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The LA Giltinis will return from a week off to face arguably their toughest challenge to date on Saturday afternoon. Awaiting them in New Orleans in a neutral-venue clash is the Toronto Arrows as the two sides accept the curtain-raiser role in the first half of a double-header at The Gold Mine.
LA captured all 10 competition points on offer in their first two games, recording commanding victories over New England and Seattle. Their bye week will have given them an opportunity to rest some bumps and bruises and iron out any early concerns with defense likely to be the focus.
Toronto weren’t afforded any rest but the week of activity has nonetheless been a positive. They rebounded from back-to-back losses to start the season with a dominant win over Old Glory DC. With their confidence back and the rust shaken out this will be no picnic for the California cocktails.
The Arrows welcome the return of two Pumas to the lineup as tighthead prop Gastón Cortes is back from suspension and winger Manuel Montero has recovered from a minor injury. They are the only two changes to the run-on side, with Liam Murray returned to Houston and Tyler Rowland taking the backup tighthead spot on the bench.
On the other side DTH van der Merwe is fit to play for LA though Bill Meakes misses out after fracturing a cheekbone against the Seawolves. Luke Burton comes in at inside center in an otherwise settled backline.
Up front it’s first starts for Blake Rogers at loosehead prop, Corey Thomas at lock, and Harry McNulty on the flank. There is a 6-2 split on the bench with both Pago Haini and Langilangi Haupeakui covering the back row. Luke White is named as a loosehead reserve having started at lock against Seattle. His last MLR game at prop was in 2018.
A week ago this would have been an easy game to handicap but Toronto’s swift return to form has tilted the scales dramatically. It might not be quite enough to lean in their direction, though LA will have to deal with a rush defense, intense pressure at the breakdown, and a formidable scrum with Cortes back to anchor. LA remain favorites but the Arrows are capable of the upset.
Kickoff is set for 12:30pm local time, 1:30pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on TSN 2 in Canada, Bally Sports in Southern California, and The Rugby Network worldwide.
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Cole Keith, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Gastón Cortes, 4 Adrian Wadden, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball (co-capt.), 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Tayler Adams, 11 Manuel Montero, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Ben LeSage (co-capt.), 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Joaquín Tuculet
Replacements: 16 Pat Lynott, 17 Jack McRogers, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Mike Sheppard, 20 Kolby Francis, 21 Jason Higgins, 22 Will Kelly, 23 Patrick Parfrey
LA GILTINIS
1 Blake Rogers, 2 Mahe Vailanu, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Corey Thomas, 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Harry McNulty, 8 Adam Ashe, 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Matt Giteau, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 12 Luke Burton, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Glenn Bryce
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Frikkie de Beer, 18 Luke White, 19 Nathan Den Hoedt, 20 Pago Haini, 21 Cristian Rodriguez, 22 Ryan James, 23 Langilangi Haupeakui
Date: Saturday, April 10
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 12:30 local (10:30 Pacific, 13:30pm Eastern)
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Saade Bou-Mikael (USA)
Broadcasts: Bally Sports SoCal, The Rugby Network, TSN 2
Historical Results
n/a
