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History could be made on Saturday night when Dallas hosts Toronto at Choctaw Stadium. The Jackals are still to taste victory for the first time after a nightmare run of 22 straight defeats, but in the Arrows they face the lowest-ranked team in the Eastern Conference whose injury list is unmatched by any other in Major League Rugby.
Toronto could barely muster 20 fit bodies to face the Warriors in Utah, and recruited two new backs during the week just to get to a full match day squad. After five consecutive road games to start the season they have only one victory and have the worst points differential in the league.
There is some good news both with the return of Noel Reid to the backline, and the arrivals of Dawson Fatoric and D’Shawn Bowen from the Canada Sevens camp. The newcomers could make their Major League Rugby debuts as replacements.
Mitch Eadie returns to the back of the scrum after an emergency run-out in the midfield last week. Lucas Rumball moves back to the flank, and there is a first start for Hank Stevenson against the team that originally signed him in 2021 before Dallas opted to delay their inaugural campaign by one year.
It’s been two straight weeks of heartache for the Jackals, who lost to Chicago by two points and then to New England by only one. Their confidence is growing, however, and they are boosted by the return of a key player this week in one of only two changes to the starting lineup.
Tomas Baravalle is fit to resume duty at hooker, with Dewald Kotze swapping to the bench. Nicolas Revol drops out due to the import limit, with Liam Murray in at loosehead prop and Alex Tucci joining the replacements list. JP Aguirre and Patrick Medina are backline reserves.
A warm and sunny day sets the stage for a grand opportunity. Toronto have been ravaged by injuries and their lineup is of the makeshift variety, including a third hooker on the bench to make up the numbers. Dallas are on the rise and the return of Baravalle strengthens the set piece. Dallas have a date with destiny and take the favorites tag at home.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific. Canadian viewers can watch on TSN’s digital services with The Rugby Network streaming for all those located elsewhere.
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray, 2 Tomás Baravalle, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Sam Golla, 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 7 Conrado Roura, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Nazareno Valentini, 10 Martín Elías, 11 James Vaifale, 12 Alejandro Torres, 13 Tomás Malanos, 14 Lui Sitama, 15 Marcos Moroni
Replacements: 16 Alex Tucci, 17 Dewald Kotze, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Carson Shoemaker, 20 Cameron Nelson, 21 Danny Christensen, 22 Juan Pablo Aguirre, 23 Patrick Medina
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Lolani Faleiva, 2 Ramón Ayarza, 3 Tyler Rowland, 4 Hank Stevenson, 5 Mike Sheppard, 6 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 7 James O’Neill, 8 Mitch Eadie, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Avery Oitomen, 12 Noel Reid, 13 Fabian Goodall, 14 Kobe Faust, 15 Brenden Black
Replacements: 16 Gene Syminton, 17 Nik Hildebrand, 18 Isaac Salmon, 19 Owain Ruttan, 20 Jack McRogers, 21 Cole Brown, 22 Dawson Fatoric, 23 D’Shawn Bowen
Date: Saturday, April 1
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Dallas
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network, TSN Digital
Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Cole Jones (USA) & Andrew Low (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-05-14 – Toronto Arrows 57, Dallas Jackals 0 (York Lions Stadium)
