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Second place in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs on Sunday when the Gold put their three-game win streak on the line against the Hounds at SeatGeek Stadium. Chicago have lost two in a row, albeit both by a single point, but were winners in New Orleans earlier this season.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
5-5-1 (L2) East 2nd
6-4-0 (W3) East 3rd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
4 Mason Flesch replaces George Merrick
8 Luke White replaces Conall Boomer
9 Jason Higgins replaces Nick McCarthy
12 Billy Meakes replaces Mark O’Keeffe
2 Augusto Böhme replaces Pat O’Toole
3 Isaac Salmon replaces Sean Paranihi
4 Callum Botchar replaces Jonah Mau’u (injury, No7 vs Utah)
13 JP du Plessis replaces Ross Depperschmidt
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(12) – Fawsitt, Ryan, Landry, White, Campbell, Augspurger, Carty, Baska (USA), Flesch, Higgins (Canada), Pujadas, Péculo (Uruguay)
(8) – Böhme (Chile), Botchar (Canada), Dolan, Tonga’uiha, Harmon (USA), Noa, Fidow (Samoa), Fife (Scotland)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Nicolás Revol
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Zura Zhvania (LH), Lucas Rumball (FL), Nick McCarthy (SH)
– Jonah Mau’u (FL), Dorian Jones (FH), Rodney Iona (FH/CE)
| NOTES |
- Chicago have been boosted by the return of skipper Billy Meakes after two games away on paternity leave… Bryce Campbell shifts to outside center with Mark O’Keeffe on the bench
- it’s an all-South American reserve front row for the Hounds… Uruguayan pair Guillermo Pujadas and Ignacio Peculo are joined by former Argentina XV loosehead prop Nicolas Revol… the latter spent last season with Dallas and played the season opener for the Jackals before being hit with injury… he will now spend the rest of the season with Chicago
- Sid Shoop gets his first match day selection of the 2024 campaign… he made 7 appearances for Chicago last season including 5 starts at scrumhalf
- Julián Domínguez and Michael Baska are both formerly of the Gold… Domínguez spent the 2020 and 2021 campaigns in New Orleans… Baska was there in 2018 and 2019
- NOLA have lost star forward Jonah Mau’u to a knee injury… Malcolm May shifts to the flank with Callum Botchar given the start at lock
- Reece Botha gets his third start in the No10 shirt for the Gold… both Rodney Iona and Dorian Jones are absent from the match day squad for a second straight week
- JP du Plessis is back in the Gold lineup after a three-game absence… it’s the first time he has teamed up with Jordan Jackson-Hope in the midfield since Week 4 against Dallas
| PREDICTION |
Rain is on the forecast which could benefit the Hounds given they have the bigger pack. The Gold will miss Mau’u on both sides of the ball, but their halfbacks are both strong tactical kickers. For NOLA to succeed they’ll have to be accurate at the lineout. Chicago are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Charlie Abel, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Mason Flesch, 5 James Scott, 6 Ben Landry, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Luke White, 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Billy Meakes (capt.), 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Nate Augspurger, 15 Luke Carty
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Nicolás Revol, 18 Ignacio Péculo, 19 George Merrick, 20 Brad Tucker, 21 Sid Shoop, 22 Michael Baska, 23 Mark O’Keeffe
NOLA GOLD
1 Jarred Adams, 2 Augusto Böhme, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Malcolm May, 7 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 8 OJ Noa, 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Reece Botha, 11 Ed Fidow, 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Taniela Filimone, 15 Dougie Fife
Replacements: 16 Ale Lopeti, 17 Matt Harmon, 18 James Irey, 19 William Waguespack, 20 Fintan Coleman, 21 Julian Roberts, 22 Harley Wheeler, 23 Ross Depperschmidt
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 26
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 13:00 local (11:00 Pacific, 14:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: rain, 68°F (20°C), wind SE 15-22mph (24-35km/h)
Broadcasts: Marquee Sports, YurView Louisiana, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Scott Green (USA) & Andrew Dunn (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (2) – Chicago 1, NOLA 1, STREAK Chicago +1
2024-04-06 – NOLA Gold 21, Chicago Hounds 38 (The Gold Mine)
2023-04-23 – Chicago Hounds 24, NOLA Gold 37 (SeatGeek Stadium)
