Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
New England held on to earn a hard-fought 22-19 win over Rugby ATL on Sunday evening. The Free Jacks celebrated the close of the 2021 Major League Rugby regular season with a glimpse towards 2022 as they played their first match at their new home of Veterans Memorial Stadium.
An early penalty conceded by the Ratlers gave New England an attacking lineout, and they capitalised in short order. Tera Mtembu gathered the throw at the back and the forwards went to work, grinding ahead until Wian Conradie was able to reach out from a tackle to score.
ATL returned the favor at the other end. The Free Jacks defense held strong against several waves of attack but a score looked inevitable and indeed it was, with Ross Deacon unstoppable from close range. Kurt Coleman couldn’t find the posts to leave the home side ahead by two.
The lineout set the stage for New England’s second try, and again Mtembu was the target. This time the maul was set but Pieter Jansen spotted a gap on the short side and broke from the back, holding off a defender to reach the corner. Beaudein Waaka’s sideline kick split the uprights.
Waaka landed a penalty and the Free Jacks had one more score in them before the break. A Joe Johnston intercept started the move, his offload putting Dougie Fife into space. John Poland took it further and then Waaka’s cross-kick landed perfectly for Tuidraki Samusamuvodre to touch down in the corner.
A series of infringements resulted in a yellow card for Wian Conradie. An overthrow at a defensive lineout went to Neethling Gericke who burst upfield. A quick recycle put the Free Jacks on the back foot and Ryan Nell timed his pass perfectly to put Jeremy Misailegalu through a gap and in for the try.
Conradie had only just returned to the field when the Free Jacks were hit with another sin bin, this one to Samusamuvodre for what was adjudged a dangerous tackle. Austin White made ground on the left side, then the ball came all the way right to Vili Helu. His offload put Nell over to set up a grandstand finish.
The Free Jacks came close to scoring in the final minutes only to concede a turnover at the breakdown, but they then secured a turnover of their own on fulltime to end their season on a winning note. ATL will now prepare for the East Conference Final against New York next Saturday.
SCORING
NEW ENGLAND 22
Tries – W. Conradie (3′), P. Jansen (24′), T. Samusamuvodre (40′)
Cons – B. Waaka 2/3 (4′, 25′)
Pens – B. Waaka 1/1 (35′)
Yellow cards – W. Conradie (55′), T. Samusamuvodre (66′)
ATL 19
Tries – R. Deacon (12′), J. Misailegalu (60′), R. Nell (69′)
Cons – K. Coleman 2/3 (61′, 70′)
TEAMS
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Sef Fa’agase (17 Quentin Newcomer 58′), 2 Pieter Jansen (16 Stephan Coetzee 71′), 3 Erich de Jager (18 Kyle Ciquera 76′), 4 Jackson Thiebes, 5 Conor Kindregan (20 Vili Toluta’u 51′), 6 Tera Mtembu, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie (19 Justin Johnson 76′), 9 John Poland (21 Tom Brusati 76′), 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, 12 Poasa Waqanibau, 13 Dougie Fife, 14 Harry Barlow (22 Sean Yacoubian 76′), 15 Mitch Wilson (23 Josateki Degei 76′)
RUGBY ATL
1 Chance Wenglewski (17 Lincoln Sii 76′), 2 Alex Maughan (16 Neethling Gericke 54′), 3 Wikus Groenewald (18 Manasa Saulo 56′), 4 Mike Matarazzo (19 Marno Redelinghuys HT), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Connor Cook (20 Vili Helu 64′), 7 Matt Heaton (co-capt.), 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Ryan Rees (22 Duncan van Schalkwyk HT), 10 Kurt Coleman, 11 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 12 Ryan Nell (co-capt.), 13 Mark O’Keeffe (23 Austin White 58′), 14 Jeremy Misailegalu, 15 Adriaan Carelse (21 Eamonn Matthews 76′)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Mike Rudzinsky (USA)
