Major League Rugby Week 10 Preview: Can Matt Giteau spark a sliding legion?

If you were a rugby fan in the 2000s, you will remember the many stars that were on the New Zealand and Australian teams, two of the most powerful national teams of their time.

This weekend in Major League Rugby, you can see a famous All Black and a Wallaby from that era take to the field together in the same kit.

The stars will emerge in North America’s premier professional rugby league in Week 10, when the regular season is halfway over, meaning the game on display is getting even better as tensions rise. even more.

But for those who have followed the sport for a long time, this weekend is for you, as a blast from the past (with more on it in this article) will take place later in the week in sunny south of California.

Here’s a look at what we can expect in Week 10 of the Major League Rugby season this weekend, part of FloRugby’s coverage and analysis of the league throughout the season:

Giteau solidifies the return of rugby

The San Diego Legion needs a boost right now after two straight losses, losing to the Utah Warriors in Week 8 before being surprisingly shut out 33-0 by the Western Conference-leading Houston SaberCats in Week 9 to the MLR. first shutout by either team in about a calendar year.

Luckily for San Diego, their biggest offseason signing, who happens to be one of the best players in Australian history, is finally making his first appearance for the club at potentially just the right time.

San Diego announced this week that utility Matt Giteau, a Wallabies centurion and one of the greatest names to ever play in Super Rugby with the Brumbies and Western Force from 2001 to 2011, would make his long-awaited official debut in the club. at Snapdragon Stadium against the Dallas Jackals on Sunday after he was persuaded to come out of retirement to play at least one more season of professional rugby this past offseason.

Giteau, now 41, last played in the MLR with the now-defunct LA Giltinis in 2021, helping the club win the league title that year while also being named to the MLR team of the season in the process, although he did wear the suit. a preseason game with San Diego earlier this year. Additionally, for the first time since they were teammates at Toulon in the mid-2010s, Giteau and All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu will wear the same kit together as they are scheduled to suit up for the Legion this weekend, pairing together to mark one of the most historic double-whammers ever seen in MLR history.

Will they help San Diego score crucial points against a Dallas team trying to unseat the Legion for third place in the West? That remains to be seen, but it is also not often that you see a club bring out two international centurions in the same match.

Can dogs hunt injured free-ranging cats?

The New England Free Jacks may be the defending MLR champions and the current Eastern Conference leaders in the middle of the league, but they are in some danger of falling apart despite 29 points and a solid 6-2 record. against league rivals this season.

The reason? The dreaded injury virus.

As noted in last week’s FloRugby weekly recap, New England handily defeated Rugby FC Los Angeles despite entering the match without the services of two stars in scrum-half John Poland and No. 8 Wian Conradie, then lost standout back Reece MacDonald for much of the time. the second half because of what appeared to be an arm injury he suffered while diving for his seventh try of the season.

Already shorthanded, a long-term injury to MacDonald, the MLR’s current leader in meters run with 1,050, would throw the Free Jacks into further disarray for the final stages of the regular season, and for the purposes of this weekend, it can also be a knockout. fortune for the visiting Chicago Hounds.

Ahead of a top-of-the-table clash between the East’s two best teams, Chicago (which has quietly won three straight) can deeply reduce its current six-point deficit to New England for the No. 1 seed in the East. with a win and possible bonus points.

The Hounds have also broken the 50-point barrier in each of the last two rounds, and reigning MLR Comeback Player of the Year Nate Augspurger has been a major key in Chicago’s recent surge, as he had an effort of 17 points in the Hounds game. win in their last match over Rugby FC Los Angeles on April 21. New England will need step-up guys and depth to shine at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Sunday, or else the Eastern Conference title race could start to get a lot tougher. intriguing.

The shape of the warriors is not a coincidence?

We’re about to quickly find out if the Utah Warriors are here to stay as potential Western Conference spoilers for the rest of the season.

After a terrible 1-3 start to the year in which they were hit by a series of injuries and struggled to find points, the Warriors have now won three of their last four games, including a win last weekend against Old Gloria DC .

So who’s next on the agenda and will travel to Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday to try to end Utah’s positive momentum with a thud? None other than the red-hot Houston SabreCats, who lead the West midway through the regular season and just shut out a very, very talented San Diego team in an impressive performance in Week 9.

But perhaps Utah’s chances against the likely favorite to win the league aren’t as bleak as they might seem at first glance.

For starters, Houston will be shorthanded as hooker Tiaan Erasmus received a red card in probably the only thing that went wrong for the SaberCats against Legion last week, causing him to miss this weekend’s clash against the Warriors . And furthermore, when the two teams met for the first time this season in Week 1, Utah stayed even and competitive with the SaberCats in Houston, losing 22-15 after finding a spark and scoring 12 points in the final 13 minutes in which turned out to be a futile attempt at a comeback.

If the return game between them in Herriman proves to be worth the wait for the Warriors, they will need to strike fast and early against Houston and take them off their game right away, something few teams have proven capable of doing so far this season. But with the rise in Utah and a busy offense that has completed more passes (1,286) than any club in the MLR this season, the Warriors certainly have a fighting chance against the current best in the West.