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It’s a rematch of the 2023 Championship Final on Sunday afternoon when the Legion welcome the Free Jacks to Snapdragon Stadium. Both teams arrive from a bye week with equal records. San Diego will field arguably their strongest lineup of the season – including both Matt Giteau and Ma’a Nonu – while New England are making due without several leading players.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
6-3-0 (W1) West 3rd
6-3-0 (L1) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
2 Hugh Roach replaces Cyrille Cama
3 Darcy Breen replaces Luke Green
6 Christian Poidevin replaces Vili Helu
7 Blair Cowan replaces Tevita Tameilau (No8 vs Dallas)
10 Matt Giteau replaces Lincoln McClutchie
1 Kyle Ciquera replaces Malakai Hala-Ngatai
2 Sean Ralph replaces Andrew Quattrin
5 Conor Keys replaces Jackson Thiebes
8 Cam Davidowicz replaces Martín Sigren
13 Ben LeSage replaces Le Roux Malan
14 Zach Bastres replaces Jayson Potroz (No10 vs Chicago)
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Peterson, James, Brache, Helu, Tameilau, Boyer, Te’o (USA), Cowan (Scotland), Giteau (Australia), Nonu (New Zealand), Sears-Duru (Canada)
(10) – Larsen, Keys, von Dadelszen, LeSage, DeWitt, Baillie, Olson (Canada), Wilson, Geiger (USA), Malan (Namibia)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Faka’osi Pifeleti (LH), Isaac Ross (LO)
– Andrew Quattrin (HO), Mitch Jacobson (FL), Martín Sigren (FL/N8), Wian Conradie (N8), John Poland (SH), Jayson Potroz (FH), Reece MacDonald (FB)
| NOTES |
- it’s a first San Diego start for Matt Giteau, who reunites with Ma’a Nonu for the first time since 2017 when they were both playing for Toulon in France… Giteau made his Legion debut two weeks ago but did not share the pitch with Nonu during the game
- San Diego will field their first choice back row trio of Christian Poidevin, Blair Cowan, and Tupou Afungia for the first time since the opening week of the campaign… Poidevin has been sidelined ever since with an ankle injury… Cowan returns after a two-game absence
- Hugh Roach is back in at hooker for the Legion after missing the last three games… while Darcy Breen gets the nod over Luke Green at tighthead prop
- New England are missing last season’s MLR Player of the Year Jayson Potroz who suffered bruised ribs against Chicago… with Reece MacDonald also sidelined due to a shoulder injury, it’s Danyon Morgan-Puterangi who makes a first start in the No10 shirt with Zach Bastres coming in on the wing
- Cam Davidowicz gets his first start since Week 2 and his first this season at the back of the scrum… there is no sign of Martín Sigren this week, with Mitch Jacobson still in recovery and Wian Conradie out for the season
- both teams boast depth with five fully-capped internationals on their respective benches
| PREDICTION |
Despite a stack of injuries New England have still put together a competitive side, but it is a far cry from what took the field in last year’s Final. Meanwhile the Legion look to be getting healthy just at the right time and field an impressive match day 23. On form there’s little to choose between the two, but the home side have the edge in overall strength in depth. San Diego are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Hugh Roach, 3 Darcy Breen, 4 Jay Tuivaiti, 5 Greg Peterson, 6 Christian Poidevin, 7 Blair Cowan (capt.), 8 Tupou Afungia, 9 Connor Tupai, 10 Matt Giteau, 11 Ryan James, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 13 Marcel Brache, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Alex Horan
Replacements: 16 Cyrille Cama, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Luke Green, 19 Vili Helu, 20 Tevita Tameilau, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Lincoln McClutchie, 23 Mikey Te’o
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Sean Ralph, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Seta Baker, 8 Cam Davidowicz, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 10 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Zach Bastres, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Mason Koch, 17 Foster DeWitt, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Kyle Baillie, 20 Ethan Fryer, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Le Roux Malan, 23 Isaac Olson
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 19
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 13:00 local (16:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 66°F (19°C), wind W 11-16mph (18-26km/h)
Broadcasts: KUSI, NBC Sports Boston, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Alexis Alfaro (USA)
TMO: Eanna O’Dowd (Ireland)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (4) – San Diego 2, New England 2, STREAK NE +1
2023-07-08 – New England Free Jacks 25, San Diego Legion 24 (SeatGeek Stadium)
2023-02-26 – San Diego Legion 29, New England Free Jacks 12 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2021-05-01 – San Diego Legion 17, New England Free Jacks 33 (LA Memorial Coliseum)
2020-02-23 – San Diego Legion 30, New England Free Jacks 21 (Torero Stadium)
