Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The Sharks made it difficult at times, but the Warriors had too much in the end for their hosts on Saturday evening. Utah left Miami with a bonus point victory with two late tries pushing the final score to 36-19 in favor of the visitors. Discipline was an issue for both teams with four cards dished out by the officials.
Handling errors plagued both sides early in the contest. Eventually D’Angelo Leuila landed a shot at goal to open the scoring, but missed a second opportunity from 45 meters soon after. Zion Going then scored two tries in short order, both created by midfielder Spencer Jones to give Utah a 17-nil lead.
Kirby Myhill got Miami on the board with a try from close range, but there was an instant reply from Jordan Trainor on the end of an overlap to restore the lead. Just before halftime one player from each team was dispatched by the referee for foul play. Tomás Cubilla saw red after a head-high collision with Nic Benn, and then yellow was brandished for Tuvere Vugakoto’s high tackle that was deemed to have mitigating circumstances.
After a 20-minute stalemate Trainor was binned after a string of penalties conceded by the Warriors, and a minute later they were reduced to just 13 men when Frank Lochore earned a yellow card for a no-arms tackle. A poor pass from Martín Elías saw an immediate opportunity go to waste, but Santiago Videla finally crossed on the end of an attacking sequence. Shane O’Leary’s line break then set up Tomás Bekerman to score on another overlap, closing the gap to just 5 points with 10 minutes to play.
Once back at full strength the Warriors fired back with two tries to close out the game. A break from Joel Hodgson set up Trainor for his double, and then it was Trainor’s turn to create with his grubber into space bouncing nicely for Benn to slide onto with a minute to play.
Both teams are on the road next Saturday. Utah heads to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Seawolves, while Miami travels due west for a clash against the San Diego Legion.
| SCORING |
MIAMI 19
Tries (3) – K. Myhill (25′), S. Videla (66′), T. Bekerman (69′)
Cons (2) – M. Elias 1/2 (26′), S. O’Leary 1/1 (70′)
RC (1) – T. Cubilla (38′)
UTAH 36
Tries (5) – Z. Going 2 (18′, 22′), J. Trainor 2 (28′, 72′), N. Benn (79′)
Cons (4) – D. Leuila 3/3 (19′, 23′, 29′), J. Hodgson 1/2 (73′)
Pens (1) – D. Leuila 1/2 (12′)
YC (3) – T. Vugakoto (39′), J. Trainor (61′), F. Lochore (62′)
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Ma’ake Muti (17 Alec McDonnell 52′), 2 Kirby Myhill (16 Sean McNulty 45′), 3 Tau Koloamatangi (18 Alex Tucci 52′), 4 Tomás Casares, 5 Federico Gutiérrez, 6 Manuel Ardao (19 Chase Schor-Haskin 74′), 7 Ronan Foley, 8 Marques Fuala’au (20 Tomás Bekerman 45′), 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.) (21 Damian Morley 67′), 10 Martín Elías, 11 Connor Burns (22 Shane O’Leary 60′), 12 Tomás Cubilla (23 Guiseppe du Toit 58′), 13 Matías Orlando, 14 Marcos Young, 15 Santiago Videla
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Fred Apulu (17 Aki Seiuli 48′), 2 Tuvere Vugakoto (16 Liam Coltman 49′), 3 Remsy Lemisio (18 Tonga Kofe 48′), 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Gavin Thornbury (capt.), 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Kalisi Moli (16 Liam Coltman 41′-49′) (19 Matt Jensen 54′), 8 Dylan Nel (20 Reid Davis 50′), 9 Zion Going (21 Logan Crowley 62′), 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Joe Mano (23 Gabe Casey 67′), 12 D’Angelo Leuila (22 Paul Lasike 67′), 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Jordan Trainor
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 15
Venue: Baptist Health Community Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 18:00 local
Weather: sunny, 79°F (26°C), wind SE 12-19mph (19-30km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Marquise Goodwin (USA)
Assistants: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) & Dave Edwards (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
