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The two respective conference leaders will go head-to-head in San Diego on Saturday night. Chicago have won four in a row to move clear to the top of the East. Meanwhile the Legion’s hold on the No1 spot in the West is tenuous after their unbeaten run came to a screeching halt in Houston last weekend.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
5-1-0 (L1) West 1st
5-1-0 (W4) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Payton Telea-Ilalio | Djustice Sears-Duru |
| 6 | Christian Poidevin | Paddy Ryan |
| 10 | Dorian Jones | Reece Botha |
| 13 | Marcel Brache | Tomas Aoake |
|
IN | OUT |
| 11 | Mark O’Keeffe | Nate Augspurger |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(9) – Telea-Ilalio, Klein, James, Lopeti, Brache, Sylvia, Helu, Ryan (USA), Holloway (Australia)
(15) – Pifeleti, Fawsitt, O’Keeffe, Campbell, Brown, White (USA), M Flesch, Rumball, Oworu, Higgins, N Flesch (Canada), Hilsenbeck (Germany), Devoto (England), Zhvania (Georgia), Péculo (Uruguay)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Farrance*
(0) – none
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Hugh Roach (HO), Tomas Aoake (WI)
– Nate Augspurger (WI), Julián Domínguez (WI)
| PREDICTION |
Just a week ago the Legion’s odds would have been much higher, but the Houston defeat has brought expectations back down to earth somewhat. They remain a formidable outfit who will be keep to bounce straight back in California, and feature a very strong bench boosted by the arrival of Zak Farrance. Chicago are carrying a win streak but looked a little creaky in last week’s narrow win over NOLA. San Diego are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Darcy Breen, 4 Jed Holloway, 5 Brandon Harvey, 6 Christian Poidevin, 7 Brad Wilkin (capt.), 8 Jimmy Hokafonu, 9 Richard Judd, 10 Lincoln McClutchie, 11 Ryan James, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Marcel Brache, 14 Rhian Stowers, 15 Ethan Grayson
Replacements: 16 Liki Chan-Tung, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Vili Helu, 20 Zak Farrance, 21 Paddy Ryan, 22 Connor Tupai, 23 Tiaan Loots
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 James Scott, 5 Hamish Bain, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Mitch Short, 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck, 11 Mark O’Keeffe, 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Adriaan Carelse
Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Zura Zhvania, 18 Ignacio Péculo, 19 Luke White, 20 Matthew Oworu, 21 Jason Higgins, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Noah Flesch
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 5
Venue: Torero Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 19:00 local (21:00 Central, 22:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 64°F (18°C), wind W 3-5mph (5-8km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fox Chicago+, YurView San Diego, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Peter Pender (Canada)
Assistants: Jacob Gonzales (USA) & Kirk Swanner (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) – San Diego 2, Chicago 1
2024-06-17 – Chicago Hounds 22, San Diego Legion 16 (SeatGeek Stadium)
2023-06-03 – Chicago Hounds 14, San Diego Legion 36 (SeatGeek Stadium)
2023-04-16 – San Diego Legion 48, Chicago Hounds 24 (Snapdragon Stadium)
