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The third edition of the ‘Cocktail Classic’ takes place in Texas on Saturday evening. Bold Stadium provides the backdrop as the Austin Gilgronis host the LA Giltinis with Western Conference superiority very much on the line. By extension the winner might also claim to be the best team in Major League Rugby, such as the competition has shaken out thus far.
While the two sides share a beveragial bond thanks to owner Adam Gilchrist, the pleasantries stop there. Both meetings during last season were fiercely contested though the eventual champion Giltinis emerged convincing winners in both Austin and Los Angeles.
LA do not have the same invincible aura around them this season, however. Matt Giteau remains sidelined with injury and the team showed vulnerability against both Toronto and New England, having already lost to Houston in the season opener. Stephen Hoiles will be asking his charges to step up though injuries have deprived him of critical depth.
Luke White will wear the No1 shirt in MLR competition for the first time since June of 2018. The former Colorado Raptors captain made a full-time switch to lock in 2019 but has returned to his front row roots as a replacement in recent weeks. Marco Fepulea’i will look to anchor the scrum on the tighthead side with Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin dropping to the bench and Djustice Sears-Duru given a week off.
The only other change up front sees Christian Poidevin swapping in for Hanco Germishuys at openside flanker. A new name on the bench is Zach Bonte, a former USA u20 flanker who has been called into the squad to fill in for injured Adam Ashe. Bonte isn’t the only call-up, with 18-year-old utility back Kahanu Koi on the verge of becoming the youngest player in the league’s history.
A broken hand suffered by outside center Ben LeSage adds to LA’s backline woes with Luke Carty, DTH van der Merwe, and Tom Mitchell among others unavailable. Will Chambers fills the No13 shirt this week with Ryan James starting on the wing.
The AG’s meanwhile own the best record in MLR with a perfect four wins from four. Sam Harris has his team firing on all cylinders and will field an impressive match day squad with expectations of achieving a fifth straight victory for the first time in franchise history.
Jake Turnbull and Namatahi Waa are restored to the front row, with the latter set to test White’s comfort levels in the scrum. Locky McCaffrey returns to the No8 shirt for the first time this season with Michael de Waal switching to openside flanker and Luke Beauchamp settling for a spot on the bench.
There are three alterations in the backline. Mack Mason is a notable absentee at flyhalf though USA international Will Magie is a more than capable replacement. Conner Mooneyham returns on the right wing in place of Zinzan Elan-Puttick, and Marcel Brache has shaken off injury to start at fullback with ultra-versatile Chris Mattina dropping to the bench.
Though billed as a clash of the titans, Austin appear poised to step out of LA’s shadow as the team to beat in MLR. Injuries have hamstrung the Giltinis and they have yet to produce an 80-minute performance worthy of their exploits a year ago. Take the Gilgronis to take bragging rights and put a stamp on their claim as favorites to lift the Shield in July.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on Bally Sports West in California and KBVO in Texas, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Hugh Roach, 3 Namatahi Waa, 4 Cam Dodson, 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Michael de Waal, 8 Locky McCaffrey, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 10 Will Magie, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Mark O’Keeffe, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Marcel Brache
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Christian Ostberg, 20 Luke Beauchamp, 21 Sidney Shoop, 22 Chris Mattina, 23 Dom Akina
LA GILTINIS
1 Luke White, 2 Andrew Tuala, 3 Marco Fepulea’i, 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Corey Thomas, 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Luke Burton, 11 John Ryberg, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Will Chambers, 14 Ryan James, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Charlie Abel, 18 Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19 Zach Bonte, 20 Hanco Germishuys, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Kahanu Koi, 23 Christian Rodriguez
Date: Saturday, March 5
Venue: Bold Stadium, Austin
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Joey Swatzell (USA)
TMO: Jack Gohl (Australia)
Broadcasts: Bally Sports West, KBVO, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-07-10 – LA Giltinis 31, Austin Gilgronis 17 (Memorial Coliseum)
2021-05-19 – Austin Gilgronis 3, LA Giltinis 17 (Bold Stadium)
