Austin smother New York in low-scoring battle of attrition

The Austin Gilgronis earned a 16-9 victory over Rugby United New York at Bold Stadium on Saturday. It was a battle of attrition with the home side’s smothering defense holding their guests try-less.

New York got on the board first with a Dan Hollinshead penalty in the 2nd minute. A mistake from the flyhalf, however, gave his opposite number Mack Mason an immediate shot to equalize and he had no trouble splitting the uprights.

A line break from Will Leonard put the visitors back on the front foot and Hollinshead was on target again despite taking a bang on the shoulder in an awkward fall moments earlier. This time New York cleared their lines and earned another shot at goal, which Hollinshead duly slotted to take a 9-3 lead.

Amazingly New York would not influence the scoreboard again in the match. An arm wrestle ensued, and with Austin knocking on the door Leonard was binned for not releasing in a tackle. Michael de Waal broke from a scrum but a thumping tackle from Hanco Germishuys dislodged the ball and Hollinshead’s kick download gave his men some breathing room.

The visitors repeatedly appealed to the referee for penalties and his patience wore thin, warning them twice that further chat would only count against them. Mason turned down a shot at three for the corner, and the decision proved correct as Hugh Roach scored from the back of a driving maul. The extra two were routine for Mason as Austin took the lead for the first time.

Another foray into New York territory was repelled until the last play before halftime. A penalty in front of the sticks was too good to pass up and Mason calmly made it 13-9 as the two sides jogged off the pitch.

Both teams made subs at halftime, with more coming in early in the second half. Hollinshead was replaced by Harry Bennett, who could only watch as Mason slotted his third penalty goal to give the AG’s a seven point advantage.

The final half-hour would pass with no further scoring. In fact neither team would have so much as a kick at goal as the two sides were content to smash into each other ad nauseum with little creativity offered in attack. Fittingly it was a crunching hit from Bryce Campbell on Kara Pryor that forced a knock-on and brought on the final whistle.

It’s a short turnaround for the AG’s as they host their cocktail cousins LA on a rare Wednesday evening match. New York return home for an East Coast clash against the New England Free Jacks next Sunday.

SCORING

AUSTIN 16
Tries – H. Roach (28’)
Cons – M. Mason 1/1 (29’)
Pens – M. Mason 3/3 (4’, 40’, 51’)

NEW YORK 9
Pens – D. Hollinshead 3/3 (2’, 8’, 12’)
Yellow cards – W. Leonard (19’)

TEAMS

AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jamie Mackintosh (18 LaRome White 60’), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Robbie Coetzee 49’), 3 Paddy Ryan (17 Mason Pedersen 48’), 4 Isaac Ross (19 Cam Dodson 60’), 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 6 Dom Bailey (22 Kyle Breytenbach 76’), 7 Maclean Jones (20 Moe Abdelmonem 73’), 8 Michael de Waal, 9 Pele Cowley (21 Ruben de Haas 62’), 10 Mack Mason, 11 Ned Hodson, 12 Kurt Morath, 13 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 14 Rodrick Waters, 15 Conner Mooneyham (23 Cole Davis HT)

RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK
1 James Rochford (16 Wilton Rebolo HT), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (capt.) (17 Anthony Parry 60’), 3 Zak Taulafo (18 Samu Tawake HT), 4 Nate Brakeley, 5 Nick Civetta (19 Charlie Hewitt 49’), 6 Hanco Germishuys, 7 Kara Pryor, 8 Evan Mintern (20 Benjamín Bonasso 60’), 9 Andy Ellis (21 Conor McManus 70’), 10 Dan Hollinshead (22 Harry Bennett HT), 11 Quinn Ngawati (23 Chris Mattina 70’), 12 Will Leonard, 13 Fa’asiu Fuatai, 14 Joel Miranda, 15 Troy Lockyear

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Joey Swatzell (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)