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It wasn’t easy, but the LA Giltinis earned a 19-15 victory over the New England Free Jacks in their home opener at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The home side’s replacements proved influential as they they recovered from a second-half deficit to secure their second win of the season.
There was just two minutes on the lock when Beaudein Waaka landed a penalty goal to put the Free Jacks in the lead. The flyhalf popped up on the wing soon after, attacking the corner but Waaka’s foot went into touch before the could ground the ball.
Next came an explosion of two tries in five minutes from the Giltinis. Hanco Germishuys took a short pass from Billy Meakes on a set move from a scrum. Jordan Trainor then made a half-break, offloading to Ben LeSage. The Canadian center followed up his own pass to Angus Cottrell to score in the corner.
The Free Jacks finally got some sustained possession. After pushing into LA territory, the ball went wide right with Terrell Peita’s bounce-pass out of a tackle landed in Paula Balekana’s hands. Waaka couldn’t connect with the extras but the gap was reduced to 12-8 at halftime.
New England’s momentum carried into the start of the second half. After numerous phases they won a penalty and opted for a lineout. Stan van den Hoven was the target and the drive came on with Pieter Jansen the man at the back who fell over the line for the try. The conversion was successful giving the Free Jacks a three-point lead.
A close call went against the Free Jacks when the a high ball was ruled to have hit Mitch Wilson’s fingertips before landing in Harry Barlow’s hands. The winger would race in for a try but it was waved off on review.
Instead the Giltinis would be next to score. The referee opted not to award a penalty try against a crumbling Free Jacks scrum, but the pressure stayed on until Nathan Den Hoedt barged over the line from close range. Luke Burton added two more points to make it 19-15 to the home side.
Several players went down with cramping in the dying minutes of the game. The Free Jacks would get an attacking lineout and the pack drove over the line. There was no way to see the grounding of the ball amidst a pile of bodies, however, and the Giltinis would hold on for the win.
LA will face their undefeated cousins in Austin next Saturday. New England get an extra day to prepare for their road match against Eastern Conference rivals New York.
SCORING
LA 19
Tries – H. Germishuys (15′), B. LeSage (20′), N. Den Hoedt (67′)
Cons – L. Burton 2/3 (16′, 68′)
NEW ENGLAND 15
Tries – P. Balekana (40′), P. Jansen (44′)
Cons – B. Waaka 1/2 (45′)
Pens – B. Waaka 1/1 (2′)
TEAMS
LA GILTINIS
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Luke White 47′), 2 Andrew Tuala (16 Sean McNulty 68′), 3 Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin (18 Charlie Abel 45′), 4 Dave Dennis (capt.) (19 Adam Ashe 61′ {7 Hanco Germishuys 73′}), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Hanco Germishuys (20 Christian Poidevin 53′), 8 Corey Thomas, 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Luke Burton, 11 John Ryberg (23 Ryan James 55′), 12 Billy Meakes (21 Tas Smith 63′), 13 Ben LeSage (22 Cristian Rodriguez 63′), 14 Will Chambers, 15 Jordan Trainor
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Foster DeWitt (17 Kyle Ciquera 68′), 2 Pieter Jansen (1 Foster DeWitt 71′), 3 Erich de Jager (18 Tevita Sole 50′), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Stan van den Hoven (19 Reegan O’Gorman 57′), 6 Joe Johnston (22 Harrison Boyle 76′), 7 Slade McDowall (20 Cam Davidowicz 71′), 8 Terrell Peita (16 Mills Sanerivi 51′), 9 Holden Yungert (21 John Poland 50′), 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Harry Barlow, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Jack Reeves (23 Wayne van der Bank 61′), 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Mitch Wilson
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistants: Jack Gohl (Australia) & Tim Lew (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
