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The fifth week of the 2022 Major League Rugby season sees six games spread over three days. A Friday evening fixture in Seattle kicks things off as the Seawolves host the NOLA Gold at Starfire Stadium.
Two of the founding members of MLR, they have faced off on five previous occasions with Seattle winning four of them. Last season’s result dealt a hammer blow to NOLA’s playoff aspirations as they followed arguably their best game of the year, the famous upset of LA, with arguably their worst.
NOLA have had a week off to reflect on what has been the most challenging start to a season to date. Three consecutive defeats at home has left them reeling as they embark on their first road trip of the year. In search of inspiration, coach Kane Thompson has made four changes to the side that came up just short against the Arrows.
Pat O’Toole and Brian Nault come into the front row at hooker and tighthead prop respectively, with Eric Howard and Dino Waldren swapping to the bench. Cam Dolan moves up to lock with Moni Tonga’uiha packing down at No8. Uruguay lock Ignacio Dotti is named on the bench after missing the first three games with injury.
Nick Feakes is recalled on the left wing at the expense of Kyle Rogers. It’s the only change in the backline though Aaron Matthews, like Dotti, has recovered from injury to take up a spot among the reserves. The 24-year-old is set to make his NOLA debut after being acquired along with Devereaux Ferris from the Seawolves during the off-season.
Seattle were handed their first defeat of the season by the high-flying Gilgronis last weekend. While unsuccessful, the Seawolves can still take positives from the result with a late try from Rhyno Herbst salvaging a losing bonus point. Allen Clarke has shuffled his cards slightly with three changes to the run-on side and two more on the bench.
Chile international Augusto Böhme will make his MLR debut, replacing James Malcolm at hooker. Brad Tucker returns from injury to start at lock in place of Setefano Funaki, and Travis Larsen is restored to the reserves with Victor Comptat dropping out of the match day 23.
In the backs the only alteration to the starters is on the wing where Ross Neal returns in the No14 shirt. Lauina Futi moves to the bench, where former Utah Warriors utility back Jared Whippy is set for his first MLR appearance since the 2020 season.
The Gold are now in desperation mode but Starfire Stadium has not been kind to them in the past. On form they have struggled to maintain tempo on attack, which certainly favors Seattle’s revitalized defensive posture. A hungry Seawolves pack and the league’s hottest midfielder Tavite Lopeti makes this a tough task for the visitors. Take the home side as clear favorites.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm local time, 9:30pm Central, 10:30pm Eastern. Fox Sports 2 will broadcast nationwide with The Rugby Network streaming to viewers located abroad.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola, 2 Augusto Böhme, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Brad Tucker, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Martin Iosefo, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dan Kriel, 14 Ross Neal, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Mike Brown, 17 Dewald Donald, 18 Samu Manoa, 19 Taniela Tupou, 20 Travis Larsen, 21 Reid Watkins, 22 Jared Whippy, 23 Lauina Futi
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Brian Nault, 4 Cam Dolan (capt.), 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Maciu Koroi, 7 Devin Short, 8 Moni Tonga’uiha, 9 Damian Stevens, 10 Robbie Coleman, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 Carl Meyer
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Kevin Sullivan, 18 Dino Waldren, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Malcolm May, 21 Devereaux Ferris, 22 Aaron Matthews, 23 Ross Depperschmidt
Date: Friday, March 4
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:30 local (21:30 Central, 22:30 Eastern)
Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Brad Schwalger (Canada)
TMO: Shanda Assmus (Canada)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 2, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-07-11 – Seattle Seawolves 30, NOLA Gold 6 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-04-21 – Seattle Seawolves 25, NOLA Gold 24 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-02-10 – NOLA Gold 41, Seattle Seawolves 31 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
2018-05-27 – Seattle Seawolves 55, NOLA Gold 26 (Starfire Stadium)
2018-05-12 – NOLA Gold 29, Seattle Seawolves 31 (Archbishop Shaw Stadium)
