NOLA Gold will host the Houston SaberCats in their final home match at Gold Stadium on May 18. Tickets are available and the match is being broadcast on ESPN+ and on Cox Sports TV. Kickoff is at 4 pm local (5 pm ET).
NOLA Gold is currently in second place in the MLR standings with 51 points. They have a game in hand on the San Diego Legion, who are in first place in the MLR. The top four teams in the MLR will make the playoffs, with six teams still in the playoff hunt.
The Toronto Arrows have played 14 games and have a bye this week. They are in third place with a 9-5 record and 48 points. The Seattle Seawolves are in fourth with a 9-4 record and 46 points. Two teams looking to move into the top four are Rugby United New York with a 9-4 record and 44 points, while Glendale is just behind with a 7-4-2 record and 42 points.
NOLA Gold finishes their final two matches away against Rugby United New York on May 26 and San Diego Legion on June 2. The Houston SaberCats are out of the playoff picture, but are playing for pride, contracts, and want to gain greater fan support in their new home, AVEVA Stadium. They have three matches left after this weekend. They host Austin Elite Rugby on May 25 and the Glendale Raptors in their Grand Stadium Opening on May 29. They then finish away against the Utah Warriors on June 1.
Match Comments
NOLA Gold needs a win against the Houston SaberCats before they play Rugby United New York and the San Diego Legion. The latter two teams are in playoff contention with the Legion challenging Gold for the top spot.
NOLA Gold Head Coach Nate Osborne has made one change in his starters with Alex Maughan starting at tighthead prop and with Ross Davies joining the team in the front row in the reserves. Ross has extensive professional experience as a tighthead prop having played in the English Premiership, the English Championship, PRO14 Rugby and joins the team from the Dallas Reds.
Squads With Player Article Links
NOLA Gold: 1 Hubert Buydens 2 Eric Howard (C) 3 Alex Maughan 4 Kane Thompson 5 Nikola Bursic 6 Ignacio Dotti 7 Zack Stryffeler 8 Cam Dolan 9 Holden Yungert 10 Scott Gale 11 Nick Feakes 12 Con Foley 13 Tristan Blewett 14 Tim Maupin 15 JP Eloff (VC) 16 Matt Harmon 17 Cam Falcon18 Ross Davies 19 Billy Stewart 20 Moni Tongauiha 21 Michael Baska 22 Taylor Howden 23 JoJo Tikoisuva + Head Coach Nate Osborne
Houston SaberCats: 1 Jake Turnbull 2 Pat O’Toole 3 Charlie Connolly 4 Diego Magno 5 Victor Comptat 6 Matt Trouville (C) 7Luke Beauchamp 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz 9 Santiago Arata 10 Sam Windsor 11 Malacchi Esdale 12 Thretton Palamo 13 Josua Vici 14 Deion Mikesell 15 Osea Kolinisau 16 Jamie Dever 17 Amro Gouda 18 Paul Mullen 19 Robert Meeson 20 Cecil Garber 21 Alejandro Nieto 22 Zach Pangelinan 23 Joe Kelly + Interim Head Coach Paul Emerick
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