MLR Week 11 Results: New England, San Diego, Atlanta, Utah and New York Winners
Home teams won four of the five matches on the weekend. If the playoffs were this coming week it would be LA and Utah in the West and Atlanta and New York in the East. The Atlanta v LA match, won by 5 points by the home team, Atlanta, may have been a preview of the final at the end of July.
SCORES
STANDINGS
*MLR Week 11: Toronto @ New England; Houston @ San Diego; LA @ Atlanta; Austin @ Utah; NY @ DC*
Week 11 kicks off at 1pm PT with Toronto @ New England. With July Test selections in the balance, it’s a crucial time for players to put in top performances. No doubt coach Kingsley Jones has marked in a number of players as certainties but there would still be selections in the balance based on current performance.
Toronto @ New England 1pm PT Saturday
Josh Larsen as usual is in the second row for New England. His selection would seem a certainty for Canada. For Toronto, players like Ben LeSage and Lucas Rumball would be certainties for Canada selection but some players may still be on the edge. Will Kelly gets another start at #10 and tries to advance his national selection chances. It’s the first look at the big unit Marc Ouellet who can play prop or second row, it looks like he’s subbing at tighthead in this match. Tyler Rowland gets the start at tighthead. The second row starters are Adrian Wadden and Paul Ciulini, another two players on the cusp of national selection. Spencer Jones gets a start at inside centre.
Houston @ San Diego 1pm PT Saturday
Michael Smith for San Diego gets another start at openside. He’ll deserve a serious look for the national squad this summer. Rob Povey is missing from the Houston roster but Nik Hildebrand and Liam Murray are in the front row reserves.
LA @ Atlanta 5pm PT Saturday
DTH as usual with the start on the wing, he’s still officially retired from international play. Corey Thomas is in the reserves. For Atlanta Matt Heaton is at openside, a certainty for Canada selection. Conor Keys is in the reserves at second row.
Austin @ Utah 6pm PT Saturday
Austin has Cole Davis starting on the wing, a strong contender for one of the outside backs in the July Tests. Utah has Fraser Hurst in the reserves at scrum half, he’s likely #3 scrum half in the national pecking order right now behind Will Percillier and Ross Braude.
New York @ DC 10am PT Sunday
Rosters TBA