Late try gives Jackals victory over Warriors

A try in the final minute of play gave Dallas their first home win of the 2024 campaign, a 22-20 result over Utah on Friday night. It was a competitive match throughout and it was the Jackals defense that won the day, limiting the Warriors to just two tries with a late stop setting up the exciting finale.

Jackals fans were on their feet early with the home side on the front foot from the opening whistle. The ball went wide to Vaughen Isaacs, whose quick hands put Nic Benn in space. A step to the outside took Benn past the first line of defense and he swerved past the last defender to score the opening try.

Connor Winchester added the conversion, but not long after his kick downfield rolled too far and conceded an attacking scrum to the visitors. The Warriors won a penalty and Joel Hodgson took three points. Nic Souchon then won a breakdown turnover to set up a lineout. Paul Lasike made ground on an inside angle and his offload put Mika Kruse over as the Warriors took a 10-7 lead.

Sam Golla won the ball for Dallas at the restart, and Mitch Richardson broke free. Sam Tuifua was there to finish off what looked like a long-range try, but it was waved off on review for an obstruction early on in the play. Dallas continued to apply pressure for several minutes and at last they got their rewards when Makeen Alikhan looped around a ruck to create an overlap, passing to Tomás Malanos who squeezed into the right corner.

Winchester’s conversion made it a full seven, and he soon landed a 50-22 to put the Jackals back on Utah’s doorstep. Alikhan slipped through a half-gap but the ball was lost in the transfer to Ronan Foley and the Warriors breathed a sigh of relief. At the halftime whistle it was 14-10 to the home side.

Again it was the Jackals who took the ascendency early in the second half. They got the shove-on at an attacking scrum but the ball popped out the back before it could be grounded. Utah rang the changes, subbing out half their pack, but Emerson Prior lasted just a minute before earning a yellow card for a no-arms tackle. Winchester delivered the three points on offer and the lead was now seven points.

Hodgson clawed back three before an unfortunate injury hit Sione Mahe. The winger’s knee buckled when his foot got caught in the turf while retreating to gather a loose ball. He was helped off, with Robbie Povey moving to fullback and Michael Manson shifting to the wing.

It was Manson who put the Warriors ahead, creating something out of nothing. Simple hands down the line gave the speedster just enough space to take the outside on his opposite number. Manson chipped over the cover defense and regathered to score a marvelous individual effort, with Hodgson’s conversion making it 20-17 to the visitors with a little over 10 minutes to play.

Utah looked to be on their way to an insurance score but Lucas Bur won a crucial turnover in the shadow of his own posts. The Jackals moved upfield and turned down an easy shot at the posts, but in the background Winchester was carried off forcing Dallas to bring on a forward as his replacement. It turned out to their benefit, as they pulled everyone into the lineout drive with Tomás Bekerman on the end to get the credit for the winning score.

Dallas will take time to celebrate during their bye week before returning to action for a home game against the Miami Sharks on Saturday, April 27. Utah have another road game next Sunday against the San Diego Legion.

 

SCORING

DALLAS 22
Tries (3) – N. Benn (2′), T. Malanos (30′), T. Bekerman (80′)
Cons (2) – C. Winchester 2/2 (3′, 31′), N. Valentini 0/1
Pens (1) – C. Winchester 1/1 (53′)

UTAH 20
Tries (2) – M. Kruse (14′), M. Manson (67′)
Cons (2) – J. Hodgson 2/2 (15′, 68′)
Pens (2) – J. Hodgson 2/2 (9′, 55′)
YC (1) – E. Prior (52′)

LINEUPS

DALLAS JACKALS
1 Joaquín Horcada (16 Connor Grindal 72′), 2 Dewald Kotze (17 Tomás Bekerman 62′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Kyle Steeves 72′), 4 Sam Golla (capt.), 5 Lucas Bur (19 Daemon Torres 72′), 6 Ronan Foley, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Sam Tuifua (22 Marques Fuala’au 72′), 9 Juan-Dee Oliver (21 Brock Gallagher 74′), 10 Nazareno Valentini, 11 Tomás Malanos, 12 Connor Winchester (20 Ronnie McElligott 79′), 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Vaughen Isaacs (23 Jason Tidwell 70′)

UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg (17 Emerson Prior 51′), 2 Nic Souchon (16 Phil Bradford 51′), 3 Angus MacLellan (18 Paul Mullen 51′), 4 Matt Jensen (20 Onehunga Havili 62′), 5 Saia Uhila (19 Louis Conradie 51′), 6 Frank Lochore, 7 Dylan Nel, 8 Thomas Tu’avao (1 Franco van den Berg 57′-62′), 9 Zion Going (21 Kieran McClea 51′), 10 Joel Hodgson (capt.), 11 Joe Mano, 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Spencer Jones (23 Sione Mahe HT {22 Robbie Povey 57′}), 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Michael Manson

MATCH INFO

Date: Friday, April 12
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington
Kickoff: 18:30 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 74°F (23°C), wind SE 10-15mph (16-24km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Blair McClure (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)

HIGHLIGHTS