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Old Glory DC recovered from a 10-point halftime deficit to claim a 30-23 win over Rugby ATL on Saturday. It was a fitting performance from the home side in the first Major League Rugby match played at their new preferred venue of Segra Field in Leesburg.
It was all square when the first hydration break arrived as both sides exchanged penalty opportunities. Robbie Petzer missed a sitter to start but recovered to connect on two more, while Danny Tusitala had no trouble with two chip shots.
ATL seemed to be getting the edge and were rewarded with the first try just shy of the half-hour mark. Bautista Ezcurra broke up the middle, and then Johan Momsen tied in the scrambling defense. A gap opened for Rowan Gouws who fooled the last defender with a dummy before diving in for the score.
Petzer’s conversion was routine, and four minutes later he tacked on a penalty kick to make it 16-6 at the intermission. Old Glory’s forays into ATL territory were repelled by an unyielding defense.
DC made a tactical change early in the second half as Mike Dabulas come in at flyhalf with Tusitala switching back to his preferred scrumhalf spot. New signing Stan South also entered the fray in place of veteran lock Api Naikatini.
The changes paid off immediately as Tusitala upped the tempo and South the favored target in the lineout. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz was held up in-goal but Conor Keys was found guilty of a cynical infraction and sent to the bin. From the scrum Fa’anana-Schultz went again and though he was stopped an inch short, Callum Gibbins was on hand to finish the job.
There was no respite offered as Old Glory came straight back at the Ratlers. Dabulas skipped past two defenders and Mike Sosene-Feagai blasted ahead. When a penalty was finally awarded Tusitala went quick and stepped the last man before touching down. Tusitala converted his own try and DC suddenly had a four-point lead.
Another charging run from Sosene-Feagai earned field position but South found himself in hot water for dangerous clear-out that earned him a seat alongside Keys. It didn’t slow down Old Glory at all, however, and soon Tusitala sent over another three-pointer to stretch the lead.
Keys returned from the bin and ATL made their own tactical change as Fijian international Manasa Saulo come on at tighthead prop. The extra weight from the pair drove the DC scrum straight backwards. A promising attack was snuffed out by a turnover and instead Sam Cusano raced down the sideline with Rory van Vugt’s cover tackle preventing an end-to-end try.
With the scrum now in shambles Old Glory needed to move quickly and Fa’anana-Schultz managed to pick the ball free in retreat. A multi-phase attack pushed ATL back to their goal line and Tevita Naqali put his head down to bash in for a third try.
The Ratlers were down but not completely out. Momsen made another line break, and then Saulo crashed ahead. When quick ball came Keys came around the corner on the short side to drag in two defenders with his offload finding Mark O’Keeffe open for a try. Petzer conversion secured a bonus point but time would run out before any further scoring would take place.
It’s another home game for Old Glory next Saturday when they play host to the Toronto Arrows. ATL will head back home to Marietta for a clash against the San Diego Legion.
SCORING
DC 30
Tries – C. Gibbins (50′), D. Tusitala (53′), T. Naqali (73′)
Cons – D. Tusitala 3/3 (51′, 54′, 74′)
Pens – D. Tusitala 3/3 (9′, 19′, 59′)
Yellow cards – S. South (58′)
ATL 23
Tries – R. Gouws (29′), M. O’Keeffe (75′)
Cons – R. Petzer 2/2 (30′, 76′)
Pens – R. Petzer 3/4 (12′, 22′, 34′)
Yellow cards – C. Keys (50′)
TEAMS
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jamie Dever (17 Jack Iscaro 63′), 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai (16 James King 74′), 3 Steven Longwell (18 Jack Carroll 74′), 4 Tevita Naqali (23 Josh Brown 74′), 5 Apisai Naikatini (19 Stan South 44′), 6 Callum Gibbins (20 Luke Campbell 63′), 7 Mungo Mason (co-capt.), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Sean Hartig (22 Mike Dabulas 44′), 10 Danny Tusitala, 11 D’Montae Noble, 12 Doug Fraser, 13 Thretton Palamo (co-capt.), 14 Sam Cusano, 15 Renata Roberts-Te Nana
Not used: 21 Danny Thomas
RUGBY ATL
1 Chance Wenglewski (18 Manasa Saulo 64′), 2 Neethling Gericke (16 Jonas Petrakopoulos 53′), 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Conor Keys (20 Daemon Torres 77′), 5 Johan Momsen, 6 Connor Cook, 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Jason Damm (19 Vili Helu HT), 9 Rowan Gouws (23 Ryan Rees 64′), 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 11 Rory van Vugt, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 13 Robbie Petzer, 14 Jeremy Misailegalu, 15 Martini Talapusi (21 Mark O’Keeffe 56′)
Not used: 17 Will Burke, 22 Zander van Schalkwyk
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Mike O’Brien (USA) & Gavin McCandless (USA)
