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The Gold limp home after a heavy defeat in New York last weekend but will find no relief on Saturday when they face the top team in Major League Rugby. San Diego arrive in New Orleans with eight consecutive victories, just two shy of the league record set by New England last season.
Three players went down with concussion at Mount Vernon on Sunday leaving an already stretched Gold roster even thinner at key positions. The defeat to the Ironworkers dropped NOLA to fourth spot in the East, two points behind New York, and there is precious little time to make up the difference.
Eric Howard was a late scratch last weekend but will try to soldier on through a troublesome knee problem. With Billy Stewart and Devin Short ruled out it’s William Waguespack in at lock and Alex Lopeti, normally a hooker, starting on the flank. The reserves include two players potentially seeing their first action of the season. Osaiasi Tonga’uiha is just back from elbow surgery and Giovanni Lapp has answered an SOS having last played for the Gold in 2021.
There are perhaps mixed emotions in the backline as Harley Wheeler and Jordan Trainor return to the starting lineup. Dougie Fife, however, is out along with star flyhalf Rodney Iona. Reece Botha will step in at No10 in just his second appearance of the season and his first pro start. Aaron Matthews drops to the bench with Jack Webster providing cover out wide.
Clearly conscious of NOLA’s predicament, Danny Lee has opted to rest some of his senior operators with an eye towards the postseason. Blair Cowan, Tevita Tameilau, Richard Judd, Luke Burton, and Tomas Aoake are all left out. Ma’a Nonu sits out with one-game suspension though it was highly likely he would have been put on ice anyway.
Marcel Brache will captain the side, forming a new midfield partnership with Tiaan Loots. Filimoni Waqainabete starts on the wing and the new halfback duo is Jason Higgins and Josh Henderson. There is a return from injury for Thomas Morani on the bench where Will Hooley and Mikey Te’o are ready and waiting to step in if needed.
Nathan Sylvia starts at loosehead despite being named as a tighthead in the Eagles squad this week. Shilo Klein comes in at hooker with Sama Malolo on the bench in place of the injured Sean McNulty. There is a first start for Finn Kearns on the flank with Dan Pryor packing down at the back of the scrum.
It will be hot and sunny at kickoff which will contribute to fatigue late in the game. NOLA have a couple experienced campaigners to bring in but San Diego’s replacements are all of starting quality. This looks to be a long day for the home side who will be hoping they can get through 80 minutes without any serious injuries. While this is the second-last home game of the season for the Gold, their best bets for victories lie further down the road.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 3pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on CW San Diego and YurView Louisiana, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
NOLA GOLD
1 Jarred Adams, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Sean Paranihi, 4 Cam Dolan (capt.), 5 William Waguespack, 6 Alex Lopeti, 7 Malcolm May, 8 Moni Tonga’uiha, 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Reece Botha, 11 Ross Depperschmidt, 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Matt Harmon, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 Dino Waldren, 19 Giovanni Lapp, 20 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha, 21 Damian Stevens, 22 Aaron Matthews, 23 Jack Webster
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Nathan Sylvia, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Luke Green, 4 Ben Grant, 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Michael Smith, 7 Finn Kearns, 8 Dan Pryor, 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Josh Henderson, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Tiaan Loots, 13 Marcel Brache (capt.), 14 Filimoni Waqainabete, 15 Matías Freyre
Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Jale Railala, 20 Chris Turori, 21 Will Hooley, 22 Thomas Morani, 23 Mikey Te’o
Date: Saturday, May 13
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 17:00 local (15:00 Pacific, 18:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: CW San Diego, The Rugby Network, YurView Louisiana
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Rob Halcomb (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-05-21 – NOLA Gold 12, San Diego Legion 42 (The Gold Mine)
2021-05-15 – San Diego Legion 43, NOLA Gold 17 (Elite Athlete Training Center)
2020-02-29 – NOLA Gold 21, San Diego Legion 25 (The Gold Mine)
2019-06-02 – San Diego Legion 22, NOLA Gold 10 (Torero Stadium)
2019-05-11 – NOLA Gold 19, San Diego Legion 26 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
2018-06-09 – NOLA Gold 22, San Diego Legion 39 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
