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NOLA claimed a 30-29 victory over New England at The Gold Mine in challenging conditions on Saturday. The match kicked off in the rain and with large pools of water on the pitch, but despite the inclement weather both sides provided fans with an entertaining spectacle.
It was a difficult opening to the match. After 13 long minutes of slog an opportunity to score finally appeared. Carl Meyer lined up a long-range penalty goal and the big fullback found his target to give NOLA the lead.
The Gold were also the first to find the try-line. On a day dominated by the set piece it came via the lineout. Once the maul was set there was no stopping it and Moni Tonga’uiha crossed in the corner.
On the other side of the hydration break New England responded with a try of their own. Harrison Boyle’s miss pass found Mitch Wilson and the diminutive winger showed good strength to wriggle out of a tackle and touch the ball down. Beaudein Waaka’s conversion attempt rang off the upright but the Free Jacks were on the board.
A second Meyer penalty rang true, this one even longer at 50 meters. Again, however, the visitors had an answer. On a set move, Boyle stepped out to pull the defense across and found Dougie Fife on his inside shoulder running through the gap. This time Waaka was on target.
There was time for one more score before the intermission. Julián Domínguez showed soft hands to snag a pass to his ankles, and proceeded to power through the tackle attempt of Poasa Waqanibau before swerving around Waaka and showing a clean pair of heels to the rest for a brilliant individual score. Meyer’s extras made it 18-12 to the home side at the break.
The to-and-fro continued in the second half. A New England maul was stopped just short but John Poland broke to the short side and caught the NOLA defense unawares. At the other end Joeli Tikoisuva’s offload put JP du Plessis into the corner. The video evidence suggested his knee was in touch before the grounding but five points were awarded by the officials.
A fifth lead change came when Fife touched down a second time. Boyle reversed the play and came close to scoring himself, and from the ensuing ruck Poland went straight to his winger who rolled through Holden Yungert’s desperation effort for the try.
The home side still had gas in the tank. Cam Dolan broke through the middle and though he was hauled down just short, John Sullivan was close in support for the pick-and-drive in under the posts.
Yet another Boyle intervention nearly stole the lead back for the Free Jacks. The rangy flyhalf fended and broke to the outside, with a skip pass to Harry Barlow on the wing. Two broken tackles later and it was a try, but Waaka couldn’t connect with the sideline conversion.
It’s a road game for NOLA next Saturday as they travel to Georgia for a southern derby against Rugby ATL. The Free Jacks have an extra day off before heading to Leesburg on Sunday for a match against East Coast rivals Old Glory DC.
SCORING
NOLA 30
Tries – M. Tonga’uiha (20’), J. Domínguez (34’), J. du Plessis (46’), J. Sullivan (69’)
Cons – C. Meyer 1/3 (35’), No kick (69’)
Pens – C. Meyer 2/2 (13’, 27’)
NEW ENGLAND 29
Tries – M. Wilson (24’), D. Fife 2 (31’, 65’), J. Poland (43’), H. Barlow (72’)
Cons – B. Waaka 2/5 (32’, 44’)
TEAMS
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 John Sullivan 59’), 2 Pat O’Toole (16 Kevin O’Connor 67′), 3 Dino Waldren (18 James Irey 67′), 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Billy Stewart (19 Nikola Bursic 51′), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Devin Short (20 Andrew Guerra 59’), 8 Cam Dolan (capt.), 9 Damian Stevens (21 Holden Yungert 51′), 10 Timothée Guillimin (22 Hanno Dirksen 67′), 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Joeli Tikoisuva (23 Tim Maupin 67′), 15 Carl Meyer
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Sef Fa’agase (18 Quentin Newcomer 76’), 2 Pieter Jansen (16 Vili Toluta’u 67′), 3 Erich de Jager (17 Kensuke Hatakeyama 67′), 4 Jackson Thiebes, 5 Conor Kindregan (19 Ronan McCusker 50’), 6 Josh Larsen (capt.), 7 Justin Johnson (20 Tera Mtembu 57′), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Harrison Boyle, 11 Mitch Wilson (22 Harry Barlow 37’), 12 Aleki Morris-Lome, 13 Poasa Waqanibau (23 Danny Collins 73′), 14 Dougie Fife, 15 Beaudein Waaka
Not used: 21 Tom Brusati
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Saade Bou-Mikael (USA)
