NOLA Gold hosts Austin Gilgronis in the second Major League Rugby match of the doubleheader at the Gold Mine on Airline at 3:30 pm local (4:30 pm ET) on Saturday, April 10. The match is being broadcast on Cox Sports TV (New Orleans), KBVO (Austin), and streamed by The Rugby Network in the U.S. and internationally.
The first match had the Toronto Arrows hosing the LA Giltinis in their 2021 home opener at 12:30 pm local (1:30 pm ET).
NOLA Gold Head Coach Nate Osborne has made two changes in his starter following a bye week. Nikola Bursic and Timothee Guillimin move from the reserves to start at lock and at flyhalf, respectively. Alexander Diegel reported in The Rugby Network that Robbie Coleman suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury.
Malcolm May and Kyle Rogers could make their 2021 MLR debut off the bench.
NOLA Gold began the season with a draw against Old Glory and a bonus-point win over Rugby United New York. They are a team that plays expansive rugby and a threat to score multiple tries. They should be a strong contender for a top-two finish in the Eastern Conference and a playoff berth.
Austin Giltinis will be a contender for the playoffs in the Western Conference. After losses to Utah and San Diego by a combined 5 points, the team shut out the Houston SaberCats last week. The team strength is defense, but are capable of scoring multiple points.
Austin Gilgronis Head Coach Sam Harris has made four changes in the starters with outside center Bryce Campbell and hooker Hugh Roach returning from a concussion protocol and a minor injury, respectively. Jake Turnbull gets a start at loosehead prop with Jamie Mackintosh moving to the reserves. Kurt Morath replaces the injured Ned Hodson at the inside center.
There are also three changes in the reserves with Marcelo Torrealba and Dom Akina returning to the matchday 23, and Lui Sitama could make his MLR regular-season debut as a center.
Squads with Player Article Links
NOLA Gold: 1 Matt Harmon 2 Pat O’Toole 3 Dino Waldren 4 Nikola Bursic 5 Kyle Baillie (c) 6 Tesimoni Tongauiha 7 Andrew Guerra 8 Cam Dolan 9 Holden Yungert 10 Timothee Guillimin 11 Julian Dominguez 12 Juan Cappiello 13 JP Du Plessis (VC) 14 Joeli Tikoisuva 15 Carl Meyer 16 Eric Howard 17 Kevin Sullivan 18 Brian Nault 19 Ignacio Dotti 20 Malcolm May 21 Devon Short 22 Damian Stevens 23 Kyle Rogers
Austin Gilgronis: 1 Jake Turnbull 2 Hugh Roach 3 Paddy Ryan 4 Sebastian de Chaves (C) 5 Christian Ostberg 6 Dom Bailey 7 Maclean Jones 8 Michael de Waal 9 Pele Cowley 10 Mack Mason 11 Conner Mooneyham 12 Kurt Morath 13 Frank Halai14 Rodrick Waters 15 Will Magie 16 Mason Koch 17 Jamie Mackintosh 18 Mason Pedersen 19 Reegan O’Gorman 20 Dom Akina 21 Marcelo Torrealba 22 Lui Sitama 23 Cole Davis
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