Old Glory DC made it back-to-back wins as they romped to a 50-10 victory over the Dallas Jackals at Segra Field on Saturday. It set a new franchise mark for points scored, margin of victory, and tries scored with eight different players touching down.
The home side flubbed three scoring chances in the opening minutes before finally cracking the Dallas defense. Jack Iscaro drive in low from close range for the first try. Rohan Saifoloi chipped over the conversion to make it a full seven.
A second try came on the end of a winding run from Peni Lasaqa. The winger was stopped short but Luke Campbell was on hand to take the offload over the line. This time the angle proved too difficult for Saifoloi and the flags stayed down.
The third try went to the flyhalf himself. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz peeled off the back of the scrum, fended off the challenge of Tom Brusati and popped to Saifoloi for an easy finish. The conversion made it 19-nil with 26 minutes played.
DC would claim the bonus point try just past the half-hour mark. Renata Roberts-Te Nana took a sharp pass from Saifoloi and stepped back between three defenders to ground the ball. Saifoloi’s kick was pushed wide right of the posts.
A scuffle after the play resulted in a yellow card to Junior Sa’u after the winger came in late and tore the jersey off of Conrado Roura’s back. Old Glory went straight back on the offensive and Tevita Naqali crossed under the posts with no conversion required.
Dallas finally got on the board early in the second half. Cael Hodgson broke clean through the line at halfway and nearly went the distance himself. Chris Pennell then stabbed a grubber into the corner with Hayden Hill grounding the ball in acrobatic fashion before it reached the dead-ball line.
Kelly Kolberg was binned after taking out an airborne Roberts-Te Nana. The fullback dusted himself off and snatched up a Hodgson grubber, cutting upfield and sending Lasaqa free down the left sideline for a free run to the line.
Hill grabbed a double at the hour mark in similar fashion to his first. This time Pennell’s grubber bounced up just before the line and Hill simply gathered and slid over for the score. Old Glory responded with scores to Junior Sa’u and finally William Talataina to bring the game to a close.
It’s a well deserved week off for Old Glory, who will prepare for a road match against the New England Free Jacks on May 7. Dallas are straight back into the fire as they host the San Diego Legion next Saturday.
SCORING
DC 50
Tries – J. Iscaro (11′), L. Campbell (16′), R. Saifoloi (25′), R. Roberts-Te Nana (33′), T. Naqali (38′), P. Lasaqa (53′), J. Sa’u (68′), W. Talataina (78′)
Cons – R. Saifoloi 4/7 (12′, 26′, 54′, 79′), No kick (38′)
YC – J. Sa’u (35′)
DALLAS 10
Tries – H. Hill 2 (43′, 60′)
Cons – C. Pennell 0/2
YC – K. Kolberg (49′)
TEAMS
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Jack Carroll 55′), 2 Rob Irimescu (16 Mo Katz 61′), 3 Kyle Stewart (18 Jake Ilnicki 49′), 4 Tevita Naqali (20 Api Naikatini 61′), 5 Felix Kalapu, 6 Luke Campbell, 7 Cory Daniel (19 Fintan Coleman 56′), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala (capt.) (21 Danny Thomas 73′), 10 Rohan Saifoloi, 11 Junior Sa’u, 12 William Talataina, 13 Thretton Palamo (23 Doug Fraser HT), 14 Peni Lasaqa, 15 Renata Roberts-Te Nana (22 Owen Sheehy 61′)
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Ryan Bower (17 Liam Murray 45′), 2 Augusto Böhme (16 Brendan Rams 20′-27′) (20 Adriaan Booysen 27′), 3 Herman Agenbag (18 Tommy Madaras 61′), 4 Campbell Robinson, 5 Mike Matarazzo (19 Daryl Bagley 61′), 6 Asa Carter (23 Alex Tucci 70′), 7 Matt Frings (16 Brendan Rams 45′), 8 Conrado Roura, 9 Tom Brusati, 10 Chris Pennell (capt.), 11 Aaron Gray (22 Shawn Clark 55′), 12 Campbell Johnstone, 13 Cael Hodgson, 14 Kelly Kolberg (21 Kurtis Werner 61′), 15 Hayden Hill
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Marquise Goodwin (USA)
Assistants: Gavin McCandless (USA) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Luke Rogan (USA)