NOLA earn thumping win over Austin

The New Orleans Gold are back on tracking after thumping Austin Elite by 48-17 at Archbishop Shaw Field on Saturday. Seven tries to three was a fair reflection of the match that saw the visitors blown away in the opening quarter and never quite finding their rhythm with consistency throughout.

NOLA looked the more lively of the two from the opening whistle. Broken play favored the Gold and Holden Yungert’s crisp service put his runners on the front foot. JP Eloff ran a hard line into space and though the attack was stalled, it didn’t take long before Vince Jobo powered over from short range.

A second try came not long after in similar fashion. It was the highly conspicuous Sebastián Kalm who did the damage, making two line breaks in quick succession. The multi-phase attack saw the No8 handle the ball five times before touching down just inside the upright from a pick-and-go.

With the pressure mounting on the Elite a professional foul from Deon Minnaar earned a yellow card and left his team down a man for 10 minutes. New Orleans took advantage and surged up the middle once again through their forwards. Cam Falcon was driven over with a little help from Jobo on his back. Yungert stepped up for the routine conversion with Taylor Howden slightly hobbled and the score was suddenly 21-0 inside the first quarter.

Austin continued to struggle without Minnaar and the New Orleans pack went in for the kill. A collapsed maul at a lineout led to a second maul, this time in striking range. The Gold got it right and Eric Howard peeled off the back to fall into the end zone for try number four. Howden shook off his leg complaint and slotted the extras.

Victory was now all but out of sight for the visitors but they endeavoured to come away with some respect and at last a score came through Chris Schade. A strong carry from Ben Mitchell on the end of several phases saw the lock nearly through and his offload from the deck found his hooker charging in at pace.

Howden sent over a penalty goal for added insurance but Austin would strike once more before the break. A wide ball right stretched the defense and when it came back to the left a gap opened for Timothée Guillimin and the flyhalf was through with a fend for good measure.

The game ground to a standstill after the break with both sides guilty of handling errors and more penalties spoiling continuity. New Orleans broke the temporary ceasefire when Howden took the ball to the line and nearly made it himself. The flyhalf offloaded to Michael Baska who promptly winged a backhander to a wide open Bobby Johns for a score in the corner.

Michael Reid was shown yellow for what the referee deemed an illegitimate challenge on a high ball and Austin were left shorthanded again. Somehow they snaffled the ball on their own doorstep but the clearance kick was sliced and left the door wide open for Johns to grab his second. The headbanded hero blasted through the middle of two lazy defenders before stepping a third to touch down under the posts.

A pair each of tries and cards came before full-time. Hanco Germishuys and John Stapleton each saw yellow, both players ending their nights early in frustration. Melvin DeSouza finished off an attacking move in the left corner for NOLA before Mitchell had the last say for Austin, the rangy second row finishing well in the right corner.

The two sides won’t have to wait long to see each other again. They will rematch next weekend, this time in Texas. For both it’s a match of vital importance – their last tune-up before the Major League Rugby regular season kicks off on April 21.

 

SCORING

NEW ORLEANS 48
Tries – V. Jobo (6’), S. Kalm (12’), C. Falcon (18’), E. Howard (22’), B. Johns 2 (54’, 67’), M. DeSouza (74’)
Cons – T. Howden 3/4 (7’, 13’, 23’), H. Yungert 1/1 (19’), J. Eloff 1/1 (68’), J. Stapleton 0/1
Pens – T. Howden 1/1 (36’)
Yellow cards – J. Stapleton (76’)

AUSTIN 17
Tries – C. Schade (29’), T. Guillimin (40’), B. Mitchell (79’)
Cons – T. Guillimin 1/2 (30’), A. Hanson 0/1
Yellow cards – D. Minnaar (16’), M. Reid (62’), H. Germishuys (71’)

 

TEAMS

NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Derrek van Klein, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Cam Falcon, 4 Matt Wirken, 5 John Sullivan, 6 Vince Jobo, 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Sebastián Kalm, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Taylor Howden (capt.), 11 Peceli Rinakama, 12 JP Eloff, 13 Tim Maupin, 14 Bobby Johns, 15 Michael Baska

Replacements: 16 Ben Tarr, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Myles McQuone, 19 Nikola Bursic, 20 John Stapleton, 21 Zack Stryffeler, 22 Melvin DeSouza, 23 Amro Gouda

AUSTIN ELITE
1 Tim Fitzgerald, 2 Chris Schade, 3 Mason Pedersen (capt.), 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Kyle Breytenbach, 6 Junior Naruma, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Deon Minnaar, 9 Knute O’Donnell, 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Sani Taylor, 12 Andrew Suniula, 13 Sione Fangaihuia, 14 Reece Czarnecki, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick

Replacements: 16 David LeMasters, 17 Siaosi Finau, 18 Robert Drummond, 19 Dylan Goulding, 20 Allan Hanson, 21 Michael Reid, 22 Joedee Reyes, 23 Alex Faison-Donahoe, 24 Pat Sullivan, 25 Vetekina Malafu, 26 Zac Mizell