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Major League Rugby’s second run in Los Angeles starts on Sunday when RFC LA takes their first steps against the Dallas Jackals in Carson. The new team is not a rebirth of the former champion Giltinis, but rather a re-location of former title contenders Rugby ATL. It’s a unique kickoff given that the World Sevens Series event will be taking place at the same venue immediately prior to the match.
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(14) – Zander, van Vuuren, Katjijeko, Amiras, Hollinshead, Emery, Stokes, Coe, Kauika-Petersen, Young, Kunatani, Yun, Smith, Walsh
(10) – Fuala’au, Foley, Benn, Covella, Richardson, Bekerman, Torres, McElligott, Gallagher, Tikoisuva
* – ex-ATL players considered returnees for LA
| MLR DEBUTS |
(8) – Zander, Katjijeko, Amiras, Stokes, Kauika-Petersen, Kunatani, Yun*, Walsh*
(5) – Fuala’au*, Covella*, Bekerman*, McElligott*, Gallagher*
* – pro debut
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(7) – Maughan, Damm (USA), Katjijeko (Namibia), Heaton, Coe, Young (Canada), Kunatani (Fiji)
(6) – Zeiss, Imhoff (Argentina), Golla (USA), Richardson, Murray, Steeves (Canada)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Theo Vukasinovic (LO), Will Leonard (CE)
– Ben Fry (FL), Tomás Cubilla (CE)
| NOTES |
- both teams retain their Head Coaches… Agustín Cavalieri is back for a second year with Dallas with former NOLA and DC Head Coach Nate Osborne as his new right-hand man… LA’s Steve Brett made the move across from ATL, where he had been with the franchise since 2021 and Head Coach since 2022
- LA features nine players who were previously with ATL, including Rory van Vugt who played for the ‘Ratlers’ in 2020 and 2021 before a stint with the Highlanders of Super Rugby in 2022
- replacement scrumhalf Tas Smith holds the unique distinction of being the only man on the current LA roster to have suited up for the Giltinis
- Belmont Shore flanker Bruce Yun is a late addition to the LA squad just ahead of his 28th birthday… he was a High School All-American and played collegiate rugby for Cal State Long Beach
- Dallas features ex-ATL back row Daemon Torres on their bench, where he is also asked to cover second row… center Mitch Richardson spent a season camped in Atlanta with the Arrows in 2021
- Nic Benn makes just his second MLR appearance despite spending all of last year in Toronto… he injured his shoulder making a tackle early in his debut against ATL and missed the rest of the season
| PREDICTION |
LA will be fired up for their first run-out as a reformed collective, and the club enjoyed a promising preseason runout against Utah. Dallas meanwhile enter the season with rare momentum, having won both of their warm-up matches. With many familiar faces up front in particular they should fancy their chances in the tight phases. This is a challenging match to predict between what appear to be two evenly-matched sides. LA are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Dane Zander, 2 Ben Strang, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Jurie van Vuuren, 5 Max Katjijeko, 6 Michael Amiras, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Jason Damm, 9 Niall Saunders (capt.), 10 Dan Hollinshead, 11 Jack Shaw, 12 Jason Emery, 13 James Stokes, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Rory van Vugt
Replacements: 16 Bruce Kauika-Petersen, 17 Lincoln Si’i, 18 Conor Young, 19 Semi Kunatani, 20 Bruce Yun, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Sam Walsh, 23 Austin White
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Nicolás Revol, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (co-capt.), 7 Marques Fuala’au, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Pedro Imhoff, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Manuel Covella, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Tomás Malanos, 15 Nazareno Valentini
Replacements: 16 Liam Murray, 17 Tomás Bekerman, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Daemon Torres, 20 Cam Nelson, 21 Ronnie McElligott, 22 Brock Gallagher, 23 Joeli Tikoisuva
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, March 3
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson
Kickoff: 19:45 local (22:45 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: clear, 57°F (14°C), wind W 12-19mph (20-30km/h)
Broadcasts: Bally Sports West, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Will Nelson (USA)
TMO: Saro Turner (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (1) – Dallas 1, ATL 0
2023-05-20 – Rugby ATL 19, Dallas Jackals 27 (Silverbacks Park)
