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Major League Rugby’s hottest team will put their winning streak on the line against the Warriors on Saturday night. RFC Los Angeles scored an impressive upset win over the SaberCats last weekend to stretch their run to four games. Meanwhile Utah return from a bye week, having dropped their most recent outing to the Free Jacks in Herriman.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
4-3-0 (W4) West 3rd
4-2-0 (L1) West 4th
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 3 | Franco van den Berg | Maliu Niuafe |
| 6 | Tim Anstee | Lucas Bur |
| 10 | Christian Leali’ifano | Sean Nolan |
| 15 | Reece MacDonald | Will Leonard |
|
IN | OUT |
| 7 | Kalisi Moli | Matt Jensen |
| 12 | D’Angelo Leuila | Spencer Jones |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(5) – Damm (USA), Bertranou (Argentina), Leali’ifano (Samoa), Coe, Heaton (Canada)
(9) – Seiuli, Leuila (Samoa), Coltman (New Zealand), Mano, MacLellan, Jensen, Wilson, Lasike (USA), Benn (Canada)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Mapa*
(1) – Semu*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Mike Sosene-Feagai (HO), Conor Young (TH), Christian Dyer (WI)
– Logan Crowley (SH), Spencer Jones (CE)
| PREDICTION |
LA will field a couple familiar faces to Utah fans in Franco van den Berg and Jurie van Vuuren. Its their backline that are the biggest threat on attack, and this week they feature the return of flyhalf Christian Leali’ifano and a first start for Reece MacDonald at fullback. The Warriors haven’t tinkered much with their usual lineup but may miss the playmaking ability of Spencer Jones at center, and will need to find a way through a punishing midfield defense. Los Angeles are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Declan Leaney, 2 Ben Sugars, 3 Franco van den Berg, 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Tim Anstee, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 11 Andrew Coe, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Matias Jensen, 14 Rory van Vugt, 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 Ben Strang, 17 Alessandro Heaney, 18 Maliu Niuafe, 19 Mikaea Wynyard, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Robert Mapa, 23 Will Leonard
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Aki Seiuli, 2 Liam Coltman, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Gavin Thornbury (capt.), 6 Tamarau McGahan, 7 Kalisi Moli, 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Zion Going, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Joe Mano, 12 D’Angelo Leuila, 13 Kyle Brown, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Phil Bradford, 17 Fred Apulu, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Matt Jensen, 20 Bailey Wilson, 21 Sam Reimer, 22 Paul Lasike, 23 Cole Semu
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 12
Venue: Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles
Kickoff: 19:00 local (20:00 Mountain, 22:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: clear, 68°F (20°C), wind SW 6-9mph (10-14km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, FanDuel SoCal, KJZZ, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Austin Reed (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (6) – ATL/LA 4, Utah 2
2024-06-28 – Utah Warriors 24, RFC Los Angeles 31 (America First Field)
2024-03-24 – RFC Los Angeles 36, Utah Warriors 32 (Dignity Health Track Field)
2023-05-27 – Utah Warriors 28, Rugby ATL 12 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2022-05-07 – Utah Warriors 44, Rugby ATL 26 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2021-07-10 – Utah Warriors 31, Rugby ATL 41 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2020-02-09 – Rugby ATL 28, Utah Warriors 19 (Lupo Family Field)
