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Rugby ATL cruised to a 27-13 win over Old Glory DC at Segra Field on Sunday. A late score made the margin of defeat slightly more palatable for the home side, but the visitors were never truly under pressure and needed little urgency to retain their spot at the top of the Eastern Conference table.
Felix Kalapu made his presence felt just seconds into his Major League Rugby debut. The Old Glory flanker put in a shuddering hit on Ryan Nell. He was penalised for going to high but the TMO review determined that there was no direct head contact, and the cards stayed in the referee’s pocket.
ATL had little trouble moving into DC territory. They won a kickable penalty but Kurt Coleman opted for the corner and the forwards delivered. When the lineout drive stalled Justin Basson picked from the back and fell over the line for a try. Coleman’s conversion attempt bounced off the left upright.
It wasn’t long before ATL were in for their second try. Old Glory’s defense was in disarray as Austin White came looking for work from his opposite wing, connecting with Harley Davidson for the finish in the corner. The wind pulled Coleman’s kick wide left.
Rohan Saifoloi got DC on the board with a penalty goal. ATL moved straight back into Old Glory’s end and camped out there seemingly for the rest of the half, but John Sullivan knocked-on while attempting to dive over a ruck to score and the Ratlers would get no further points before the break.
Danny Tusitala’s pass was slightly low to Junior Sa’u at a scrum, and the resulting knock-on handed possession back to ATL. They would win a penalty in short order and kick for the corner. This time the driving maul worked to perfection with Marko Janse van Rensburg getting the credit for the try.
Coleman converted and added a penalty kick after Vili Helu charged down a Tusitala box kick. Again the Ratlers steamed forward and Basson sucked in two defenders, reaching out of the tackle to deliver a marvelous back-handed offload to Alex Maughan for the bonus point try. The score read 27-3 to the visitors at the hydration break.
To their credit Old Glory fought back to score twice in the final quarter. Repeat infringements yielded a lineout drive with Dom Bailey touching down. A Stan South line break sparked the second try, with John LeFevre in support to send Mike Dabulas into the corner. Time would run out before DC could manufacture a losing bonus point.
Both teams are at home next Saturday. ATL will face fierce opposition in the form of the New England Free Jacks. Old Glory takes on NOLA Gold in a battle of the two bottom teams in the East.
SCORING
DC 13
Tries – D. Bailey (64′), M. Dabulas (79′)
Cons – W. Talataina 0/2
Pens – R. Saifoloi 1/1 (16′)
ATL 27
Tries – J. Basson (9′), H. Davidson (12′), M. Janse van Rensburg (45′), A. Maughan (57′)
Cons – K. Coleman 2/4 (46′, 58′)
Pens – K. Coleman 1/1 (52′)
TEAMS
OLD GLORY DC
1 Kyle Stewart (17 Will Vakalahi 70′), 2 Rob Irimescu (16 Mo Katz 70′), 3 Jake Ilnicki (18 Dante Lopresti 73′), 4 Api Naikatini (19 Fintan Coleman 58′), 5 Stan South, 6 Felix Kalapu, 7 Cory Daniel (20 Dom Bailey HT), 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Danny Tusitala (capt.) (21 John LeFevre 67′), 10 Rohan Saifoloi (22 Mike Dabulas 58′), 11 Peni Lasaqa, 12 Junior Sa’u (23 Owen Sheehy 67′), 13 William Talataina, 14 Doug Fraser, 15 Renata Roberts-Te Nana
RUGBY ATL
1 Alex Maughan (17 Jonas Petrakopoulos 65′), 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg (16 Tiaan Erasmus 71′), 3 John Sullivan (18 John-Roy Jenkinson 52′), 4 Justin Basson (21 Jason Damm 65′), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Vili Helu (19 Evan Mintern 52′ {4 Justin Basson 76′}), 7 Connor Cook (20 Frederick Henry-Ajudua 75′), 8 Daemon Torres, 9 Rowan Gouws (22 Eamonn Matthews 73′), 10 Kurt Coleman, 11 Harley Davidson, 12 Will Leonard, 13 Ryan Nell (capt.) (23 Lui Sitama HT), 14 Austin White, 15 Kian Meadon
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Gavin McCandless (USA) & Aaron Davis (USA)
TMO: Amelia Luciano (USA)
