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The 11,423 in attendance at Snapdragon Stadium was a significant milestone for Major League Rugby. It was the first game to break the 10,000 mark. The previous record for a competitive match was 7,389 in the 2021 Championship Final between LA and ATL at the Memorial Coliseum.
There was actually one preseason game that got closer to five digits. The very first game played by the Utah Warriors under the Major League Rugby banner was against the Glendale Raptors in March of 2018. It was played at Rio Tinto Stadium with 9,186 there in person, though many tickets were complimentary.
No other official numbers were available from this past weekend but Starfire Stadium, capacity 4,500, was reportedly sold out. Unofficial sources have put DC, ATL, and NOLA in the ballpark of 1,500, while estimates for Dallas vary. By comparison, unofficial figures for the opening weekend of Super Rugby Americas were 4,000 in Santiago, 3,000 in Córdoba, and 700 in São Paulo.
INJURIES
There were some notable injuries over the weekend that could see some players with lengthy spells on the sidelines. The first to fall was Toronto winger Nic Benn, who damaged a shoulder while tackling ATL’s Rewita Biddle just 20 minutes into the game.
Chicago will be sweating on the fitness of Luke Carty. The flyhalf immediately grasped at the inside of his leg after kicking a conversion late in the game against DC, and came off in some discomfort. Seattle flanker Ronan Foley came off with his arm wrapped in a makeshift jersey sling against New York.
Houston lost two players during their game against Dallas. Louritz van der Schyff came off halfway through the first half. His right knee was heavily strapped to start with but it was unclear if that was the reason for his exit. Carlo de Nysschen was helped off with a lower leg problem late in the second half but was able to stand during a post-game interview.
NEW SIGNINGS
Dallas evidently weren’t finished signing players. A full roster list was found in their ‘Jackals Journal’ which revealed that returning center Lui Sitama was still with the team.
Meanwhile they have added 22-year-old loosehead prop Nicolás Revol and 20-year-old hooker Tomás Bekerman, both originally from Argentina. Revol has represented the Argentina XV and played for the Jaguares in SLAR. Bekerman was most recently in France in the Castres Academy.
Revol and Bekerman make it a remarkable 15 Argentine players on the Jackals roster, not including US-eligible Juan Pablo Aguirre. He is originally from Argentina and represented the Pumitas u20 side.
50 CAPS FOR MATYAS
San Diego winger Ryan Matyas became the 25th player in MLR history to earn 50 caps. His total is particularly notable as all have come with one team. The 32-year-old last year announced his retirement from international rugby.
FIRST ROUND DEBUTS
At the other end of the spectrum, a total of 60 players made their MLR debuts over the opening weekend. Old Glory featured the most, with nine in all. By team, the new names are as follows:
DC (9) – Nic Souchon, Collin Grosse, Lautaro Bavaro, Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, Fermín Martínez, Marcos Young, Cali Martinez, Alejo Daireaux, and Gradyn Bowd
TORONTO (8) – Conan O’Donnell, Gene Syminton, Micaiah Torrance-Read, Nic Benn, Tautalatasi Tasi, Ciaran Breen, Fabian Goodall, Shane O’Leary
DALLAS (6) – Sam Golla, Lucas Bur, Jerónimo Gómez Vara, Nazareno Valentini, Tomás Malanos, Kyle Steeves
NEW ENGLAND (6) – Semisi Paea, Sam Fischli, Mitch Jacobson, Jayson Potroz, Taniela Filimone, Reece MacDonald
NOLA (6) – Jarred Adams, Liam Hallam-Eames, Tom Florence, Rodney Iona, Jordan Jackson-Hope, Luke Campbell
ATL (5) – Jack Shaw, Rewita Biddle, Ben Strang, Jordan Brown, Seth Purdey
SAN DIEGO (5) – Blair Cowan, Tupou Afungia, Richard Judd, Shilo Klein, Malakai Latu
UTAH (4) – Connor McLeod, Joel Hodgson, Onehunga Havili, Jeremiah Noaese
CHICAGO (3) – George Thorton, Duke Krishnan, Kevin Morgan
NEW YORK (3) – Hamish Dalzell, Teihorangi Walden, Sam Davies
SEATTLE (3) – Charles Elton, Jordan Chait, Karl Keane
HOUSTON (2) – Rob Cobb, Drew Wild
