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The Austin Gilgronis kept their perfect record alive with a 22-9 win over the LA Giltinis at Bold Stadium. All 22 points from the home side came in the second half after a bruising opening 40 minutes that saw an injury-depleted Giltinis throwing everything at their cocktail cousins.
It was a remarkable contest before a ball was kicked. Luke Burton was hurt in the warm-up for LA, leaving the defending champions without a flyhalf. In stepped Giltinis assistant coach Orene Ai’i, six years removed from his last professional appearance and at 42 years old suddenly the oldest player in Major League Rugby history.
Ai’i was called up twice in the early minutes of the match to secure points for LA and he calmly landed both penalty goals. By the 20 minute hydration break Austin were visibly frustrated, showing none of the accuracy that had led them to four consecutive wins.
Their woes would carry through to halftime. Runners were left isolated and passes were off the mark. Isaac Ross was penalised for wrestling Angus Cottrell to the ground off the ball. Ai’i slotted a third penalty goal and the Gilgronis trudged off the field at halftime trailing the Giltinis 9-nil.
Whatever Sam Harris said to his team in the change room worked a charm. Will Magie landed a penalty shortly after the restart, and then Ryan Louwrens scored a try on an angled run off the base of a ruck. The conversion from Magie put the AG’s in the lead for the first time.
A set move from a scrum yielded a second try for the Gilgronis. Julián Domínguez burst through a gap and when the left winger was finally hauled down, the ball was swung wide to right winger Conner Mooneyham for the finish. Magie couldn’t land the kick but the gap was now six points.
Mooneyham would grab a double on the other side of the second hydration break. A loose pass saw the ball hit the deck and Dom Akina was quickest to react, hacking the ball ahead. It bounced up perfectly for Mooneyham to regather at a full sprint to touch down under the posts.
The final minutes wound down without incident, but there was a notable moment at 72 minutes when Kahanu Koi took the field for LA. At just 18 years of age he became the youngest player in Major League Rugby history on the same day that Ai’i became the oldest.
LA will host Austin at the Memorial Coliseum on May 8. In the immediate future both are back in action next weekend. The AG’s travel to the East Coast to face Rugby ATL, while the Giltinis head home to play the Utah Warriors in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Final.
SCORING
AUSTIN 22
Tries – R. Louwrens (45′), C. Mooneyham 2 (54′, 64′)
Cons – W. Magie 1/2 (46′)
Pens – W. Magie 1/1 (43′)
LA 9
Pens – O. Ai’i 3/3 (3′, 12′, 29′)
TEAMS
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Faka’osi Pifeleti 36′), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Robbie Coetzee 66′), 3 Namatahi Waa (18 Mason Pedersen 55′), 4 Cam Dodson, 5 Isaac Ross (22 Chris Mattina 72′), 6 Kyle Breytenbach (20 Luke Beauchamp HT {19 Christian Ostberg 59′}), 7 Michael de Waal, 8 Locky McCaffrey, 9 Ryan Louwrens (21 Sidney Shoop 79′), 10 Will Magie, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Mark O’Keeffe (23 Dom Akina 59′), 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Marcel Brache
LA GILTINIS
1 Luke White (18 Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin 55′), 2 Andrew Tuala (16 Sean McNulty 46′), 3 Marco Fepulea’i (17 Charlie Abel 46′), 4 Nathan Den Hoedt, 5 Dave Dennis (capt.), 6 Christian Poidevin (20 Hanco Germishuys 50′), 7 Angus Cottrell (19 Zach Bonte 66′), 8 Corey Thomas (23 Cyrille Cama 74′), 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Orene Ai’i (21 Tas Smith 65′), 11 Ryan James, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Will Chambers, 14 Cristian Rodriguez (22 Kahanu Koi 72′), 15 Jordan Trainor
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Joey Swatzell (USA)
TMO: Jack Gohl (Australia)
