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It’s back home to Bold Stadium for the Gilgronis who will take on Western Conference rivals Utah on Saturday evening. Both teams are returning from Las Vegas. The Warriors were all smiles in their win over the Free Jacks, while Austin at least earned a bonus point in their loss to New York.
New signing Jamie Mackintosh jumps straight into the Austin front row, one of three personnel changes to the pack. Tiaan Erasmus gets his first start of the season at hooker, as does Moe Abdelmonem in the No7 shirt. Potu Leavasa moves from flank to lock with no sign of Rikus Zwart.
There is just one change in the backs with Gabe Farley handed his first MLR start. Sione Fangaiuiha drops to the bench where there are three new names – SFGG lock Luca Tani, former Baylor captain Stewart Morris, and one-time All Blacks winger Frank Halai. All three are set for their league bows.
Chris Latham has made three changes to his Warriors lineup, all in the backs. Former USA u20 winger James Vaifale makes his MLR debut in place of Fetu’u Vainikolo, with Tyler Fisher recalled in the midfield at the expense of Blake Hohaia. Canadian international Robbie Povey is given his first start at fullback.
The bench sees two further alterations. Jared Whippy makes his first league appearance in two years having fully recovered from a broken leg suffered just two games into the 2018 season. A new name is Dom Toluono, a hard-hitting center who turned heads in Utah’s preseason training camp.
Having two All Blacks arrive during the week is a psychological boost for Austin, while the return to home base is a welcome one. Depth is still a concern, however, with a number of top players still unavailable and two entirely new forwards on the bench. The Warriors looked to have found their mojo somewhat in Vegas and have a more settled side. Take Utah in a fast an entertaining contest.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local, 5pm Pacific, 6pm Mountain, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available in Utah on KMYU. ESPN+ will air the game nationwide. Those located outside the USA can access the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jamie Mackintosh, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Maikeli Naromaitoga, 5 Potu Leavasa, 6 Dominic Akina, 7 Moe Abdelmonem, 8 Lino Saunitoga, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Zinzan Elan-Puttick (capt.), 11 Rodrick Waters, 12 Gabe Farley, 13 Peni Tagive, 14 Corey Jones, 15 Rodrigo Silva
Replacements: 16 Brendan Rams, 17 Juan Echeverría, 18 LaRome White, 19 Luca Tani, 20 Stewart Morris, 21 Colby Stevens, 22 Sione Fangaiuiha, 23 Frank Halai
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Veremalua Vugakoto, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 John Cullen, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Thomas Tu’avao, 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Dwayne Polataivao (capt.), 10 Hagen Schulte, 11 James Vaifale, 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Gannon Moore, 15 Robbie Povey
Replacements: 16 Ricky Tu’ihalangingie, 17 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 18 Kalolo Tuiloma, 19 Puna Vuli, 20 Saia Uhila, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Jared Whippy, 23 Dom Toluono
Date: Saturday, February 22
Venue: Bold Stadium, Austin
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 18:00 Mountain, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Mike O’Brien (USA)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Butch Neuenschwander (USA)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Facebook, KMYU
