NOLA Gold opens road swing Saturday at Glendale

After a thrilling win at home last weekend, NOLA Gold opens a two-game road swing Saturday when it travels to suburban Denver to take on the Glendale Raptors.

The matchup of the first and fourth-place teams in Major League Rugby begins at 8 p.m. CDT from Infinity Park in Glendale. It will be televised by CST and ESPN+.

NOLA rallied in the final moments to defeat Austin Elite 35-31 last Saturday at Gold Stadium on Michael Baska’s first try of the season.

The win, the sixth in seven matches for NOLA this season, allowed the Gold to maintain its grip on first place in the MLR standings table with 31 points, three more than Rugby United New York. Seattle is third with 25 points and Glendale – which has won three and played to a tie in two of its eight matches – is fourth with 23.

This is the first rematch of the season for the Gold, who defeated Glendale 40-31 on Feb. 2 at home.

NOLA and Glendale are two of three teams in MLR with 200 or more points, and they rank first and second, respectively, in tries with 34 and 31. The Gold have scored a league-high 240 points in seven matches.

Tristan Blewett shares the league lead with six tries, while JP Eloff has a league-best 23 conversions, including a perfect 12-for-12 over the last two matches, and ranks third in MLR with 77 total points. Taylor Howden also is tied for the league lead with five try assists.

After a trip to Toronto to face the Arrows next weekend, NOLA returns home April 13 against Utah.