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Miami will be looking to put the disappointment of their opening round letdown against DC behind them when southern neighbors NOLA arrive on Sunday. It’s a remixed backline for the Sharks, who have also welcomed Tau Koloamatangi back into the fold to help anchor a creaky scrum. The Gold meanwhile arrive confident after their convincing performance against Anthem at home.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
0-1-0 (L1) East 5th
1-0-0 (W1) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 3 | Alex Tucci | Alec McDonnell |
| 12 | Santiago Videla | Tomás Cubilla |
| 13 | Guiseppe du Toit | Matías Orlando |
| 14 | Marcos Young | Tomás Malanos |
| 15 | Tomás Malanos | Santiago Videla |
|
IN | OUT |
| 4 | Malcolm May | Callum Botchar |
| 11 | Julian Roberts | Ed Fidow |
| 12 | Nikolai Foliaki | JP du Plessis |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(10) – Myhill (Wales), Ardao, Inciarte (Uruguay), Bonasso, McNulty, Casares (USA), Cubelli (Argentina), Videla (Chile), du Toit (Canada), Koloamatangi (Tonga)
(11) – Harmon, Mullen, Dolan, Tonga’uiha, de Haas (USA), Galletier, Mignot (France), Mau’u (Samoa), Foliaki, Afungia (Tonga), Coats (Canada)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Soto Ansay*
(1) – Afungia
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Reinaldo Piussi (TH), Tomás Cubilla (CE), Matías Orlando (CE)
– Joe Taufete’e (HO), Kaden Duguid (LO), Ed Fidow (WI)
| PREDICTION |
José Pellicena would not have been amused by his charges after the Sharks practically handed the game away to Old Glory in the dying minutes. Their first choice midfield is absent, however, and they face another tough task in the scrum against a strong Gold pack. For a team with strong post-season aspirations, nothing less than a win will do for Danny Lee. NOLA are favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Alex Tucci, 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 Santiago Videla, 13 Guiseppe du Toit, 14 Marcos Young, 15 Tomás Malanos
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 18 Tau Koloamatangi, 19 Tomás Casares, 20 Tomás Bekerman, 21 Tomás Inciarte, 22 Lautaro Soto Ansay, 23 Chase Schor-Haskin
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Malcolm May, 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Kélian Galletier, 8 Jonah Mau’u, 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Dorian Jones, 11 Julian Roberts, 12 Nikolai Foliaki, 13 Isaac Te Tamaki, 14 Xavier Mignot, 15 Cooper Coats
Replacements: 16 Ale Lopeti, 17 Jarred Adams, 18 Isaac Salmon, 19 William Waguespack, 20 Aidan King, 21 Tupou Afungia, 22 Ruben de Haas, 23 Reece Botha
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, February 23
Venue: Baptist Health Community Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 16:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 15:00 Central)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 77°F (25°C), wind E 9-14mph (14-22km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fox Chicago+, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Tom Ciampa (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (2) – Miami 1, NOLA 1
2024-06-09 – Miami Sharks 13, NOLA Gold 20 (AutoNation Field)
2024-04-20 – NOLA Gold 27, Miami Sharks 42 (The Gold Mine)
