Austin remain unbeaten with home win over Utah

The Austin Gilgronis maintained their perfect start to the season with a convincing 24-10 home win over the Utah Warriors on Saturday evening. Four tries to one was the final tally, though it could well have been greater were it not for determined defense from the visitors.

It remained a scoreless draw for the first half hour of the match. Austin exerted their dominance at the set piece but turned down a chance for three points in favor of a lineout. Kyle Breytenbach burst through the maul but knocked on as he drove over the line, and then Jake Turnbull was held-up in-goal.

A try was inevitable from the relentless pressure and it would come through the captain. Julian Dominguez and Chris Mattina made ground, and two phases later Bryce Campbell put on his forwards cap and muscled over from a standing start at close range. Mack Mason slotted to the conversion and the score stood at 7-nil, with Utah holding up another Austin attack on the halftime whistle.

Niall Saunders nearly scored on a tremendous individual effort early in the second half, but the Utah scrumhalf was tackled and lost possession a meter short of the line. The Warriors got the upper hand at the subsequent scrum and Caleb Makene chipped over the resulting penalty.

There was an instant reply from Austin. Ryan Louwrens barged ahead, and when the ball came out Mark O’Keeffe bamboozled three defenders en route to a second Gilgronis try. Mason’s kick was astray but it was now a two-score game.

It wasn’t long before the gap was stretched further. Dom Akina scored a sensational solo try with his first touch of the game. Michael de Waal snapped up a loose ball and Conner Mooneyham fed Akina, with the center sprinting 55 meters untouched to the corner.

The barrage continued as the AG’s poured in a third try in ten minutes. This time it was O’Keeffe in for his double, after Namatahi Waa took out three defenders and Mattina forced the cover to hold. The conversion from a wide angle was spot-on from Mason, and with the scoreboard now showing 24-3 to the home side there was little chance of a comeback.

Utah would get a consolation try before full-time. Tomasi Tonga powered through two defenders to touch down in his professional debut. Makene curled the conversion through but there would be no further scoring before full-time.

Austin hit the road for the first time with a Pacific Northwest date against the Seattle Seawolves on Saturday. The Warriors will have a week off to assess and recover for their home opener against the Dallas Jackals on March 5.

 

SCORING

AUSTIN 24
Tries – B. Campbell (31′), M. O’Keeffe 2 (49′, 59′), D. Akina (55′)
Cons – M. Mason 2/4 (32′, 60′)

UTAH 10
Tries – T. Tonga (69′)
Cons – C. Makene 1/1 (70′)
Pens – C. Makene 1/1 (47′)

 

TEAMS

AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Faka’osi Pifeleti 60′), 2 Robbie Coetzee (16 Mason Koch 46′), 3 Namatahi Waa (18 Mason Pedersen 60′), 4 Christian Ostberg (19 Cam Dodson 52′), 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Luke Beauchamp (20 Locky McCaffrey 3′-6′), 8 Michael de Waal (20 Locky McCaffrey 70′), 9 Ryan Louwrens (21 Sidney Shoop 75′), 10 Mack Mason, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.) (23 Dom Akina 54′), 13 Mark O’Keeffe, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Chris Mattina (22 Will Magie 60′)

UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg (17 Emerson Prior 79′), 2 Tuvere Vugakoto (16 Chad Gough 56′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 56′), 4 Puna Vuli (19 Saia Uhila 56′), 5 Jamie Lane, 6 Lance Williams, 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren (20 Thomas Tu’avao 60′), 9 Niall Saunders (21 Danny Christensen 76′), 10 Caleb Makene, 11 James Vaifale (23 Connor Burns 65′), 12 Calvin Whiting (22 Tomasi Tonga 60′), 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Mike Te’o

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Joey Swatzell (USA) & Andrew Low (USA)
TMO: Jack Gohl (Australia)