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The third of three Major League Rugby games this weekend will take place at Archbishop Shaw Field on Saturday where the New Orleans Gold host the San Diego Legion. With only three weeks left of the regular season it’s a game that will have significant playoff implications.
Both sides are currently on the outside looking in. San Diego have three games left so it’s not quite last chance saloon. For New Orleans, however, it’s win or hit the golf course. A loss at home would all but seal their fate of an early off-season.
Home field advantage wasn’t worth much last week as the Gold were clobbered by the Glendale Raptors. The good news is that the June test window hasn’t deprived them of any further players beyond first choice hooker Eric Howard. In fact their starting lineup shows only two changes.
Head coach Nate Osborne has opted to return the big ball-carrying presence of Moni Tonga’uiha to his preferred midfield spot having been used largely as a flanker in the regular season. Tim Maupin slides out to the wing in place of Joey Sok to make room. Brennan Falcon gets his first MLR start in a mobile back row trio headlined by Matt Hughston.
On the bench there are three more alterations. Amro Gouda is fit again to take the reserve hooker role, and Todd Dupre is nominated as loose forward cover. Bobby Johns is back in the side as a reserve three quarter after missing out on the Glendale match.
The Legion, on the other hand, look a very different side from the one that took the field against Austin two weeks ago. Only six players in the starting side return and there are seven players set to make their first MLR appearance, two straight out of the gates.
Among the numerous absentees are captain Nate Augspurger, Cam Dolan, and Dylan Audsley who are on Eagles duty. Curiously both Siaosi Mahoni and Ben Cima are also missing despite being released by the Eagles to play in the match. Ryan Matyas is instead the only current Eagles squad member in the side.
Starting at prop for the first time are Faka’osi Pifeleti and Nathan Sylvia, while former San Francisco Rush lock Nick Grass makes his MLR debut beside Chris Turori in a makeshift second row pairing. Derrick Broussard and Drew Gaffney are drafted into the back row.
Nick Boyer and Tadhg Leader are named in the halfbacks, with the latter assuming the captaincy, and Matyas moves into the midfield to fill in for the injured JP du Plessis. Nick Evans fills the vacant left wing spot and there is a high quality addition of Oxford Blues captain Conor Kearns at fullback, also making his first MLR appearance.
Five newcomers are on the bench. Former Connacht hooker Pat O’Toole joins the side, and second row Sam Peri joins from SFGG. Collegiate All-American flanker Alec Barton is one of six forwards on the bench. The two back reserves are San Diego State speedster Nick Lupian and Arizona captain Kyle Rogers, a fullback who also boasts 1st Team All-American Sevens honors.
With so many changes it’s hard to say what to expect from San Diego. Despite the laundry list of missing bodies they still boast an impressive backline but it’s in the forwards where things get a bit scattered. The Gold should have the edge in the scrum and have selected a very mobile pack if a bit lightweight.
New Orleans have not made the most of home field advantage and San Diego should be able to cope with the humidity. Experience tips towards the Gold but the Legion have talent. This one will come down to desire. Will NOLA be desperate enough to get the win that they need? Their guests will most certainly be in a spoiling mood.
Kickoff is set for 4pm local time, 2pm Pacific, 5pm Eastern. Viewers in the USA or Canada can watch on CBS Sports Network. All international viewers can watch on the official MLR Facebook page.
NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Cam Falcon, 3 Ben Tarr, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 John Sullivan, 6 Brennan Falcon, 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Chad Joseph, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 JP Eloff, 11 Joeli Tikoisuva, 12 Taylor Howden (capt.), 13 Moni Tonga’uiha, 14 Tim Maupin, 15 Cameron Troxler
Replacements: 16 Amro Gouda, 17 Derrek van Klein, 18 Anthony Parry, 19 Myles McQuone, 20 Todd Dupre, 21 Vita Makasini, 22 Peceli Rinakama, 23 Bobby Johns
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Pat Blair, 3 Nathan Sylvia, 4 Nick Grass, 5 Chris Turori, 6 Devin Short, 7 Derrick Broussard, 8 Drew Gaffney, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Tadhg Leader (capt.), 11 Nick Evans, 12 Anthony Salaber, 13 Ryan Matyas, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 15 Conor Kearns
Replacements: 16 Pat O’Toole, 17 Sione Tu’ihalamaka, 18 Aaron Mitchell, 19 Gil Covey, 20 Sam Peri, 21 Alec Barton, 22 Nick Lupian, 23 Kyle Rogers
Date: Saturday, June 9
Venue: Archbishop Shaw Field, New Orleans
Kickoff: 16:00 local (14:00 Pacific, 17:00 Eastern)
Referee: Paul-Henri Courbier (USAR)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (ARU) & Haylee Slaughter (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook
