MLR 2022 – ARN Team of the Week – Round 4

The fourth week of the Major League Rugby season provided clear evidence of separation between several teams. Austin came through their Seattle test with flying colors, the Arrows enjoyed their best showing of the season, San Diego pulled away from Houston, and LA had to fight hard to hold off the Free Jacks. A number of individuals stood out these week and made some selections difficult.

1 – Djustice Sears-Duru (LA Giltinis) The Canadian international looks to be in top shape in his first season with the Giltinis. On Saturday he won the scrum battle against his opposite and also contributed several strong carries into heavy traffic.

2 – Wilton Rebolo (Rugby New York) There are few hookers in world rugby who can influence a scrum like the Brazilian, and to be fair his main position is tighthead prop. Rebolo put in a shift, went off, had to come back, and promptly scored a try doing his best Chris Ashton impression. Toronto’s Andrew Quattrin had another strong game.

3 – Kalolo Tuiloma (Rugby New York) Quite simply a man-mountain. The only thing the Jackals scrum could do to avoid a penalty was go straight backwards. Tuiloma also barged over for a pair of tries in his first appearance of the season.

4 – Mike Sheppard (Toronto Arrows) ‘Shep’ is back to his furious best after a frustrating campaign in 2021. The Arrows skipper nullified Old Glory’s maul tactics and used his reach to score a second half try. Ben Mitchell was prominent once again for San Diego.

5 – Nathan Den Hoedt (LA Giltinis) The big moose was a prime piano mover for the Giltinis and was rewarded with a try for his efforts. In fact it was the game-winning score against a challenging Free Jacks side. Seattle’s Rhyno Herbst was also in consideration.

6 – Angus Cottrell (LA Giltinis) While the defending champions haven’t yet hit the form we saw last season, Cottrell has picked up where he left off as the leading man in LA’s pack. Against New England he was again a tireless support player and prominent in defense. Cottrell’s link play created a try for Ben LeSage. Not far behind was Toronto’s Kyle Baillie.

7 – Michael Smith (San Diego Legion) With Dan Pryor out injured it’s the young Canadian international who has been manning the flank for the Legion. If Smith continues in the vein of his outstanding performance against Houston, there may be some interesting selection decisions ahead. He most notably had a direct role in two scoring attacks in the decisive second half.

8 – Terrell Peita (New England Free Jacks) There is a compelling argument to name New York’s Pago Haini here for his incisive ball carrying against Dallas. Peita provided the scoring pass for Paula Balekana to score, but it was his defensive contributions that were most impactful for the Free Jacks and gave them the best opportunity to win against LA.

9 – Ryan Louwrens (Austin Gilgronis) Another close call here with Ross Braude certainly a worthy nominee from the Arrows. Louwrens has been in the top three every week and it’s time to give him the nod. In tricky conditions the AG’s had to take a more tactical approach than we have seen, and Louwrens directed the attack superbly in the win over the Seawolves.

10 – Will Hooley (San Diego Legion) Returned from injury and gave his best performance in a Legion shirt to date. Hooley controlled field position and kept the SaberCats defense guessing and three of his kicks in behind the line resulted in tries. His opposite David Coetzer was one of Houston’s best, while Mack Mason played a similar role for Austin.

11 – Jax Hidalgo (Houston SaberCats) Rewarded with a start after his impressive replacement appearance against Dallas. Hidalgo moved around the pitch looking for work, scoring one try and setting up a Coetzer penalty on another line break.

12 – Billy Meakes (LA Giltinis) Tavite Lopeti again impressed for Seattle and Toronto’s Spencer Jones was also a strong candidate. Where Cottrell has been the central figure for LA up front, Meakes has been a commanding presence in the backs. Constantly offered himself as a ball carrying option and his execution of a set move let to a try for Ben LeSage.

13 – Thomas Morani (San Diego Legion) Playing against his former team, it was Morani’s offload from the deck that sent Ben Grant over the line for the first try. He scored the second himself, showing a clean pair of heels to the defense on a 60-meter sprint. Bryce Campbell switched to outside center at halftime for Austin and carried strongly throughout.

14 – Matthew Hood (Toronto Arrows) The Arrows backline hasn’t delivered to the same extent as their forwards this season, but they’re making progress. A big part of that has been the injection of Hood on the right wing. Against Old Glory he made ground with every carry, including one line break that resulted in a try for Lucas Rumball.

15 – Gastón Mieres (Toronto Arrows) Every time Old Glory kicked ahead, Mieres was there waiting. DC’s attempt to play field position was nullified and the Arrows always seemed to be on the front foot. Entered the line as an extra attacker early on to create Hood’s break for the Rumball try.