NOLA Gold on West Coast to face Seattle in Sunday night showdown

The top two teams in the Major League Rugby standings table face off Sunday night when the first-place NOLA Gold travel northwest to face the second-place Seattle Seawolves in a nationally televised showdown.

Match time is 9 p.m. CDT from Seattle’s Starfire Stadium. CBS Sports Network will provide the television coverage.

Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s match, NOLA will remain atop the standings table. It enters Week 13 of the MLR season with 43 points thanks to eight victories and 11 bonus points. Seattle, the league’s defending champion, has seven wins in 10 matches and 37 points.

Still, with the winner earning either four or five points, Sunday’s outcome may go a long way in determining who gets the top seed in the MLR postseason.

The teams met Feb. 10 at Gold Stadium, with NOLA prevailing 41-31. The Gold got tries from Ignacio Dotti, JoJo Tikoisuva, Taylor Howden and Tristan Blewett in the victory, while JP Eloff added a pair of penalty goals and four conversions.
Sunday’s game matches the top two scoring teams in the league.

NOLA’s 342 points and 47 tries continue to lead MLR, while Seattle is second with 310 points. Blewett has a team-best eight tries, including a “pick five” in each of the last two matches, to rank second in the league. Eloff is second in MLR with 111 total points, trailing only Seattle’s Brock Staller.

Following Sunday night’s match, NOLA has a bye in Week 14 before hosting three consecutive matches at Gold Stadium beginning May 4 against Austin.