The San Diego Legion can set a new franchise mark for consecutive victories at Choctaw Stadium on Saturday evening. Standing in their way are the Dallas Jackals, who were shut out when the two sides met at Snapdragon Stadium in March.
Dallas were competitive but ultimately second best in Houston last Saturday. Agustin Cavalieri has restored the starting pack that defeated Toronto with two further changes to the backline.
Juan Pablo Zeiss and Conrado Roura are restored at tighthead prop and flanker respectively. Sam Golla switches back to lock, with Kyle Steeves and Mat Gordon dropping to the bench. On the wing it’s Campbell Johnstone and Marcos Moroni this week with Lui Sitama and James Vaifale in reserve.
Danny Lee has opted to rest several of his veteran players after the win over Chicago on Sunday. The five-game win streak equals the mark set both in 2019 and 2020, and the Legion are now have the best record in Major League Rugby and are in sole possession of first overall with a four point lead over Houston.
It’s all change in the front row with DJ Sears-Duru and Sean McNulty handed their first starts in San Diego shirts alongside Chris Baumann. Jale Railala and Isaac Ross come in at lock with Tom Franklin switching to the blindside flank. Dan Pryor will be acting captain with Ma’a Nonu and Marcel Brache both rested.
Will Hooley starts at flyhalf, and it’s a new-look midfield with Tiaan Loots partnering Filimoni Waqainabete. The latter makes his MLR debut, with Thomas Morani given a first start on the wing and Mikey Te’o back in at fullback. Luke Burton is set to make his first appearance of the season as a replacement and first with the Legion since 2020 after spending the past two years in LA.
Weather won’t be a factor and travel should count for little. The starting Jackals pack can certainly cause problems for the Legion. In the backline, however, it’s a clear advantage to San Diego. Expect Dallas to put up some points at home, but not enough to stop the visitors from making a little franchise history. Take the Legion in convincing fashion.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on KTXA in Dallas with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray, 2 Tomás Baravalle, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Sam Golla, 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 7 Conrado Roura, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Pedro Imhoff, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Campbell Johnstone, 12 Juan Pablo Aguirre, 13 Tomás Malanos, 14 Marcos Moroni, 15 Alejandro Torres
Replacements: 16 Alex Tucci, 17 Dewald Kotze, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Matt Gordon, 20 Carson Shoemaker, 21 Danny Christensen, 22 Lui Sitama, 23 James Vaifale
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Chris Baumann, 4 Jale Railala, 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Tom Franklin, 7 Dan Pryor (capt.), 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Will Hooley, 11 Tomas Aoake, 12 Tiaan Loots, 13 Filimoni Waqainabete, 14 Thomas Morani, 15 Mikey Te’o
Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 18 Nathan Sylvia, 19 Chris Turori, 20 Finn Kearns, 21 Nate Augspurger, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Matías Freyre
Date: Saturday, April 22
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: KTXA, The Rugby Network
Referee: Kahlil Harrison (USA)
Assistants: Cole Jones (USA) & Justin Hale (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2023-03-11 – San Diego Legion 22, Dallas Jackals 0 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2022-04-30 – Dallas Jackals 14, San Diego Legion 53 (Choctaw Stadium)
2022-02-12 – San Diego Legion 37, Dallas Jackals 29 (SDSU Sports Deck)
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