Shorthanded Gold upset Giltinis in July 4 classic

In arguably the biggest upset in Major League Rugby history, the NOLA Gold celebrated July 4 with a stunning 21-20 victory over the LA Giltinis at the Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. Absent eight players to international duty and their captain among several injured, the Gold came from behind to score the winning try with only 14 men on the pitch.

The first 10 minutes of the game were spent entirely in LA’s end but NOLA frustratingly did not come away with points. A long-range penalty kick from Carl Meyer went wide and the Giltinis defense held strong to force a knock-on.

When it was their opportunity LA made quick work of it. A penalty turned into an attacking lineout and from there the waves of attackers crashed into NOLA’s defense. Adam Ashe came within an inch of scoring and captain Dave Dennis simply took the ball from his hands and reached out for an easy try.

NOLA were hit by an injury to Kane Thompson and then Carl Meyer was binned for tackling Seru Vularika in the air. An overthrow at the lineout handed the ball to Sean McNulty and though he was stopped short, Marco Fepulea’i was there to pick and drive over the line.

Pago Haini would see yellow for a high tackle and Damian Stevens opted for a shot at the posts, but he too was unable to find his target. When Meyer returned to the pitch he would get another crack from a JP du Plessis turnover. This time the kick was good to leave it 14-3 in favor of the home side at halftime.

The Giltinis seemed to lose their concentration early in the second half. Meyer landed his second penalty to end a scoreless period and then Joeli Tikoisuva somehow wriggled out of a tackle and sprinted home to silence the LA fans. Meyer’s conversion made it a one-point game.

Another penalty inside conceded in their own end saw the Giltinis lose the lead as Meyer took the three-point gift. It was given straight back, however, as NOLA infringed with Matt Giteau coolly slotting the kick to nudge LA back in front.

Controversy struck in the 70th minute when Kyle Rogers, who had only just replaced Tikoisuva, was deemed by the assistant referee to have taken out Giteau late with a shoulder charge. He was dispatched to the sin bin though the replay suggested the call was overzealous. Giteau left the field and it was Serupepeli Vularika who took over the kicking duties to extend the lead to six points.

The Gold put the disappointment behind them and blasted back into LA territory. Tired bodies flew into the breakdown to secure possession and after several phases Hanno Dirksen found just enough space to cross in the corner.

Meyer’s conversion was well wide of the uprights but it didn’t matter. NOLA secured the restart and won a penalty with seconds remaining. The ball was heaved into the stands, the bench exploding in jubilation as the final whistle sounded.

With New York losing to New England the Gold now jump into second place in the Eastern Conference and now face the Seawolves in Seattle next Sunday. LA’s bonus point virtually guarantees their place in the Semi Final and they will host fellow Western Conference contenders Austin on Saturday.

 

SCORING

LA 20
Tries – D. Dennis (13′), M. Fepulea’i (21′)
Cons – M. Giteau 2/2 (14′, 22′)
Pens – M. Giteau 1/1 (60′), S. Vularika 1/1 (75′)
Yellow cards – P. Haini (26′)

NOLA 21
Tries – J. Tikoisuva (55′), H. Dirksen (78′)
Cons – C. Meyer 1/2 (56′)
Pens – C. Meyer 3/4 (39′, 52′, 58′), D. Stevens 0/1
Yellow cards – C. Meyer (19′), K. Rogers (70′)

 

TEAMS

LA GILTINIS
1 Blake Rogers (17 Jean-Pierre Smith 59′), 2 Sean McNulty (16 Mahe Vailanu 59′), 3 Marco Fepulea’i (18 Ma’ake Muti 68′), 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Pago Haini (20 Ben Weischedel 76′), 8 Adam Ashe (19 Sean O’Brien 59′), 9 Cristian Rodriguez (21 Harrison Goddard 59′), 10 Matt Giteau (23 Adam Channel 70′), 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Serupepeli Vularika, 13 Bill Meakes, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Glenn Bryce

Not used: 22 Jonetani Vasurakuta

NOLA GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan (17 John Sullivan 75′), 2 Pat O’Toole (capt.), 3 Brian Nault (18 James Irey 63′), 4 Kane Thompson (19 William Waguespack 14′), 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Malcolm May, 7 Giovanni Lapp (16 Kevin O’Connor 63′), 8 Moni Tonga’uiha (20 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha 72′), 9 Damian Stevens (21 Holden Yungert 52′), 10 Timothée Guillimin, 11 Joeli Tikoisuva (23 Kyle Rogers 68′), 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 15 Carl Meyer

Not used: 22 Ross Depperschmidt

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Jack Gohl (Australia)