NOLA fall back to old habits against ATL

NOLA will have to wait a bit longer for their first win over Rugby ATL. The Gold fell back into early season form as they lost by a convincing 23-7 score in New Orleans on Saturday evening. Discipline, accuracy, and the set piece were all problems and making matters worse two key players for NOLA left the game with injuries in the second half.

Early penalties put the Gold under immediate pressure but Liam Hallam-Eames won a turnover deep in his own end to earn some relief. A handling error gave possession straight back and after several phases Ross Deacon busted through a half-gap. The big No8 offloaded to Johan Momsen, who in turn found Will Leonard for the first score of the game.

JP du Plessis caught the ire of the officials when he collared Te Rangatira Waitokia and earned a yellow card for his efforts. Another penalty straight after gave Duncan van Schalkwyk a shot at the posts and he made no mistake, the kick making it an even 10-nil to the visitors.

The Gold fired back after Jack Webster won an aerial contest that led to a penalty. Rodney Iona turned down the points and kicked to the corner. Cam Dolan was the target at the back and the drive came on, and when the maul broke up Pat O’Toole busted past three defenders on a 20-meter gallop. Iona’s extras closed the gap to three points.

ATL allowed no breathing room coming straight back, with a Rewita Biddle counter-attack yielding a penalty of their own. They also opted for the lineout and the decision paid off. NOLA’s maul defense splintered and there was no stopping Alex Maughan when he broke on the short side. van Schalkwyk nailed the conversion from wide out to leave the Gold 10 points adrift at halftime.

Early in the second half ATL went on the attack but Dolan tied up a maul to snuff out an opportunity. The Gold cleared their lines and at the other end Iona ripped through the line. He was caught by a last-gasp tackle from Ryan Rees and Iona’s speculative offload ended up in the hands of Martini Talapusi who smashed the ball to safety. Iona stayed down as play went on, appearing to stretch out a hamstring. NOLA conceded a penalty and then a second, and as van Schalkwyk took another three points Iona left the field.

Just after the hydration break a despairing image presented itself to Gold fans. ATL prop Wikus Groenewald fell awkwardly on Tom Florence’s leg, and the star player was forced off in clear discomfort with a compromised knee. The visitors added insult to injury with a scrum penalty against the head, with Kurt Coleman landing the subsequent kick in what was the final scoring act of the day.

Both teams are on the road next weekend. ATL face the high-flying Free Jacks at Fort Quincy on Saturday. The deflated Gold will look to turn their form around against the Hounds on Sunday.

 

SCORING

NOLA 7
Tries (1) – P. O’Toole (31′)
Cons (1) – R. Iona 1/1 (32′)
YC (1) – J. du Plessis (23′)

ATL 23
Tries (2) – W. Leonard (10′), A. Maughan (35′)
Cons (2) – D. van Schalkwyk 2/2 (11′, 36′)
Pens (3) – D. van Schalkwyk 2/2 (25′, 51′), K. Coleman 1/1 (62′)

 

TEAMS

NOLA GOLD
1 Jarred Adams (17 Matt Harmon 52′), 2 Pat O’Toole (16 Eric Howard 47′), 3 Sean Paranihi (18 Dino Waldren 54′), 4 Billy Stewart (20 Moni Tonga’uiha 54′), 5 Liam Hallam-Eames, 6 Cam Dolan (capt.), 7 Malcolm May (21 Maciu Koroi 59′), 8 Tom Florence (19 William Waguespack 60′), 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Rodney Iona (23 Ross Depperschmidt 51′), 11 Cael Hodgson (22 Damian Stevens 51′), 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Jack Webster, 15 Dougie Fife

RUGBY ATL
1 Will Burke (17 Lincoln Si’i 68′), 2 Alex Maughan (16 Phil Thiel 73′), 3 John-Roy Jenkinson (18 Wikus Groenewald 58′), 4 Justin Basson (19 Nahuel Milán 59′), 5 Johan Momsen (capt.), 6 Vili Helu, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Ross Deacon (20 Daemon Torres 64′), 9 Rowan Gouws (21 Ryan Rees HT), 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk (22 Kurt Coleman 58′), 11 Nolan Tuamoheloa, 12 Martini Talapusi (23 Harley Davidson 78′), 13 Will Leonard, 14 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 15 Rewita Biddle

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Allen Alongi (USA) & Brian Dusablon (USA)
TMO: Mike Lash (New Zealand)