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The 2025 Major League Rugby season kicks begins in Florida where the Miami Sharks host Old Glory DC. Miami’s heavy South American influence has only grown during the off-season, with long-time Argentina veterans Tomás Cubelli and Matías Orlando leading the way. DC have changed little of their roster, their new-look midfield the only notable alternations from 2024.
| 2024 RECORD |
6-10-0, East 5th
7-7-2, East 4th
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(10) – Muti, Rebussone*, Gutiérrez*, Fuala’au, Elías, Cubilla, Burns, Malanos, Tucci, Bekerman
(3) – Emery, Hughes*, Davies
*MLR debut
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(9) – McNulty, Bonasso, Casares (USA), Ardao (Uruguay), Cubelli, Orlando (Argentina), Videla (Chile), Myhill (Wales), du Toit (Canada)
(8) – Iscaro, Fa’anana-Schultz, Daniel, McVeigh (USA), Gattas (Uruguay), Martinez (Canada), Harley, Hoyland (Scotland)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Reinaldo Piussi (TH)
– none
| PREDICTION |
These two split their results last season with Miami the better team in Florida. Ideal conditions for running rugby are in place which certainly suits the Sharks. No preseason hit-outs for the visitors likely leads to a slow start for DC. Miami are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Alec McDonnell, 4 Mauro Rebussone, 5 Federico Gutiérrez, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Benjamín Bonasso, 8 Marques Fuala’au, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Martín Elías, 11 Connor Burns, 12 Tomás Cubilla, 13 Matías Orlando, 14 Tomás Malanos, 15 Santiago Videla
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 18 Alex Tucci, 19 Tomás Casares, 20 Tomás Bekerman, 21 Damian Morley, 22 Guiseppe du Toit, 23 Marcos Young
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Facundo Gattas, 3 Cali Martinez, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Tevita Naqali, 6 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Jason Emery, 13 Steff Hughes, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Damien Hoyland
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Joe Wrafter, 18 Sam Davies, 19 Bill Whiteside, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 John Powers, 23 Owen Sheehy
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, February 15
Venue: Baptist Health Community Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 17:00 local (14:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 79°F (26°C), wind SE 12-17mph (19-27km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, FanDuel Florida, Monumental Sports, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) & Tom Ciampa (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (2) – DC 1, Miami 1
2024-06-22 – Miami Sharks 17, Old Glory DC 12 (AutoNation Field)
2024-05-04 – Old Glory DC 13, Miami Sharks 10 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
