Austin runs rampant in record win over Old Glory

The Austin Gilgronis defeated Old Glory DC in emphatic fashion on Saturday evening, winning by a score of 57-12 at Bold Stadium. Club records were set in points scored and margin of victory. A rampant AG backline contributed six of the team’s eight tries.

It was the worst possible start for the visitors as the AG’s scored off the opening kickoff. Mack Mason’s wide pass found Marcel Brache looping wide through a gaping hole in the defense. Brache made it beyond halfway himself and executed the two-on-one to perfection with Mark O’Keeffe taking it the rest of the way for the try. Mason had no trouble adding the extra two.

After a brief period of respite it was more misery for Old Glory as Mason landed a penalty goal. Barely a minute later the Austin backline was on the rampage again. O’Keeffe bent the line and his teammates were there in numbers, with Brache freeing Julián Domínguez. The Argentine winger turned the cover defense inside out for a classic winger’s finish.

Conner Mooneyham was the next name on the score sheet. Brache exploited an undermanned blindside, scything through the line and sending Mooneyham home in almost a carbon copy of O’Keeffe’s try.

The two wingers would each make it a double on either side of the hydration break. Mooneyham followed up a Bryce Campbell line break, and Domínguez curled around the outside of an overlap to make it 36-nil to the home side after 40 minutes.

Old Glory finally got on the board early in the second half when William Talataina’s long cut-out pass found Renata Roberts-Te Nana in space on the left sideline. A response from Austin came quickly with prop Jake Turnbull scoring in support of long runs from Kyle Breytenbach and Ryan Louwrens.

Brache got on the board himself just after the hour mark. The fullback touched down under the posts after a searing break from Dom Akina to bring up the half century. Hugh Roach would take the credit for a more traditional forwards try at the back of a lineout drive for Austin’s final score of the day.

Roberts-Te Nana would produce a fine individual effort with just a minute to play to push Old Glory into double digits. It would be little consolation as the final tally was the highest points total conceded by DC in an MLR match, eclipsing the 55 recorded just a week ago.

It’s a home opener for Old Glory on Friday night with the New England Free Jacks their guests. Austin stay at Bold Stadium to play the Utah Warriors on Saturday.

 

SCORING

AUSTIN 57
Tries – M. O’Keeffe (1′), J. Domínguez 2 (10′, 25′), C. Mooneyham 2 (12′, 22′), J. Turnbull (45′), M. Brache (63′), H. Roach (69′)
Cons – M. Mason 4/5 (2′, 11′, 13′, 23′), No kick 2 (45′, 63′), W. Magie 1/1 (70′)
Pens – M. Mason 1/1 (9′)

DC 12
Tries – R. Roberts-Te Nana 2 (42′, 79′)
Cons – W. Talataina 0/1, No kick (79′)

 

TEAMS

AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Faka’osi Pifeleti 56′), 2 Robbie Coetzee (16 Hugh Roach 43′-77′), 3 Namatahi Waa (18 Mason Pedersen 50′), 4 Christian Ostberg, 5 Isaac Ross (19 Campbell Robinson 50′), 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Luke Beauchamp (20 Asa Carter 62′), 8 Michael de Waal, 9 Ryan Louwrens (21 Pele Cowley 55′), 10 Mack Mason (22 Will Magie HT-52′, 62′), 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Mark O’Keeffe (23 Dom Akina 50′), 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Marcel Brache

OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Dante Lopresti 27′), 2 Mo Katz (16 Rob Irimescu 50′), 3 Kyle Stewart (18 Jake Ilnicki 55′), 4 Api Naikatini, 5 Matt Gordon (19 David Beach 64′), 6 Fintan Coleman (20 Cory Daniel 27′), 7 Dom Bailey, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala (capt.), 10 William Talataina, 11 Simi Moala (23 Jack Russell 27′ {21 Danny Thomas 64′}), 12 Junior Sa’u, 13 Doug Fraser (22 John LeFevre 50′), 14 Renata Roberts-Te Nana, 15 Owen Sheehy

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistants: Scott Green (USA) & Andrew Low (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon (USA)