Sluggish New York earn bonus point against Austin

Rugby United New York were well short of their best on Sunday afternoon but still came away with a bonus point 27-7 win over a patchwork Austin Elite side at MCU Park. Despite numerous opportunities it wasn’t until the final quarter when the home side finally found the much-needed fourth try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Austin made three roster changes before kickoff that only served to add confusion. Ben Mitchell made a surprise return, albeit on the blindside flank, and in the midfield Andrew Suniula subbed in for Andrés Vilaseca. New signing Sunao Takizawa was added to the bench, becoming the first Japanese player in Major League Rugby history early in the second half.

It was all New York in the opening quarter. Austin’s defense held valiantly until the 12th minute when Luke Hume was left open on the right side for the first try. Just a couple minutes later and Mike St. Claire followed Hume’s lead. One could be forgiven for assuming it would be a blowout such was the ease of the two scores.

Instead the two sides floundered for the remainder of the half, the game failing to build any momentum. It wasn’t until the 46th minute when RUNY finally scored again through Dylan Fawsitt, who peeled off the back of the maul. Again the simplicity of the try suggested a gulf in class between the two but the scoreline did not reflect it.

After another long period of frustration the bonus point finally arrived thanks to Connor Wallace Sims. Nate Brakeley ripped the ball out of Rodrigo Silva’s hands and St. Claire took it into Austin territory. Two phases later and Wallace-Sims put Matt Hughston through a hole, following up to take the return pass in for the try.

Just when it looked as though a shutout may be on the cards, Austin broke through for a score by Suniula. There was nothing pretty about it, the team manager picking up a loose ball and simply trundling over with little resistance. Mike Petri would pick up a score from close range with time expired to bring a merciful end to the dour engagement.

New York will take the points but will need an improved effort for their vital clash against the NOLA Gold at MCU Park next Sunday. Austin will head back to Texas for a local derby against the Houston SaberCats in the second-ever match at the new AVEVA Stadium.

 

SCORING

NEW YORK 27
Tries – L. Hume (12’), M. St. Claire (16’), D. Fawsitt (46’), C. Wallace-Sims (66’), M. Petri (80’)
Cons – H. Bennett 0/4, C. Wallace-Sims 1/1 (80’)
Pens – C. Wallace-Sims 0/1

AUSTIN 7
Tries – A. Suniula (74’)
Cons – Z. Elan-Puttick 1/1 (75’)

 

TEAMS

RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK
1 Anthony Parry (17 Chance Wenglewski 52’), 2 Sean McNulty (16 Callum Mackintosh 57’), 3 James Rochford (18 Chris Sullivan 56’), 4 Alex MacDonald (19 Matt Wirken 61’), 5 Nate Brakeley, 6 John Quill (20 Kyle Sumsion 52’), 7 Matt Hughston, 8 Dylan Fawsitt, 9 Mike Petri (capt.), 10 Harry Bennett (22 Quentin Pradère 73’), 11 Connor Wallace-Sims, 12 Will Leonard, 13 Mark O’Keeffe (23 Marcus Satavu 18’), 14 Mike St. Claire, 15 Luke Hume (21 Ben Foden 61’)

AUSTIN ELITE
1 LaRome White (18 Sunao Takizawa 45’), 2 Peter Malcolm (16 Tiaan Erasmus 67’), 3 Mason Pedersen (17 Juan Echeverría 45’), 4 Ronan McCusker (19 Kyle Breytenbach 75’), 5 Josh Larsen (21 Moe Abdelmonem 57’), 6 Ben Mitchell (capt.), 7 Dom Bailey, 8 Rikus Zwart (20 Travis Larsen 61’), 9 Rodrigo Silva, 10 JP Aguirre (23 Soheyl Jaoudat 61’), 11 Sione Fangaiuiha, 12 Andrew Suniula, 13 Simon Bienvenu, 14 Reece Czarnecki, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick

Not used: 22 Aidan McMullan

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Luke Rogan (USAR)
Assistants: Moe Chaudhry (RC) & Amelia Luciano (USAR)