Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
One of only a couple games that might influence the playoff seedings takes place at Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday night. An Old Glory win combined with a Chicago loss might see DC jumping up to 3rd in the Eastern Conference. While NOLA are within two points of New England, the chances of the Free Jacks losing to Anthem are slim to none.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
6-7-2 (L1) East 4th
10-5-0 (W3) East 2nd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
2 Martín Vaca replaces Facundo Gattas
6 Collin Grosse replaces Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (injury)
9 Ethan McVeigh replaces Connor Buckley
11 Axel Müller replaces John Rizzo
13 John Powers replaces William Talataina
14 Perry Humphreys replaces Ishmail Shabazz
15 Damien Hoyland replaces Mike Dabulas
1 Matt Harmon replaces Jarred Adams
3 Sean Paranihi replaces Isaac Salmon
4 Callum Botchar replaces Cam Dolan (injury)
5 Fintan Coleman replaces Malcolm May
9 Damian Stevens replaces Luke Campbell
11 Julian Roberts replaces Harley Wheeler
13 Ross Depperschmidt replaces Dougie Fife (No15 vs New England)
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(7) – Iscaro, C Daniel, Boni (USA), Harley, Hoyland (Scotland), Rowland, Bowd (Canada)
(6) – Harmon, M Tonga’uiha (USA), Botchar (Canada), Stevens (Namibia), Iona (Samoa), Fortuny (Argentina)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (FL/N8)
– Cam Dolan (LO/N8), OJ Noa (N8), Luke Campbell (SH), Ed Fidow (WI), Dougie Fife (FB)
| NOTES |
- DC need a win at a minimum to have any hope of sliding ahead of Chicago… but the Hounds have the edge in any tie-breaking scenario, so even a bonus-point win might not be enough
- Old Glory will be without regular captain Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz after he was subbed off with injury in the first half of last week’s loss to Miami… Collin Grosse steps in on the blindside flank
- it’s all change in DC’s backline with their preferred outside back trio of Axel Muller, Perry Humphreys, and Damien Hoyland all returning… Hoyland was a late scratch against the Sharks… Ethan McVeigh and John Powers also get the nod at the undecided positions of scrumhalf and outside center respectively, with Connor Buckley and William Talataina on the bench
- NOLA eightman Tom Florence has been cleared to play despite receiving a red card against New England… the judiciary ruled that mitigation should have been applied
- Cam Dolan is out with a shoulder injury and Ed Fidow with a bad ankle… OJ Noa serves the last game of his suspension… the Gold are resting Luke Campbell and Dougie Fife
- a victory for the Gold almost certainly won’t be enough to overturn New England’s spot at the top of the East, but it would still set a franchise record for most victories in a season
| PREDICTION |
The Gold were the better side when these two teams met in the season opener, and have had the clear edge in results since. Old Glory field a nearly full-strength side which will give them confidence while playing at home. Based on that it’s not unreasonable to think they might pull off a victory, but recent form suggests NOLA are slight favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Martín Vaca, 3 Steven Longwell, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Tevita Naqali, 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Ethan McVeigh, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 John Powers, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Damien Hoyland
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Cali Martinez, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Bill Whiteside, 20 Brady Daniel, 21 Connor Buckley, 22 Gradyn Bowd, 23 William Talataina
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Sean Paranihi, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 Fintan Coleman, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Jonah Mau’u, 8 Tom Florence, 9 Damian Stevens, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Julian Roberts, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Taniela Filimone, 15 Jordan Jackson-Hope
Replacements: 16 Diego Fortuny, 17 Bart Vermeulen, 18 Trent Rogers, 19 Maciu Koroi, 20 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha, 21 Sebastiano Villani, 22 Jack Webster, 23 Reece Botha
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, June 29
Venue: Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 18:00 Central)
Weather Forecast: sun and cloud, 88°F (31°C), wind SW 11-17mph (18-27km/h)
Broadcasts: Monumental Sports, YurView Louisiana, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Aaron Davis (USA) & Craig Sakowski (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (8) – NOLA 6, DC 1, Draw 1, STREAK NOLA +1
2024-03-02 – NOLA Gold 18, Old Glory DC 6 (The Gold Mine)
2023-06-03 – NOLA Gold 15, Old Glory DC 28 (The Gold Mine)
2023-03-25 – Old Glory DC 17, NOLA Gold 20 (Segra Field)
2022-05-14 – NOLA Gold 50, Old Glory DC 21 (The Gold Mine)
2022-03-26 – Old Glory DC 22, NOLA Gold 31 (Segra Field)
2021-02-12 – Old Glory DC 21, NOLA Gold 25 (Segra Field)
2021-03-21 – NOLA Gold 26, Old Glory DC 26 (The Gold Mine)
2020-02-08 – NOLA Gold 46, Old Glory DC 13 (The Gold Mine)
