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Old Glory needed a four-try second half to overcome Anthem in Charlotte on Saturday with the final score reading 46-32 in favor of the visitors. The upstart Carolina side held a halftime lead for the first time and would earn a bonus point but couldn’t quite come up with enough to topple DC.
Oscar Koller opened the scoring for the home side with an early penalty goal, followed by a second after a David Still break down the left sideline. The visitors responded with a try on a lineout drive with Brady Daniel getting the grounding in the middle of the maul.
A second DC try came on a first phase move from a scrum that bamboozled the Anthem backline defense and ended with John Rizzo getting the score. Anthem’s scrum was repeatedly shoved off the ball and yielded a penalty for Jason Robertson to take three points that pushed Old Glory out to a 17-6 lead.
Alama Ieremia made a tactical change and brought Ivan Pula on at tighthead prop, and he immediately earned his team a penalty. Te Rangatira Waitokia made ground, and then Axel Müller saw yellow for a dangerous tackle. The referee issued a warning to DC and captain Robertson had a word, but they were too casual coming out of the huddle and when the whistle blew to resume Jake Turnbull tapped and dove over the line for the try.
With the end of the half beckoning a Conor McManus box kick was lost in the sun by DC and bounced back into Anthem hands. Junior Gafa crashed over the gainline, and then a soaring Waitokia weaved his way through for a superb try. Koller was spot-on with the conversion and it was 20-17 to Anthem as the two sides jogged off for halftime.
Simon Cross summoned regular starters Jack Iscaro and Rob Harley to start the second half and the two internationals lifted DC’s intensity. Robertson landed a penalty to level the scores and soon after Facundo Gattas crossed on the end of a driving maul to put the visitors back in the lead.
Müller went looking for work on the opposite wing and was rewarded as the Argentine fended off two players to finish in the left corner. The lead was now a dozen but Anthem kept coming. A sniping run by McManus put Old Glory on the back foot and after a few phases from the forwards, Gafa hit the line at pace and reached out of the tackle to ground the ball beside the upright.
Just past the hour mark Gattas got a second try when he broke from a maul, driving low and just barely reaching the line. Lautaro Bavaro then stole a lineout and Gradyn Bowd, now on for Robertson, orchestrated a strike play with the backs that finished with Rizzo racing in for his double.
There was still time enough for the home side to launch another attack. Their forwards were initially turned away and it looked as though DC might run out the clock, but a penalty went to Anthem and Koller took the tap before Old Glory could react. Shneil Singh was there in support and one final pass inside to Still was enough to claim the four-try bonus and end the match on a positive note.
Carolina will take to the road on Friday when they take on a well-rested Utah Warriors at Zions Bank Stadium. DC gets an extra day to prepare for their home tilt against RFC Los Angeles on Saturday.
| SCORING |
CAROLINA 32
Tries (4) – J. Turnbull (38′), T. Waitokia (40′), J. Gafa (57′), D. Still (80′)
Cons (3) – O. Koller 3/4 (39′, 40’+1′, 58′)
Pens (2) – O. Koller 2/2 (3′, 14′)
DC 46
Tries (6) – B. Daniel (18′), J. Rizzo 2 (21′, 73′), F. Gattas 2 (47′, 62′), A. Müller (52′)
Cons (5) – J. Robertson 4/5 (19′, 22′, 48′, 63′), G. Bowd 1/1 (74′)
Pens (2) – J. Robertson 2/2 (27′, 44′)
YC (1) – A. Müller (35′)
| LINEUPS |
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (capt.) (17 Dan Hanson 78′), 2 Declan Moore (16 Connor Robinson 74′), 3 Stephan Bernal-Wendt (18 Ivan Pula 29′), 4 Reagan Leslie, 5 James Rivers, 6 Shneil Singh, 7 Albert O’Shannessey (20 Joe Basser 59′), 8 Sione Latu (19 Logan Weidner 66′), 9 Conor McManus (21 Siaosi Nai 66′), 10 Oscar Koller, 11 David Still, 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Cael Hodgson (22 Shane Barry 72′), 14 Tyren Al-Jiboori (23 Ulu Niutupuivaha 72′), 15 Te Rangatira Waitokia
OLD GLORY DC
1 Quentin Newcomer (17 Jack Iscaro HT), 2 Facundo Gattas (16 KoiKoi Nelligan 67′), 3 Cali Martinez (18 Tyler Rowland 63′), 4 Bill Whiteside (19 Tevita Naqali 48′), 5 Ignacio Dotti (20 Rob Harley HT), 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Brady Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Ethan McVeigh (21 Danny Tusitala 48′), 10 Jason Robertson (capt.) (22 Gradyn Bowd 63′), 11 John Rizzo, 12 William Talataina, 13 John Powers, 14 Axel Müller, 15 Damien Hoyland (23 Mike Dabulas 74′)
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 30
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 18:00 local
Weather: sunny, 77°F (25°C), wind SW 14-20mph (22-32km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Cisco Lopez (USA) & Alex Hedquist (USA)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
