MLR Notes – Dallas delight, Meyer suspended, Injury updates

Dallas have finally broken their duck. Their unsightly run of 22 consecutive defeats is now behind them. Previous record-holders Austin first recorded a draw (after 20 straight losses) before getting their win. The Jackals skipped straight to the victory.

Some of the numbers from those 22 defeats: 276 points scored, 909 against which equates to an average defeat of about 41-12. The most points they scored in a match in that stretch was 33 and they were shut out twice. The most points conceded was an MLR record 74 against Seattle last May.

A total of 76 players have been used by the Jackals during that stretch, including a league-high 59 in 2022, with 17 new caps this season to date. May day captains during the streak: Chris Pennell (11), Moe Abdelmonem (2), Jérémy Lenaerts (1), Adriaan Carelse (1), Carlo de Nysschen (1), Juan Pablo Aguirre (2), Jerónimo Gómez Vara (4).

While others involved in the very first match against Austin are still on the active roster, only two players also took the field in the victory over the Arrows. Alex Tucci started at tighthead prop against AG and was a replacement loosehead against Toronto. Conrado Roura played all 80 minutes in both games, the former as a No8 and the latter as a flanker.

Already battered and bruised, the Arrows had three more players forced off in the match against Dallas. Mitch Eadie suffered a cut on his head while both tighthead props Tyler Rowland and Isaac Salmon were banged up. Eadie should be fine but it remains to be seen if either of the other two feature against New York. Conan O’Donnell and Nik Hildebrand are the only other tighthead options, though the former missed the game against Dallas.

The club has now brought in Peter Nelson and Shay Kerry who join Dawson Fatoric and D’Shawn Bowen in Toronto. Kerry will most likely debut in this week’s home opener and Nelson is in the mix, though Shane O’Leary could return after being hurt in the build-up to the away match against the Ironworkers.

The Gold survived the match without any serious problems, and now have a week off to prepare for their home game against ATL on April 15. Both Devin Short and Harley Wheeler are hoping to be fit in time, though the road game against Chicago is more likely. Short sprained his knee against Utah and Wheeler is recovering from minor surgery after breaking a bone in his foot against New York.

There are no updates on tighthead prop Brian Nault or flanker Andrew Guerra. Nault is taking time out to recover from concussion symptoms, while Guerra hasn’t played since suffering a serious leg break while playing for the Eagles against New Zealand in October of 2021. Guerra sought specialist advise earlier this year to help with complications during the recovery but there is no timeline for a return at this stage.

The Seawolves lost second row Rhyno Herbst to an upper body injury during the first half in New Orleans. If he is unable to suit up against San Diego, might we see Samu Manoa taking the pitch for the first time this season? The big man has been in training for some time now. Loose forward Ronan Foley hasn’t played since injuring his shoulder against New York in the season opener.

New York were hit with two significant injuries in the opening minutes against ATL. Pago Haini damaged an ankle and should miss about a month. It’s bad news but thankfully not a recurrence of last season’s hamstring injury that required surgery. The club is sweating on star winger Teofilo Fidow, however, after he went down with a knee injury. Pending results of a scan it could be a while until he returns.

ATL also lost a player early in that match. Tiaan Erasmus started the game with his left knee heavily strapped and he went down in obvious pain on the opening kickoff. He even made a couple tackles hobbling around on one leg before play was finally stopped at the four-minute mark. Alex Maughan shifted to hooker and played the rest of the game, with Isaac Bales not summoned from the bench. It’s not clear when Erasmus might be back at this stage.

Front rowers were also falling in Chicago. Tighthead prop Paddy Ryan went off 10 minutes into the game against Houston with a bad ankle. Early in the second half it was hooker Lindsey Stevens exiting with a shoulder injury. Both will miss the trip to Boston and there’s no update yet on how long they might be missing. There is a however a timely return for Hugh Roach from his knee problem, and USA Falcons prop Mika Felix could debut this weekend after finally receiving visa clearance.

If the audio for the game against the SaberCats sounded a little unnatural during the first half, that’s because there was pre-recorded crowd noise being played by the new stadium DJ. Nevermind sounding bad, it didn’t make any sense with a healthy turnout of passionate Hounds fans. Mercifully it was turned off in the second half and let’s hope it stays that way for the rest of eternity.

Heyneke Meyer is in the doghouse with Major League Rugby. The SaberCats Director of Rugby has been slapped with a one-week suspension for a “league policy violation”. As usual MLR does not disclose exactly what that means, but ARN has learned that Meyer was sanctioned for discussing a potential move to Houston with a player on another team. Any such conversations involving contracted players during the season must go through the proper channels.

Utah came out on top in a thrilling game against New England on Friday but it came at a cost. As with New York and Fidow, they are waiting anxiously on the results of a scan on Paul Lasike’s knee to see how long he’ll be absent. Joe Mano and Jamie Lane each failed HIA tests after coming off towards the end of the first half. Mano is only expected to miss one game, though Lane is likely out a bit longer.

There is some good news with the immediate availability of hooker Tuvere Vugakoto. He was handed a three-game suspension after being red-carded against NOLA, but it has now been reduced to one week after completing a World Rugby “coaching intervention program”. Chad Gough has had a couple victory laps as a replacement against the Arrows and Free Jacks in Vugakoto’s absence.

Speaking of the Free Jacks, they will definitely be without Mitch Wilson for the match against Chicago. The outside back was concussed after throwing himself in front of a rampaging Lasike against Utah. He was able to shake hands with the Warriors following the game and thankfully isn’t expected to be out for the long-term. There is no update on club captain Josh Larsen’s injured shoulder this week.

New England are also the subject of a new documentary from RugbyPass covering the opening weeks of the 2023 campaign. The first episode of a five-part series is now online.