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Two teams currently at the bottom of their respective divisions will fight it out at Starfire Stadium on Saturday night. The Seattle Seawolves are in dire need of maximum points at home while Anthem RC remain in desperate search of their first ever franchise win, having come within one point in two of their last three outings.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
1-4-0 (L2) West 5th
0-5-0 (L5) East 6th
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 4 | Isaia Lotawa | Malembe Mpofu |
| 6 | OJ Noa | Huw Taylor |
| 7 | Charles Elton | Devin Short |
| 12 | Dan Kriel | Eddie Fouché |
| 14 | Lauina Futi | Duncan Matthews |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Connor Robinson | Alex Maughan |
| 3 | Alex Maughan | Joe Apikotoa |
| 4 | Alejandro Martinez Tapia | Puna Vuli |
| 8 | Michael Ma’afu | Dylan Fortune |
| 10 | Cam Gerlach | Cliven Loubser |
| 14 | Toby Fricker | EJ Freeman |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Zeiss (Argentina), Noa, Iona (Samoa), Hattingh, Smith, Kruse, Futi, Mahoni (USA), Rossouw (Namibia), Kotze, Gallagher (Canada)
(6) – Maughan, Golla, Storti, Fricker, Wilson, Turnbull (USA)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(0) – none
(3) – Gerlach, Fricker, Mitchell*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Malembe Mpofu (LO), Huw Taylor (FL), Duncan Matthews (FB)
– Joe Apikotoa (TH), Puna Vuli (LO), Cliven Loubser (FH)
| PREDICTION |
Calm and mostly dry conditions are on the forecast. The Seawolves welcome back Charles Elton and Dan Kriel, which will be a significant boost to morale. Along with home turf, they have a significant size and experience advantage. Anthem have fighting spirit but fielding an entirely US-eligible starting XV is a gamble. Seattle are clear favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Isaia Lotawa, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 OJ Noa, 7 Charles Elton, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Toni Pulu, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Mika Kruse, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Divan Rossouw
Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Njabulo Gumede, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Devin Short, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Eddie Fouché, 23 Malacchi Esdale
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Dan Hanson, 2 Connor Robinson, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 5 Sam Golla (capt.), 6 Alby O’Shannessey, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Michael Ma’afu, 9 Karl Keane, 10 Cam Gerlach, 11 Jason Tidwell, 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Erich Storti, 14 Toby Fricker, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Ethan Howard, 17 Jake Turnbull, 18 Stephan Bernal-Wendt, 19 Rhys Mitchell, 20 Colin Turner, 21 Ishy Safodien, 22 Mateo Gadsden, 23 EJ Freeman
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 18:00 local (21:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 54°F (12°C), wind W 5mph (8km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fox 13 Seattle, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Marquise Goodwin (USA)
Assistants: Jacob Gonzales (USA) & Morris Fuller (USA)
TMO: Chris O’Malley (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (1) – Seattle 1, Carolina 0
2024-05-03 – Seattle Seawolves 29, Anthem Carolina 13 (Starfire Stadium)
