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The Sharks return from a bye week to host Eastern Conference leaders New England on Saturday evening. It was a dominant victory for the Free Jacks when they met earlier this season, but the visitors will now have to contend with the humidity in addition to Miami’s finest.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
3-7-0 (W1) East 5th
7-3-0 (W1) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
3 Alec McDonnell replaces Tevita Sole
7 Roelof Smit replaces Dan Pryor
9 Tomás Cubelli replaces Guiseppe du Toit (No13 vs Utah)
2 Andrew Quattrin replaces Sean Ralph
3 Cole Keith replaces John-Roy Jenkinson
4 Kyle Baillie replaces Josh Larsen (HIA)
6 Ethan Fryer replaces Piers von Dadelszen
10 Jayson Potroz replaces Zach Bastres (No14 vs San Diego)
12 Le Roux Malan replaces Wayne van der Bank
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(9) – Evans (Wales), Bonasso (USA), Ardao, Inciarte, Etcheverry (Uruguay), Cubelli (Argentina), Videla (Chile), Grigg (Scotland), du Toit (Canada)
(9) – Quattrin, Keith, Baillie, Keys, Olson, LeSage (Canada), Malan (Namibia), Wilson (USA). Sigren (Chile)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Setu Vole*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Reinaldo Piussi (TH), Dan Pryor (FL), Shane O’Leary (FH/FB), Matías Orlando (CE)
– Josh Larsen (LO), Mitch Jacobson (FL), Wian Conradie (N8), John Poland (SH), Reece MacDonald (FB)
| NOTES |
- Tomás Cubelli returns to Miami’s No9 shirt for the first time since the Week 6 game in Quincy… Tomás Inciarte shifts to the midfield with Guiseppe du Toit the odd man out
- Tevita Sole will not dress in agreeance with his loan from the Free Jacks… Alec McDonnell starts at tighthead prop with Collegiate Draft pick Setu Vole set to debut from the bench
- three other Sharks have links to the Free Jacks… Sean McNulty spent the 2020 campaign in Boston… Stan van den Hoven was there in 2022… and Tomás Casares was drafted by New England but did not make any regular season appearances before signing with Miami
- Sharks flyhalf Santiago Videla will play against his World Cup captain… Free Jacks back row Martín Sigren led Chile to their first ever appearance at the flagship tournament last year
- Jayson Potroz is back for New England after recovering from bruised ribs… Reece MacDonald was due to take up a spot on the bench but a late change sees Killian Coghlan wearing No23
- Ben LeSage will captain the Free Jacks for the first time… and there are first starts for Ethan Fryer and Isaac Olson… Olson has 1 cap for Canada while Fryer has played for their u20 side
| PREDICTION |
The Free Jacks came away from San Diego with a well-earned victory and are boosted by the return of star playmaker Potroz. Miami were dominant for much of the game against Utah but let up in the final moments. With no Sole or first choice tighthead Reinaldo Piussi their scrum could be under pressure. New England are favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Rob Evans, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Alec McDonnell, 4 Rick Rose, 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Benjamín Bonasso, 7 Roelof Smit, 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Santiago Videla, 11 Avery Oitomen, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Michael Hand, 15 Felipe Etcheverry
Replacements: 16 Alex Glover, 17 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 18 Setu Vole, 19 Michael Etete, 20 Tomás Casares, 21 Marcos Young, 22 Guiseppe du Toit, 23 Eric Naposki
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Kyle Baillie, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Ethan Fryer, 7 Seta Baker, 8 Cam Davidowicz, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Isaac Olson, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Ben LeSage (capt.), 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi
Replacements: 16 Mason Koch, 17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 18 John-Roy Jenkinson, 19 Jackson Thiebes, 20 Martín Sigren, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Wayne van der Bank, 23 Killian Coghlan
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, May 25
Venue: AutoNation Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 86°F (30°C), humidex 95°F (35°C), wind W 10-15mph (16-24km/h)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 2, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Andrew Cole (Ireland)
Assistants: Tom Ciampa (USA) & Miles McIvor (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (1) – New England 1, Miami 0
2024-04-06 – New England Free Jacks 25, Miami Sharks 3 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
