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Make it 10 wins in a row for the Free Jacks. New England scored early and late to secure a 15-10 win over Rugby ATL and Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night. It was a tense contest throughout with high penalty counts from both sides desperate to find an edge.
An early line break from Le Roux Malan had alarm bells ringing for the ATL defense. New England piled on the pressure and Wian Conradie went low and hard, driving straight through to the line for the opening try just five minutes in. The conversion was no trouble for Beaudein Waaka.
New England enjoyed an overwhelming advantage in territory and possession in the opening quarter but opportunities were lost by a malfunctioning lineout. The Free Jacks then lost Pieter Jansen to a knee injury, and an off-the-ball fracas saw Johan Momsen and Jesse Parete sent to the bin.
Momsen’s initial penalty stood and Waaka took three points. Soon after Joaquín de la Vega Mendía had a chance to put the Ratlers on the board but his penalty attempt was well wide of the target. A second shot failed and the Argentine fullback hurled the kicking tee into the turf in disgust.
It was Marko Janse van Rensburg who finally put points up for ATL. New England’s discipline deserted them and the Ratlers marched straight up to the Free Jacks goal line. There was no stopping the hooker from close range, and this time de la Vega Mendía found the uprights as intended.
At the other end of the pitch it was ATL who were guilty of repeat offenses, and a yellow card was brandished to Jason Damm. There was no further reward for the home side, however, as they conceded a penalty of their own and the visitors cleared their lines to end the half.
A huge break down the sideline from Wayne van der Bank to start the second half nearly resulted in the try, but Kyle Ciquera was held up in-goal by Evan Mintern. The Ratlers pushed back and fought their way to striking distance but the result was the same, with a pile of bodies preventing the forwards from grounding the ball.
Slade McDowall clattered into Conor Keys with a high tackle and the referee sent him to the sidelines to cool off for 10 minutes. The Free Jacks had only just returned to full strength when Josh Larsen saw yellow for an act of foul play. With a man down their pack somehow held up ATL twice in quick succession to keep their three-point lead intact.
The decisive score was a long-range effort at the 75 minute mark. Soft hands from Dougie Fife and Paula Balekana put Mills Sanerivi in space, and McDowall had the strength to bust two tackle attempts and score in the corner. It was too wide out for Waaka to convert but the game was now out of reach.
Play stopped for several minutes after Will Leonard was knocked out after his head bounced off the turf in a tackle. When the game resumed, ATL pushed into New England’s end to earn a penalty. de la Vega Mendía slotted the kick to salvage a losing bonus point.
The Free Jacks face a short turnaround as they play a rare Thursday night game against the Arrows in Toronto. ATL have two extra days to recover and prepare for next Sunday’s pivotal road clash against New York, with the winner odds-on to take home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
SCORING
NEW ENGLAND 15
Tries – W. Conradie (5′), S. McDowall (75′)
Cons – B. Waaka 1/2 (6′)
Pens – B. Waaka 1/1 (22′)
YC – J. Parete (21′), S. McDowall (52′), J. Larsen (63′)
ATL 10
Tries – M. Janse van Rensburg (32′)
Cons – J. da la Vega Mendía 1/1 (33′)
Pens – J. de la Vega Mendía 1/3 (80’+2′)
YC – J. Momsen (21′), J. Damm (38′)
TEAMS
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera (17 Alex Johnston 63′), 2 Pieter Jansen (16 Mills Sanerivi 19′), 3 Erich de Jager (18 Spencer Krueger 52′), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Jesse Parete (20 Joe Johnston 53′), 7 Slade McDowall (19 Cam Davidowicz 76′), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland (21 Holden Yungert 73′), 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan (22 Jack Reeves 68′), 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Dougie Fife
Not used: 23 Harrison Boyle
RUGBY ATL
1 Will Burke (17 Alex Maughan 67′), 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg (16 Tiaan Erasmus 77′), 3 John-Roy Jenkinson (18 Lincoln Sii 67′), 4 Evan Mintern (19 Conor Keys 44′), 5 Johan Momsen, 6 Connor Cook (20 Vili Helu 67′), 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Jason Damm, 9 Rowan Gouws (21 Ryan Rees 52′), 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 11 Cole Davis (23 Ryan Nell 59′), 12 Will Leonard (22 Martini Talapusi 79′), 13 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 14 Harley Davidson, 15 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: George Selwood (England)
Assistants: Lex Weiner (USA) & Nick Tricarico (USA)
TMO: Davey Ardrey (USA)
