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The Utah Warriors will start their 2019 Major League Rugby campaign at Dell Diamond on Friday night. Their week off will have given them time to work out some of the kinks experienced in the preseason and also some insight into the new-look Austin Elite who have radically altered their roster from last season.
Almost half the starting lineup are new to the Warriors this season, two of them in the front row. Former South Africa u20 starter Franco van den Berg is named at loosehead prop with hooker Logan Daniels arriving from New Zealand. Former Eagles lock John Cullen missed much of last season with injury. He is named vice-captain and packs down at his collegiate position of No8.
In the backs only the wingers are familiar to Utah fans. Ian Luciano partners player-coach James Semple in the halfbacks, with new captain Tim O’Malley at inside center and former Seawolves winger Jeremy Misailegalu a surprise choice at outside center. Semple and O’Malley both come from New Zealand with Mitre 10 Cup experience. Tongan fullback Sione Ika has represented Tonga ‘A’ for the past three years. He fills in for sidelined incumbent Don Pati, with the Whippy brothers – Josh and Jared – also still working their way back from long-term injuries.
USA Selects hooker Alex Vorster settles for a spot on the bench as does former Eagles prop Huluholo Mo’ungaloa. The latter started for the USA in the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship but skipped the inaugural MLR season. The most recent addition to the team is Fiji Warriors lock Maikeli Naromaitoga who will make his debut as a replacement.
Austin have made five changes to the starting side that came up one point short against the Houston SaberCats on Saturday, with three positional switches. The Elite have been weakened by the loss of three starters to ARC call-ups. Tighthead prop Juan Echeverría and inside center Andrés Vilaseca will play for Uruguay this weekend, with second row Josh Larsen on the opposite side of the pitch for Canada.
Mason Pedersen jumps into the run-on side to replace Echeverria with Chris Schade sliding over to where he finished against Houston on the loosehead side. South African import Tiaan Erasmus gets his first run at hooker. Rikus Zwart moves from the flank to the second row, and former Davenport standout Dom Bailey makes his debut at openside flanker.
There is a change at scrumhalf where Chile’s Marcelo Torrealba is given the nod over Mickaël Romera. Sione Fangaiuiha moves from outside to inside center and vice-captain Zinzan Elan-Puttick fills the void, shifting to the midfield from fullback. The new man at the back is former Clermont Auvergne academy speedster Soheyl Jaoudat.
Three ‘new’ names pop up on the bench. Dylan Pieterse has finally received clearance to play and the Currie Cup lock is certain to make an appearance as a substitute. A pair of 36-year-olds have been asked to fill vacancies this week with other recruits still waiting for visas. Austin Huns flanker Craig Welborn joins last year’s captain Andrew Suniula in the reserves, the latter recently making the transition from player to team manager and skills coach.
A full strength Austin side playing at home would likely be favorites in this match-up, but the loss of three key players from even last week’s lineup – already somewhat shorthanded – is bad news for the Elite. Utah have the feel of a rushed project given the extremely late confirmation of their roster but the professional experience of van den Berg, Semple, and O’Malley in particular are a big boost to their chances of adapting quickly.
Up front the Warriors have established standouts in Eagles pair Angus MacLellan and Matt Jensen, while Lance Williams caught the eye last season as an all-action loose forward. There is no shortage of firepower with last year’s leading try-scorer Tonata Lauti and Tongan international Fetu’u Vainikolo on the wings, and Utah’s bench looks capable of making an impact. All things considered the Warriors look in decent shape to start off the season with a win.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available in the USA on ESPN+ and the Austin Elite website, while those in Canada or elsewhere around the world can watch on the official MLR Facebook page.
AUSTIN ELITE
1 Chris Schade, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Ben Mitchell (capt.), 5 Rikus Zwart, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Dom Bailey, 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Alex Faison-Donahoe, 12 Sione Fangaiuiha, 13 Zinzan Elan-Puttick, 14 Peni Tagive, 15 Soheyl Jaoudat
Replacements: 16 Brendan Rams, 17 LaRome White, 18 Dylan Pieterse, 19 Craig Welborn, 20 Mickaël Romera, 21 Reece Czarnecki, 22 Andrew Suniula, 23 Simon Courcoul
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Logan Daniels, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Saia Uhila, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ara Elkington, 8 John Cullen, 9 Ian Luciano, 10 James Semple, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 12 Tim O’Malley (capt.), 13 Jeremy Misailegalu, 14 Tonata Lauti, 15 Sione Ika
Replacements: 16 Alex Vorster, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 19 Maikeli Naromaitoga, 20 Kenny Scott, 21 Joseph Nicholls, 22 Iniki Fa’amausili, 23 Josh Anderson
Date: Friday, February 1
Venue: Dell Diamond, Round Rock
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Pali Deluca (UAR)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Lex Weiner (USAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, Live Stream
