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The LA Giltinis fired a warning shot with a 43-0 thrashing of Rugby New York at the Coliseum on Sunday. There will be no joy in the visiting camp as they suffered their worst-ever defeat. The defending champions meanwhile showed that they are alive and very much still in title contention.
It was dominance straight form the opening kickoff for the home side. A New York penalty conceded an attacking lineout. Dave Dennis was the target and the drive came on, with Christian Poidevin getting credit for the try. Orene Ai’i couldn’t quite land the conversion but the Giltinis were away.
New York lost Will Tucker, replaced by Joe Basser, and then Hanco Germsihuys added insult to injury. The rampaging loose forward sent Fa’asiu Fuatai flying backwards and brushed aside two more defenders en route to the tryline. It was a routine kick for Ai’i this time.
Jason Emery was next to leave the pitch for New York, and then LA exploded with two tries in two minutes. The first went to Harrison Goddard, who took a short ball from Bill Meakes in for seven points. From the restart it was an end-to-end effort sparked by a Jordan Trainor break, with Djustice Sears-Duru the man to finish after multiple phases.
The visitors finally got a scoring opportunity just before halftime. Sears-Duru was binned for repeat collapses at the scrum, but New York couldn’t take advantage and the half would end with the scoreboard reading 26-nil to the home side.
Despite being shorthanded LA struck first with an Ai’i penalty early in the second half. Injury again hit New York as Andrew Coe was knocked unconscious after slipping on the turf, his head colliding with Poidevin’s knee. Play was paused as Coe was stretchered from the pitch but he thankfully gave a thumbs-up to the crowd to ease some concerns.
Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin was binned for a professional foul but again New York couldn’t make the extra man count. Trainor broke and put Adam Channel in space. The winger’s speculative pass bounced off Ed Fidow and Luke White was there to pounce, popping off the deck to John Ryberg for a simple finish.
Ryberg had a double soon after, handing off Sam Windsor on the way to the line. Replacements streamed into the match which disrupted the flow, and New York could find no way through the LA defense before the referee mercifully blew the final whistle.
The Giltinis stay at home to play the Houston SaberCats next Saturday. New York limps home and will have a week off to recover before taking on the first overall New England Free Jacks on April 24.
SCORING
LA 43
Tries – C. Poidevin (12′), H. Germishuys (26′), H. Goddard (34′), D. Sears-Duru (35′), J. Ryberg 2 (64′, 71′)
Cons – O. Ai’i 2/3 (27′, 36′), No kick (34′), L. Burton 2/2 (65′, 72′)
Pens – O. Ai’i 1/1 (44′)
YC – D. Sears-Duru (40’+3′), L. Leulua’iali’i-Makin (61′)
NEW YORK 0
TEAMS
LA GILTINIS
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin 50′), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Andrew Tuala 56′), 3 Charlie Abel (18 Marco Fepulea’i 60′), 4 Luke White, 5 Dave Dennis (capt.) (19 Corey Thomas 56′), 6 Nathan Den Hoedt, 7 Christian Poidevin (1 Djustice Sears-Duru 61′-71′) (20 Cyrille Cama 71′), 8 Hanco Germishuys (17 Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin 42′-50′), 9 Harrison Goddard (21 Tas Smith 66′), 10 Orene Ai’i (23 Tom Mitchell 56′), 11 Adam Channel, 12 Bill Meakes (22 Luke Burton 60′), 13 Ben LeSage, 14 John Ryberg, 15 Jordan Trainor
RUGBY NEW YORK
1 Nic Mayhew (17 Chance Wenglewski 50′), 2 Kaleb Geiger (16 Wilton Rebolo 50′-60′), 3 Kalolo Tuiloma (18 Zak Taulafo 50′), 4 Nate Brakeley (capt.), 5 Charlie Hewitt (19 Dylan Fawsitt 58′), 6 Will Tucker (20 Joe Basser 18′), 7 Benjamín Bonasso, 8 Kara Pryor, 9 Conor McManus (21 Andy Ellis HT), 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Ed Fidow, 12 Jason Emery (22 Jack Heighton 27′), 13 Fa’asiu Fuatai, 14 Andrew Coe (23 Quinn Ngawati 45′), 15 Troy Lockyear*
*15 Troy Lockyear left the field at 66 minutes and could not be replaced
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Marcus Playle (New Zealand)
Assistants: Austin Reed (USA) & Tim Lew (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
