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An intriguing Western Conference clash takes place at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday. The slumping San Diego Legion will look to turn their fortunes around against the surging Dallas Jackals, with ex-Wallabies star Matt Giteau set to make his first appearance in San Diego colors.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
5-3-0 (L2) West 3rd
4-4-0 (W2) West 4th
| LINEUP CHANGES |
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio replaces Faka’osi Pifeleti (injury)
3 Luke Green rotates with 18 Darcy Breen
7 Tupou Afungia replaces Finn Kearns
8 Tevita Tameilau replaces Isaac Ross (No4 vs Houston)
10 Lincoln McClutchie replaces Josh Henderson
11 Ryan James replaces James Vaifale
12 Ma’a Nonu replaces Ethan Grayson
15 Alex Horan replaces Mikey Te’o
16 Chris Mickelson replaces Lolenisi Veimau
17 Djustice Sears-Duru replaces Payton Telea-Ilalio
22 Matt Giteau replaces Harris Rutherford
23 Mikey Te’o replaces Tupou Afungia
4 Daemon Torres replaces Ronan Foley (No6 vs Miami)
8 Ben Fry replaces Sam Tuifua
9 Pedro Imhoff replaces Juan-Dee Oliver
12 Tomas Cubilla replaces Nic Benn (No14 vs Miami)
15 Vaughen Isaacs replaces Connor Winchester
17 Jonah Auva’a replaces Tomas Bekerman (suspension)
20 Cameron Nelson replaces Daemon Torres
23 Nic Benn replaces Joeli Tikoisuva
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(10) – Peterson, Helu, Tameilau, James, Brache, Boyer, Te’o (USA), Nonu (New Zealand), Sears-Duru (Canada), Giteau (Australia)
(4) – Zeiss, Imhoff (Argentina), Richardson, Steeves (Canada)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Matt Giteau
(1) – Jonah Auva’a*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Faka’osi Pifeleti (LH), Hugh Roach (HO), Isaac Ross (LO), Christian Poidevin (FL), Blair Cowan (FL)
– Liam Murray (LH), Sam Golla (LO)
| NOTES |
- Matt Giteau will make his San Diego debut as a replacement… he suited up during the preseason but then returned to Australia for several weeks… the Wallabies centurion is now 41 years old and hasn’t played a competitive match since the 2021 MLR Championship Final when he guided LA to victory over ATL
- Ma’a Nonu returns to San Diego’s midfield… should he still be on the pitch when Giteau takes the field, it would mark the first time the duo have played together since June 2017 when they were at Toulon
- Luke Green is back in the No3 shirt for the Legion… the former England u20 representative will leave the club at the conclusion of the season after signing for Premiership club Northampton Saints
- Djustice Sears-Duru makes his first appearance of the year after recovering from injury suffered while playing with Canada during the off-season… the loosehead prop makes a timely return after USA international Faka’osi Pifeleti came off injured against Houston
- Dallas are again without captain Sam Golla… he recently went under the knife to fix an ankle problem and is expected to be out for another month… Daemon Torres fills in at lock
- Pedro Imhoff returns from injury and makes his first Jackals appearance since Week 1… he is joined by fellow Argentine Tomás Cubilla, who is set to play for the first time since last season… Cubilla was injured playing club rugby in his home country during the off-season
- former Junior All-American front rower Jonah Auva’a is set to make his MLR debut as a replacement for the Jackals… the 23-year-old covers hooker and steps in for the suspended Tomás Bekerman who will miss three games after being sent off against Miami
| PREDICTION |
Danny Lee has rung the changes after last week’s historic defeat to Houston, and he will be hoping the presence of Giteau will give his Legion a much-needed lift. Dallas meanwhile are trending in the opposite direction with back-to-back wins and are brimming with confidence, though the absence of Golla is significant. The last game between these two was close and Dallas are capable of getting a first-ever win over the Legion, but for the time being San Diego are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Cyrille Cama, 3 Luke Green, 4 Jay Tuivaiti, 5 Greg Peterson, 6 Vili Helu, 7 Tupou Afungia, 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Connor Tupai, 10 Lincoln McClutchie, 11 Ryan James, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 13 Marcel Brache (capt.), 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Alex Horan
Replacements: 16 Chris Mickelson, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Darcy Breen, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Aminae Amiatu-Tanoi, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Matt Giteau, 23 Mikey Te’o
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Joaquín Horcada, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Daemon Torres, 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Ben Fry, 9 Pedro Imhoff, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Jason Tidwell, 12 Tomás Cubilla, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Tomás Malanos, 15 Vaughen Isaacs
Replacements: 16 Connor Grindal, 17 Jonah Auva’a, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Ronnie McElligott, 20 Cameron Nelson, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Marques Fuala’au, 23 Nic Benn
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 5
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 15:00 local (17:00 Central, 18:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 61°F (16°C), wind W 15-23mph (24-37km/h)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Scott Green (USA) & Alexis Alfaro (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5) – San Diego 5, Dallas 0
2024-03-10 – Dallas Jackals 23, San Diego Legion 30 (Choctaw Stadium)
2023-04-22 – Dallas Jackals 38, San Diego Legion 47 (Choctaw Stadium)
2023-03-11 – San Diego Legion 22, Dallas Jackals 0 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2022-04-30 – Dallas Jackals 14, San Diego Legion 53 (Choctaw Stadium)
2022-02-12 – San Diego Legion 37, Dallas Jackals 29 (SDSU Sports Deck)
