The two bottom teams in the Eastern Conference renew acquaintances in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday night. Miami are building some momentum with back-to-back victories and are now just one point back of 4th-place NOLA. Anthem are still winless but field a completely changed lineup to the one that fell to Seattle in Matthews during the week.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
4-5-0 (W2) East 5th
0-10-0 (L10) East 6th
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 4 | Rick Rose | Tomás Casares |
| 5 | Braemar Murray | Mauro Rebussone |
| 8 | Ronan Foley | Marques Fuala’au |
| 15 | Santiago Videla | Shane O’Leary |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Jake Turnbull | Dan Hanson |
| 2 | Connor Robinson | Ethan Howard |
| 3 | Alex Maughan | Stephan Bernal-Wendt |
| 4 | Puna Vuli | Javon Camp |
| 5 | Sam Golla | Shawn Clark |
| 6 | Alejandro Martinez Tapia | Graeme Pedegana |
| 7 | Makeen Alikhan | Alby O’Shannessey |
| 8 | Colin Turner | Michael Ma’afu |
| 9 | Ishy Safodien | Carlo de Nysschen |
| 10 | Cliven Loubser | Cam Gerlach |
| 11 | Toby Fricker | Jason Tidwell |
| 12 | Junior Gafa | EJ Freeman |
| 13 | Erich Storti | Watson Filikitonga |
| 14 | Conner Mooneyham | Ashawnty Staples |
| 15 | Mitch Wilson | Line Latu |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(10) – McNulty, Bonasso (USA), Piussi, Ardao, Inciarte (Uruguay), Cubelli, Orlando (Argentina), Morra, du Toit (Canada), Myhill (Wales)
(8) – Turnbull, Maughan, Golla, Fricker, Storti, Mooneyham, Wilson (USA), Loubser (Namibia)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Ihrig*
(0) – none
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Mauro Rebussone (LO), Tomás Casares (FL), Shane O’Leary (FH/FB)
– Joe Apikotoa (TH), Mikey Grandy (LO), Karl Keane (SH)
| PREDICTION |
Alama Ieremia has changed all 15 starters, recalling a nearly full-strength lineup. It’s one of Anthem’s strongest match day squads in their short history, though notably there is no specialist scrumhalf in reserve. The Sharks are also reasonably healthy though their best player in recent weeks, Shane O’Leary, is absent this week. His loss is covered by the timely return of Chilean star Santiago Videla. The first match in February ended with only one point separating the two. Miami are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Reinaldo Piussi, 4 Rick Rose, 5 Braemar Murray, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Benjamín Bonasso, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Martín Elías, 11 Josiah Morra, 12 Tomás Cubilla, 13 Matías Orlando, 14 Marcos Young, 15 Santiago Videla
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Alec McDonnell, 19 Calvin Ihrig, 20 Marques Fuala’au, 21 Tomás Inciarte, 22 Tomás Bekerman, 23 Guiseppe du Toit
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (co-capt.), 2 Connor Robinson, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Puna Vuli, 5 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 6 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Colin Turner, 9 Ishy Safodien, 10 Cliven Loubser, 11 Toby Fricker, 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Erich Storti, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Ethan Howard, 17 Dan Hanson, 18 Alex Hernandez, 19 Rhys Mitchell, 20 Alby O’Shannessey, 21 Cam Gerlach, 22 EJ Freeman, 23 Jason Tidwell
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, April 27
Venue: Baptist Health Community Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 21:00 local (18:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: clear, 75°F (24°C), E 9-13mph (14-21km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, FanDuel Florida, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Kye Martinovic (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) – Miami 3, Carolina 0
2025-02-28 – Anthem Carolina 31, Miami Sharks 32 (Mecklenburg County Sportsplex)
2024-06-16 – Anthem Carolina 14, Miami Sharks 30 (American Legion Stadium, Charlotte)
2024-03-23 – Miami Sharks 50, Anthem Carolina 21 (AutoNation Field)
The post MLR 2025: Miami Sharks vs Anthem Carolina – ARN Guide appeared first on Americas Rugby News.
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