After a shortened 2020 season, Old Glory is looking to pick up where they left off. The hope is that their 4-1 record from 2020 shows that they are as good going into 2021, but that remains to be seen. The club has vastly improved and look like a good bet to make the Major League Rugby playoffs. That being said, let's preview Old Glory going into 2021.
Carrying That Momentum Over
2020 looked to have been a special year for Old Glory as they got off to a 4-1 start. Then the pandemic hit and the season was cancelled. However, there was a lot of strong play from the club and the hope is that they can carry that over going into 2021. Will their attack be as strong? Will their defense continue to be stout? Have they fixed their problems from 2020? Only time will tell.
Fixing The Scrum
Despite a 4-1 record, Old Glory had a poor scrum. It didn't help that their prized acquisition Tendai Mtawarira played only one match, but even then their scrum was not very good. It surprised many that despite a poor scrum that Old Glory was as good as they were (that just goes to compliment their defense and attack), but that will continue to be a question mark. With the players they brought in this season, has their scrum been fixed? Otherwise it's going to be a difficult year for the club in that area.
Does The Team Have Enough Depth?
Maybe there's a good reason why the team doesn't have as many players such as NOLA Gold, but once injuries occur, does this team have enough depth? Old Glory's front office does have a knack for finding great talent so there seems to be a lot of confidence that the team will be fine. However, losing quality players like Dylan Taikato-Simpson and Mtawarira hurts the club and will have to find other players to step up and fill in.
New Players
Steve Longwell, Casey Renaud, James King, Matt Gordon, Callum Gibbins, Jamie Dever, and Luke Campbell are all notable players that were brought in through either signings or the MLR Draft, plus getting young talent like David Beach, Harry Masters, Danny Thomas, D'montae Noble, Owen Sheehy, Sam Cusano, Hannibal Vaivao, and Jack Carroll should help make the team deeper. Gibbins will be the key here as he will be a player-coach, so his play and guidance will be crucial this season. These players were brought in to fill in some holes, so it will be interesting to see how they are used.
Will The Robertson-Tusitala Partnership Keep Up Their Play?
There is no denying how crucial Jason Robertson and Danny Tusitala are in Old Glory's attack. They arguably the best if not one of the best 9-10 combos in MLR. While there was some unknown if they would be back, Old Glory brought back some important players that made them as successful as they were. There is no question that Robertson and Tusitala had some great chemistry on the pitch, but after not playing for about a year together, it will be interesting to see if they gel as well as they did in 2020. If Old Glory wants to be successful in 2021, then they better hope that this combo meshes well.
Key Players Returning To Form
There is no question players like Renata Toberts-Tenana, Doug Fraser, Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz, Api Naikatini, Mikey Sosene-Feagai, Mungo Mason, and Thretton Palamo make this core a strong one. But after a year of not playing together, will they return to form? It also hurts that they were not able to have any preseason play to get back into the swing of things. Will that affect them? If it does, let's hope it's only for a couple of weeks, but otherwise, that will be a question mark.
How Will They Finish
Despite all the question marks, Old Glory still has a very good and talented side. However, the competition in the Eastern Conference is very strong as RUNY, NOLA Gold, Toronto, Rugby ATL, and New England are all good sides. The race to the playoffs will be fun to watch as all six sides are expected to beat up on one another. However, there are only two spots in the playoffs, so it makes every loss that much more difficult to overcome. That being said, while it's hard to pinpoint where Old Glory will finish, expect them to be in the thick of the playoff race.
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