brusati, 11 Rodrick Waters, 12 Chris Pennell (capt.), 13 Lui Sitama, 14 Jalen Tatum, 15 Eric Naposki
Replacements: 16 Ryheem Powell, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Timmy Ohlwein, 19 Campbell Robinson, 20 Matthew Gash-Gilder, 21 Danny Carlton, 22 Matoko Noudéhou, 23 Aaron Gray
Date: Saturday, May 14
Venue: York Lions Stadium, Toronto
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 18:00 Central)
Referee: Chris Micheletti (Canada)
Assistants: Mike Jones (Canada) & Peter Pender (Canada)
TMO: Andrew Hosie (Canada)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 2, The Rugby Network, TSN 2
HISTORICAL RESULTS
n/a
