MLR Team of the Week

There were only three games last weekend in Major League Rugby but they were all revealing. Austin would have earned the upset of the season had they not inexplicably kicked the ball away in the 78th minute instead of grinding out the win. Glendale were made to look very ordinary in New York, and the less said about the game in Houston the better. We did pick four players from that one, however, so you’ll have to bare with us a little longer.

1 – LaRome White (Austin Elite) His first ever MLR start was a memorable one. Won the head-to-head battle in the scrum and put in a good shift elsewhere that included several strong carries into traffic. Utah’s Franco van den Berg was class in the loose, but not so much the scrum. Mateo Sanguinetti game some lessons in that area for Houston.

2 – Pat O’Toole (Houston SaberCats) Every hooker struggled at the lineout this week so we’ll forgive a couple wobbles. Elsewhere he was excellent, including a ridiculous breakaway score that would have been the try of the season for a hooker if not for Chad Gough’s infamous mad dash. O’Toole was very strong in defense, stopping both Matt Jensen and Gannon Moore dead in their tracks.

3 – Paddy Ryan (Rugby United New York) There’s a reason why tighthead props are highly prized in Europe. Good ones are hard to find. Ironically the two best in MLR happen to have the same name. New York’s version of Paddy Ryan welcomed Noah Barker to professional rugby with a rough day in the scrum. The big man also carried well, on one occasion making 10 meters from a standing start beginning way behind the gainline.

4 – Saia Uhila (Utah Warriors) It was tempting to pick New York’s Nate Brakeley but Uhila was too good to ignore. Carried the ball forward relentlessly from start to finish, evidenced by his 79th minute charge with two men on his back. Put in a crunching tackle on Connor Murphy, and cleared off Jake Turnbull from what would have been a certain turnover. He wasn’t a primary lineout option like Brakeley but elsewhere was immense.

5 – Ben Mitchell (Austin Elite) The captain has been slogging away in a beaten side all season and came painfully close to finally getting a result. A giant in the lineout and equally sharp in the loose. Perhaps the only blight on his copybook was the knock-on over the line, but then the try was awarded anyway so we’ll call that a wash!

6 – Kyle Baillie (NOLA Gold) Most of this week’s top loose forwards were at the back of the scrum. Even Hanco Germishuys, who wore 7, was actually playing No8. Baillie was a late change from the blindside after Cam Dolan dropped out and made a pretty good fist of it. There weren’t any actual blindsides that we felt outplayed him so Baillie gets the call. Physical in defense, a prominent figure in the lineout, and had two big runs including one that put Con Foley in under the sticks.

7 – Lance Williams (Utah Warriors) Finally got a chance to start on the openside, what we feel is his best position. Showed off his incredible fitness levels with an all-action match that saw him pop up everywhere, be it carrying the ball, making a tackle, or just making a mess of whatever he was close to. Got a sneaky try at the end for his troubles.

8 – Ross Deacon (Rugby United New York) Continues to be a colossal presence with ball in hand for his team. Made a huge break up the middle from the back of a lineout, and one burst off the scrum set up an extraordinary end-to-end team try. Also gave a clinic in the lost art of keeping the ball in an advancing scrum. Travis Larsen worked hard all game for Austin.

9 – Mickaël Romera (Austin Elite) Has been neck-and-neck in the fight for the starting role with Marcelo Torrealba, but looks to have nudged himself ahead now. His service was crisp and accurate against NOLA, and he showed urgency digging for the ball to keep the momentum going. Cheeky little chip over the top ended in a try for Rodrigo Silva. A tip of the cap to NOLA’s Michael Baska for his game-saving cameo.

10 – Sam Windsor (Houston SaberCats) To be clear, this is entirely recognition of his match-winning effort off the kicking tee. Other aspects of the game were done better by Austin’s Silva or Glendale’s Will Magie. Goal kicking is what Windsor is paid to do but perfection in that function deserves acknowledgment.

11 – Nick Feakes (NOLA Gold) What a bonus to have such a creative player out wide. His outside break early put Austin on notice and he kept the move alive with a soft pass to JP Eloff. Came in off the wing to look for work infield, and was part of the cover that sparked the winning try after he had moved to fullback in the final minutes of the match.

12 – Mike St. Claire (Rugby United New York) For someone largely thought of as a winger he has done exceptionally well as a stand-in midfielder. His first half try will be on the season-end highlight reels and he nearly had a second later on. Distributed well and a staunch defender. Ripped the ball clean away from Kody O’Neil that nearly created a score. Andrés Vilaseca was class for Austin and wasn’t far behind.

13 – Mark O’Keeffe (Rugby United New York) Scored two tries, one a finish on a miraculous team score and the second a beautiful line that caught the Raptors defense unawares. Was a threat with ball in hand all game. Doug Fraser quietly had a very solid game on debut for Austin.

14 – Tim Maupin (NOLA Gold) The back three was a major source of strength for NOLA and it’s not a stretch to say they likely won the game for them. Maupin stepped and swerved to score the first try, and had a very good return on a kickoff in the second half. Shot up to halt Fraser behind the line in a key defensive play, and was there to collect the ill-advised kick from Torrealba that sparked the winning try.

15 – Dylan Taikato-Simpson (Glendale Raptors) To a man the fullbacks all enjoyed strong moments this week. In the end we had Austin’s Soheyl Jaoudat and NOLA’s JP Eloff in the mix, but couldn’t ignore the theatrical Taikato-Simpson. Scored an instant classic that is a contender for solo try of the season, and had another searing break and offload to Germishuys to get the Raptors out of trouble. Kick to this man at your own peril.