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RFC Los Angeles will look to make it three wins in a row when they host Old Glory DC at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Saturday. The home side have found some form while welcoming Lucas Bur and Reece MacDonald to club colors for the first time. For the visitors it’s a new tighthead prop in Joe Rees, but they enter the contest absent three key figures including regular skipper Rob Harley.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
2-3-0 (W2) West 4th
3-2-0 (W1) East 2nd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 4 | Lucas Bur | Jason Damm |
| 6 | Semi Kunatani | Tim Anstee |
| 14 | Jack Shaw | Seth Purdey |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | KoiKoi Nelligan | Facundo Gattas |
| 3 | Joe Rees | Cali Martinez |
| 4 | Ignacio Dotti | Rob Harley |
| 6 | Collin Grosse | Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz |
| 11 | John Rizzo | Axel Müller |
| 12 | Nick Grigg | Jason Emery |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(8) – Sosene-Feagai, Damm, Dyer (USA), Kunatani (Fiji), Bertranou (Argentina), Leali’ifano (Samoa), Coe, Heaton (Canada)
(7) – Iscaro, Daniel, McVeigh (USA), Dotti (Uruguay), Grigg, Hoyland (Scotland), Martinez (Canada)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(2) – Bur, MacDonald
(1) – Rees*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Conor Young (TH), Reegan O’Gorman (LO), Tim Anstee (FL)
– Rob Harley (LO), Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (FL/N8), Axel Müller (WI)
| PREDICTION |
With no Harley, Fa’anana-Schultz, or Muller, DC look slightly vulnerable against a surging LA side. Their scrum will benefit from the arrival of Rees but the set piece isn’t their opponent’s preferred method of attack. The halfback combination of Bertranou and Leali’ifano is starting to gel, and MacDonald’s arrival adds another weapon to LA’s already dangerous division. Los Angeles are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Alessandro Heaney, 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Lucas Bur, 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Semi Kunatani, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Christian Leali’ifano (capt.), 11 Andrew Coe, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Matias Jensen, 14 Jack Shaw, 15 Rory van Vugt
Replacements: 16 Ben Strang, 17 Declan Leaney, 18 Franco van den Berg, 19 Jason Damm, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Christian Dyer, 23 Reece MacDonald
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 KoiKoi Nelligan, 3 Joe Rees, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Tevita Naqali, 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 John Rizzo, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Steff Hughes (capt.), 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Damien Hoyland
Replacements: 16 Martín Vaca, 17 Joe Wrafter, 18 Cali Martinez, 19 Bill Whiteside, 20 Logan Weidner, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Jason Emery, 23 John Powers
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles
Kickoff: 15:00 local (18:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 66°F (19°C), wind W 9-14mph (14-22km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, FanDuel SoCal, Monumental Sports, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Mike Lawrenson (USA) & Austin Reed (USA)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (8) – ATL/LA 4, DC 3, Draw 1
2024-04-06 – Old Glory DC 22, RFC Los Angeles 22 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2023-06-17 – Old Glory DC 36, Rugby ATL 28 (Segra Field)
2023-04-08 – Rugby ATL 35, Old Glory DC 27 (Silverbacks Park)
2022-03-20 – Old Glory DC 13, Rugby ATL 27 (Segra Field)
2022-02-05 – Rugby ATL 55, Old Glory DC 22 (Silverbacks Park)
2021-06-26 – Rugby ATL 32, Old Glory DC 12 (Lupo Family Field)
2021-03-27 – Old Glory DC 30, Rugby ATL 23 (Segra Field)
2020-03-08 – Old Glory DC 31, Rugby ATL 29 (Cardinal Stadium)
