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Major League Rugby’s two expansion franchises will collide for the first time on Saturday. Both Carolina and their hosts Miami are in search of their first wins. Anthem were soundly beaten by Dallas last weekend while the Sharks came up short against Houston.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
0-0-3 (L3) East 5th
0-0-3 (L3) East 6th
| LINEUP CHANGES |
5 Stan van den Hoven replaces Michael Etete
7 Dan Pryor replaces Benjamín Bonasso
9 Tomás Inciarte replaces Tomás Cubelli
13 Guiseppe du Toit replaces Tomás Inciarte
20 Benjamín Bonasso replaces Chase Schor-Haskin
21 Nicolás Elewaut replaces Damian Morley
22 Josh McAdam replaces Guiseppe du Toit
23 Matías Freyre replaces Eric Naposki
3 Stephan Bernal-Wendt replaces Mika Felix
5 Braemar Murray replaces James Rivers
6 Shneil Singh replaces Joe Basser
9 Conor McManus replaces Siaosi Nai
18 Ivan Pula replaces Stephan Bernal-Wendt
19 James Rivers replaces Braemar Murray
20 Joe Basser replaces Sione Latu
22 Ulu Niutupuivaha replaces Rino Teoni
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(0) – Nicolás Elewaut*, Josh McAdam*, Matías Freyre
(0) – n/a
* – pro debut
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(10) – Evans (Wales), Piussi, Ardao, Inciarte, Etcheverry (Uruguay), Grigg (Scotland), du Toit, O’Leary (Canada), Videla (Chile), Bonasso (USA)
(1) – Turnbull (USA)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Kirby Myhill (HO), Michael Etete (LO), Tomás Cubelli (SH)
– Joe Apikotoa (TH), Junior Gafa (CE), David Still (WI)
| NOTES |
- Dan Pryor captains Miami for the first time in the absence of regular skipper Tomás Cubelli… Pryor captained San Diego on one occasion last season
- with no Cubelli or Damian Morley in the lineup, Tomás Inciarte will shift from outside center to scrumhalf… Inciarte has played No9 on many occasions for Uruguay… there is no specialist scrumhalf cover on the bench with Nicolás Elewaut normally a winger
- Guiseppe du Toit wears the No13 shirt for the first time in his MLR career… all of his previous starts with the Toronto Arrows were at inside center
- Shneil Singh returns to the Anthem lineup after a week off recovering from a head knock… he had come on as a lock replacement in that game with Braemar Murray on the blindside flank, but the two will effectively switch positions on Saturday
- Conor McManus is the third player to start at scrumhalf for Anthem in just four games.. Chase Suznevich was the No9 in the season opener with Siaosi Nai starting the last two outings
| PREDICTION |
Conditions could be quite damp with rain on the forecast in the hours prior to kickoff. Anthem have had moments of celebration in their first three matches but have had problems with defense. The Sharks have been competitive but have the lowest scoring output in MLR at the moment. Carolina should be targeting bonus points at a minimum, but the more experienced Miami are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Rob Evans, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Reinaldo Piussi, 4 Tomás Casares, 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Roelof Smit, 7 Dan Pryor (capt.), 8 Manuel Ardao, 9 Tomás Inciarte, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Marcos Young, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Guiseppe du Toit, 14 Santiago Videla, 15 Shane O’Leary
Replacements: 16 Alex Glover, 17 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 18 Alec McDonnell, 19 Rick Rose, 20 Benjamin Bonasso, 21 Nicolás Elewaut, 22 Josh McAdam, 23 Matías Freyre
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (capt.), 2 Declan Moore, 3 Stephan Bernal-Wendt, 4 Reagan Leslie, 5 Braemar Murray, 6 Shneil Singh, 7 Albert O’Shannessey, 8 Dylan Fortune, 9 Conor McManus, 10 Oscar Koller, 11 Josh Shetler, 12 Mateo Gadsden, 13 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 14 Tyren Al-Jiboori, 15 Shane Barry
Replacements: 16 Connor Robinson, 17 Dan Hansen, 18 Ivan Pula, 19 James Rivers, 20 Joe Basser, 21 Cael Hodgson, 22 Ulu Niutupuivaha, 23 Siaosi Nai
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 23
Venue: AutoNation Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: risk of thunderstorm, 77°F (25°C), wind SW 6-9mph (10-15km/h)
Broadcasts: Bally Sports Florida, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Lex Weiner (USA) & Tom Ciampa (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (0) – first match
