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NOLA Gold will renew their southern rivalry with Rugby ATL at The Gold Mine on Saturday evening. It’s the fifth time the two sides have met in the regular season and to date it’s been a clean sweep for the Ratlers, including a 14-9 victory in February at the same venue. They’ll meet again in Atlanta on June 3.
The first half of the season has been underwhelming for Kane Thompson’s crew. Critically they have lost all four home games to date and currently sit 12 points back of the third and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It might seem early but this is now must-win territory for the Gold.
Carl Meyer is again absent due to injury though JP Eloff’s outstanding performance against New England tempered that blow somewhat. The backline is unchanged this week but Aaron Matthews is included among the replacements that show a conventional 5-3 split.
Pat O’Toole and Devin Short return to boost the pack, with Eric Howard making way at hooker and Malcolm May moving to the second row. Brian Nault is also fit to take up a spot among the reserves though Dino Waldren retains his starting spot at tighthead prop.
It’s a very different story for the Ratlers, who are in second spot and looking set to make a run at the top of the Eastern Conference table. The win over the Arrows wasn’t entirely convincing, however, and Stephen Brett has opted for sweeping changes to the pack.
Will Burke and Marko Janse van Rensburg are back in the front row. Also returning are the first choice lock pairing of Johan Momsen and Justin Basson. Matt Heaton has recovered from concussion to start on the flank with Daemon Torres checking in at No8.
There is a greater stability in the backs though Duncan van Schalkwyk replaces Kurt Coleman at flyhalf. Joaquín de la Vega Mendía is back after a four-game absence to start at fullback which bumps Austin White to the wing and Lui Sitama to the bench.
The Gold have their backs to the wall and they don’t seem to have many advantages beyond home turf. Even that can hardly be counted for them given the head-to-head record. ATL have a stronger set piece, superior kicking game with no Meyer to contend with, and are way ahead on form and confidence. Take the Ratlers as clear favorites.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on YurView in New Orleans, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
NOLA GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Malcolm May, 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Devin Short, 8 Cam Dolan (capt.), 9 Damian Stevens, 10 Robbie Coleman, 11 Ross Depperschmidt, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 JP Eloff
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Kavika Peniata, 18 Brian Nault, 19 William Waguespack, 20 Maciu Koroi, 21 Devereaux Ferris, 22 Aaron Matthews, 23 Nick Feakes
RUGBY ATL
1 Will Burke, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 4 Justin Basson, 5 Johan Momsen, 6 Connor Cook, 7 Matt Heaton (co-capt.), 8 Daemon Torres, 9 Ryan Rees, 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 11 Austin White, 12 Will Leonard, 13 Ryan Nell (co-capt.), 14 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 15 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía
Replacements: 16 Alex Maughan, 17 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 18 John Sullivan, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Ross Deacon, 21 Rowan Gouws, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Lui Sitama
Date: Saturday, April 9
Venue: The Gold Mine, New Orleans
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: George Selwood (England)
Assistants: De Wet Roos (USA) & Saade Bou-Mikael (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network, YurView
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-02-12 – NOLA Gold 9, Rugby ATL 14 (The Gold Mine)
2021-06-05 – NOLA Gold 7, Rugby ATL 8 (The Gold Mine)
2021-04-24 – Rugby ATL 38, NOLA Gold 28 (Lupo Family Field)
2020-02-16 – NOLA Gold 10, Rugby ATL 22 (The Gold Mine)
