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The final week of the 2023 regular season begins with a clash between Major League Rugby’s newest teams. When they met in march it was a slender victory for the Chicago Hounds, but the Dallas Jackals will be keen to flip the switch at home on Saturday.
Chicago are coming off their greatest performance to date, the upset over the Warriors in Utah last weekend. They now sport an even record with Dallas but are behind in the Western Conference standings by a single bonus point. Sam Harris has made just three changes to the starting side, two enforced.
Hugh Roach and Matai Leuta are ruled out so it’s Lindsey Stevens who gets the call at hooker with Michael Baska starting on the right wing. The only tactical change sees match-winner Chris Mattina restored at fullback with JP Eloff dropping to the bench.
Charlie Abel is asked to provide emergency cover for Stevens while George Thornton, Mika Felix, and Cam Dodson all join the reserves list. It’s a conventional 5/3 split with Nick Taylor set to make his second appearance of the season and Caleb Strum back in the match day squad for the first time since mid-April.
Dallas looked exhausted in a lackluster defeat to NOLA at home last Saturday. Agustín Cavalieri is nonetheless banking on his men to rebound in their season finale. It’s an identical match day 23 this week with again no specialist cover for scrumhalf Danny Christensen.
It will be another hot and humid evening in Arlington. Bragging rights are on the line but the loser also risks ending up with the Wooden Spoon, reserved for the team that finishes last overall. Based on last weekend’s showings the Jackals will need something special to avoid defeat, with the Hounds showing far more spring in their step. Take the visitors to finish their inaugural campaign on a high.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 6pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific. Local broadcasts will be available on KTXA in Dallas and Marquee Sports in Chicago, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 LaRome White, 2 Lindsey Stevens, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 John Cullen, 5 Duke Krishnan, 6 Mike Matarazzo, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Tinashe Muchena, 9 Sidney Shoop, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 14 Michael Baska, 15 Chris Mattina
Replacements: 16 Charlie Abel, 17 George Thornton, 18 Mika Felix, 19 Cam Dodson, 20 Michael de Waal, 21 Nick Taylor, 22 Caleb Strum, 23 JP Eloff
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray, 2 Tomás Baravalle, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Sam Golla, 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 7 Conrado Roura, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Danny Christensen, 10 Alejandro Torres, 11 Lui Sitama, 12 Tomás Cubilla, 13 Tomás Malanos, 14 Campbell Johnstone, 15 Marcos Moroni
Replacements: 16 Alex Tucci, 17 Dewald Kotze, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Maikeli Naromaitoga, 20 Cameron Nelson, 21 James Vaifale, 22 Juan Pablo Aguirre, 23 Jason Tidwell
Date: Saturday, June 17
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington
Kickoff: 17:00 local (15:00 Pacific, 18:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: KTXA, Marquee Sports, The Rugby Network
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Justin Hale (USA) & Andrew Low (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2023-03-18 – Chicago Hounds 24, Dallas Jackals 22 (SeatGeek Stadium)
