Rugby United New York is hosting the Utah Warriors on April 20 at 7:30 pm ET. Tickets are still available and the match is being broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Rugby United New York is hosting their Inaugural Pride Night. Prior to the Major League Rugby match, the Gotham Knights will face the DC Scandals at 5.30pm. Both are IGR (International Gay Rugby) teams and they’d love your support. In a letter by James Kennedy, Majority owner of RUNY, he indicates that “We want to send a message to all biased communities around the world that the excuse of traditions as a means to discriminate against members of our rugby family will no longer be tolerated.
Match Comments
Rugby United Head Coach Mike Tolkin has made four changes in the starters with Anthony Parry gaining a start at loosehead prop with James Rochford switching to tighthead. Callum Mackintosh is at hooker with Dylan Fawsitt shifting to No.8 and Luke Hume is at wing. In a last minute change, Kyle Sumsion replaced James Denise at flanker. Matt Wirken and Mike St. Claire also return to the matchday roster as reserves.
Utah Warriors Head Coach Alf Daniels has also made four changes to his starters with Franco Van den Berg, Gannon Moore, and Don Pati starting at loosehead prop, outside center, and at wing, respectively. Arthur Bergo gains a start at flanker. Ian Luciano returns to the matchday roster at scrumhalf in the reserves. Frikkie De Beer, who plays for the Chicago Lions and formerly with the North West University Potchefsstroom Barbarians should make his debut at loosehead prop from teh reserves.
The teams met in week 7 on March 8 with RUNY winning 47-21. RUNY moves the ball quickly and has scored more tries. The team has the edge in the scrums, winning 92% of their own scrums vs 84% for Utah. Penalties by the opposition are also created from the set piece. RUNY also chooses to attempt to score tries, often attacking from lineouts from within the opposition 22-meters.
The Utah Warriors will take points when opportunities present themselves within the opponents’ territory. Tim O’Malley is an accurate kicker. The team’s line speed is excellent on defense, but the slower ball on the attack has allowed opponents to cover. The team counter attacks very well and strength is the open field is the attacking flair of the backs.
Expect the match to be a physical one. RUNY will attempt to score early and a bonus point win is critical for the team, with the top 6 teams contending for the four playoff spots. The Utah Warriors have had a series of injuries this season, particularly at hooker. RUNY will try to exploit the scrum, while the Warriors will try to maintain possession and place RUNY under pressure through tactical kicking.
Squads with Player Article Links
Rugby United New York: 1 Anthony Parry 2 Callum Mackintosh 3 James Rochford 4 Alex MacDonald 5 Nate Brakeley 6 Kyle Sumsion 7 John Quill 8 Dylan Fawsitt 9 Mike Petri (C) 10 Cathal Marsh 11 Connor Wallace-Sims 12 Chris Mattina 13 Mark O’Keeffe 14 Luke Hume15 Ben Foden16 Mike Brown 17 Kirkland Hamilton 18 Chris Sullivan 19 Matt Wirken 20 Matt Hughston 21 Marcus Walsh 22 Harry Bennett 23 Mike St. Claire + Head Coach Mike Tolkin
Utah Warriors: 1 Franco Van den Berg 2 Jeremy Leber 3 Angus Maclellan 4 Saia Uhila (VC) 5 Matt Jensen 6 Arthur Bergo 7 Ara Elkington 8 Lance Williams 9 Johnny Ika 10 Josh Reeves 11 Tonata Lauti 12 Tim O’Malley (C) 13 Gannon Moore 14 Don Pati15 James Semple 16 Metai Tuimoala 17 Tom Kacor 18 Frederik De Beer 19 Kenny Scott 20 Alex Tucci 21 Fetu’u Vanikolo 22 Josh Whippy 23 Ian Luciano + Head Coach Alf Daniels
Gotham Knights vs Washington Scandals
Gotham Knights: 1 Camilo Minotta Aguilera 2 Raul Huezo 3 Aaron Ayala 4 Kevin Tallon 5 Mark Power 6 Craig Donahue 7 David Wang 8 Ian Butler 9 Michael Kengmana 10 Ash Khayami 11 Richard Suarez 12 Max Kraus 13 Mike Villalobos 14 Alex Orban 15 Rochester Cortez 16 Rob Benedetto 17 Terrell Gillespie 18 Adam Kopchian 19 David Clarke 20 Ernesto Garcia 21 Chinedu Azinge 22 Nuno Santos 23 Colin Walker + Coaching Staff: Jacqueline Sinclair, Steve Eames, Jon Morgan
Washington Scandals: 1 Rashad DeMesme 2 Shane Hickey 3 Arjun Kumar 4 Tim Kilbride 5 Dustin Keller 6 Mike Arnone 7 John Simmons 8 Brandon McGee 9 Derek Dufresne 10 Mike Johnson 11Devin McCue 12 Juan Alvarez 13 MJ Sewell 14 Luke Hogue 15 Tinker Patrick Replacements: Barton Liang, Delan “Blue” Ellington, Dan Buckingham, JB Bridgeman, Dillon Lappe, Jim “Jimbo” Barrett, Andrew “Bullet” Chiscul, Matt Melikian, Charles Elliot, Bryan Rippeom, Ryan Haynes + Head Coach Brendan Raden & Assistant Coach, Valerie Vuyovich-Connelly
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