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New England erased a 13-nil first half deficit to come away with a 23-13 victory over Rugby ATL at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Free Jacks hung on with only 14 men on the pitch for much of the first hour and pulled away in the final quarter to stretch their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.
A stalemate in the opening minutes was interrupted by a yellow card against Jesse Parete for a stomp on the arm of Duncan van Schalkwyk. ATL kicked for the corner and from a second penalty Ryan Rees was held up on a quick tap, but Alex Maughan wasn’t to be denied from short range. van Schalkwyk lined up the conversion but the ball fell off the tee on his approach, and his drop-kick attempt was denied when Andrew Quattrin arrived to wrap up the would-be kicker.
The Free Jacks would then lose Quattrin to what looked like a groin strain, replaced early by Mills Sanerivi. ATL were penalised giving Jayson Potroz a shot at goal just as Parete was returning to the pitch, with the long-range attempt just wide of its target. van Schalkwyk was next to depart, with Kurt Coleman coming in at flyhalf halfway through the first half.
ATL steamrolled the New England pack to win a turnover against the head. The Free Jacks were quickly caught offside to give Coleman an immediate chance for three points and he had no issues to make it 8-nil for the visitors. A forward pass handed possession straight back and it became 13 when Rewita Biddle slipped into the corner after a line break from Matt Heaton.
Parete found himself in more trouble when he wrapped up Johan Momsen around the neck in full view of the referee. There was no hesitation to pull out another yellow, which meant game over for the Free Jacks lock. It’s the second red of the season for Parete, who will have a date with the judiciary this week.
The misfortunate seemed to galvanize New England, as a huge kick from well inside his own end from Spencer Jones was rewarded with a 50-22 and a Free Jacks throw-in. Conor Keys toop the ball off the top and Le Roux Malan cut back across an angle, bowling over Rees and fending off Nolan Tuamoheloa to score the first points for the home side. At the other end Mitch Jacobson won a turnover to deny ATL and leave it 13-5 at the break.
There was some bad news for New England as John Poland was forced off with a bicep injury, replaced at scrumhalf by Holden Yungert. Still down a man, a penalty moved them deep into ATL territory. Potroz spotted Mitch Wilson open on the right side and the cross-kick was spot on, with Wilson immediately passed back inside to Jones for the try.
A flat pass from Yungert bounced off the chest off an unsuspecting Will Leonard, and bounced straight into the hands of Potroz. Two quick passes later Paula Balekana was streaking down the sideline but he was bundled into touch just short. ATL couldn’t clear their lines and an offside penalty gave Potroz a chance to level the scores, which he accepted with open arms.
On the other side of the hydration break there was a moment of controversy. A high ball from Coleman put Jones under pressure with Heaton bearing down on him. Jones couldn’t handle the ball and Nolan Tuamoheloa snapped it up to seemingly score in the corner. The try was wiped off the board, however, when the TMO decided Heaton’s jump wasn’t to his satisfaction. Moments later Maughan was binned for a deliberate knock-on and Potroz put New England ahead for the first time with a well-struck penalty goal.
Another opportunity to kick for points presented itself but this time Potroz opted for the corner with Maughan still off the pitch. The pressure stayed on until Balekana popped up on the edge of a rock, taking a behind-the-back pass from Yungert for a third Free Jacks try. With the kick from Potroz it was 23 unanswered points for the home side. One last attempt to secure a bonus point fell short when the ball was knocked-on in a lineout with time expired.
It’s a bye next weekend for ATL, who return to action at home against Chicago Hounds on Saturday, May 6. New England are straight back on the pitch as they welcome the New York Ironworkers to Fort Quincy on Sunday afternoon.
SCORING
NEW ENGLAND 23
Tries (3) – L. Malan (37′), S. Jones (52′), P. Balekana (68′)
Cons (1) – J. Potroz 1/3 (69′)
Pens (2) – J. Potroz 2/3 (59′, 64′)
YC (1) – J. Parete (9′)
RC (1) – J. Parete (33′)
ATL 13
Tries (2) – A. Maughan (10′), R. Biddle (31′)
Cons (0) – D. van Schalkwyk 0/1*, K. Coleman 0/1
Pens (1) – K. Coleman 1/1 (25′)
YC (1) – A. Maughan (63′)
*conversion attempt was denied after ball fell off tee
TEAMS
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera (17 Kianu Kereru-Symes 49′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Mills Sanerivi 15′), 3 Cole Keith (18 Tevita Sole 49′), 4 Jesse Parete (19 Reegan O’Gorman 53′), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Mitch Jacobson (capt.), 7 Slade McDowall (20 Joe Johnston 59′), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland (21 Holden Yungert 45′), 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank (22 Ben LeSage 59′), 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Spencer Jones
Not used: 23 Zach Bastres
RUGBY ATL
1 Will Burke (17 Lincoln Si’i 78′), 2 Alex Maughan, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson (18 Wikus Groenewald 53′), 4 Justin Basson (19 Nahuel Milán 57′), 5 Johan Momsen, 6 Vili Helu (20 Frederick Henry-Ajudua 78′), 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Ross Deacon (21 Daemon Torres 53′), 9 Ryan Rees, 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk (22 Kurt Coleman 21′), 11 Nolan Tuamoheloa (23 Harley Davidson 60′), 12 Will Leonard, 13 Martini Talapusi, 14 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 15 Rewita Biddle
Not used: 16 Isaac Bales
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Mike Rudzinsky (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
