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The second Major League Rugby Semi Final takes place at Starfire Stadium on Sunday evening. Another sold out crowd is expected in Seattle to watch the Seawolves take on the Toronto Arrows. Both finished the regular season with 11 wins, the defending champions narrowly ahead on points thanks to their draw against Utah. There’s little to choose between two sides with the MLR Shield in their sights.
Their two match-ups this season had very different complexions. The first saw the Seawolves come from behind to win at home in mid-February. The second, in late April, was a dominant win for the Arrows in Toronto. Some big names are now back in the Seattle lineup which may tip the scales back in their favor.
International names Samu Manoa, Jeff Hassler, and Jake Ilnicki have since joined up while star flanker Vili Toluta’u is finally fit to resume duty after spending four months on the sidelines. Ilnick and Toluta’u take their place on the bench but there are starts for Manoa and Hassler.
Mat Turner returns after the birth of his first child to start at fullback, so Ben Cima moves back to his favored flyhalf position and JP Smith moves to scrumhalf. Otherwise the starting side is the same that beat Austin last weekend with Phil Mack forced to wait his turn as a replacement.
The Arrows have not messed around with their lineup either. John Moonlight is unavailable so Marcello Wainwright steps up on the flank, with Kolby Francis added to the bench. There is a straight swap at scrumhalf with Andrew Ferguson getting the nod over Jamie Mackenzie.
With the match in Seattle, a close battle similar to the first match seems likely. Toronto arrive as underdogs but not by much. With an MLR record seven consecutive wins behind them, the Arrows will be full of confidence despite the lengthy travel. On paper there are bigger names on the home roster but team cohesion goes to the visitors. The pundits are split on this occasion.
Kickoff is set for 6pm local, 9pm Eastern time. The match will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network, with GameTV also carrying the game nationwide in Canada. Those located outside the USA can access the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Api Naikatini, 5 Brad Tucker, 6 Samu Manoa, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh, 9 JP Smith, 10 Ben Cima, 11 Jeff Hassler, 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 George Barton, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Dan Trierweiler, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Eric Duechle, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Roland Suniula, 23 Vili Toluta’u
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Morgan Mitchell, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Marcello Wainwright, 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Leandro Leivas, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Dan Moor (capt.), 15 Gastón Mieres
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Tom van Horne, 20 Kolby Francis, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Patrick Parfrey, 23 Kainoa Lloyd
Date: Sunday, June 9
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Seattle
Kickoff: 18:00 local (21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Scott Green (USAR)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (USAR) & Derek Summers (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook, GameTV
