Feakes treble leads NOLA to win in snowy Utah

photo credit: Davey Wilson / Utah Warriors

Recap

A 79th minute try gave Nick Feakes his hat trick and New Orleans the win as the Gold overcome the snows of Utah to beat the Warriors 21-19 on Saturday evening. Just as we saw in Glendale, Zions Bank Stadium was a winter wonderland with the players forced to front up in freezing conditions.

The Warriors went on the attack early and got their rewards as Lance Williams drove over from close range. JP Eloff replied with a pair of penalty goals to break up the momentum but Franco van van den Berg showed his strength to get over after Josh Whippy was stopped short on two attempts at the line.

Kane Thompson was binned for a swinging arm on Logan Daniels in the build-up, but instead it was NOLA who scored next despite being down a man. Feakes was left alone out wide and simple hands put him into the corner.

Utah would receive their own yellow when Jeremy Misailegalu took out Eloff in the air. The resulting space in the backline was all the Gold needed to put Feakes in for his second just before halftime.

The Warriors regained the lead on the hour mark. Their lineout drive pushed them close but the ball popped loose. Daniels was quickest to react, the Utah hooker getting help from Ara Elkington to make it over the line.

With the Gold now pressing and time winding down Williams was sent to the sidelines for team infringements. NOLA opted for a scrum and Scott Gale through a huge miss-pass straight to Feakes who had just enough room to make the corner before Whippy could arrive. The conversion was no good but time was up.

 

SCORING

UTAH 19
Tries – L. Williams (6’), F. van den Berg (24’), L. Daniels (59’)
Cons – T. O’Malley 2/3 (7’, 25’)
Yellow cards – J. Misailegalu (37’), L. Williams (78’)

NEW ORLEANS 21
Tries – N. Feakes 3 (27’, 39’, 79’)
Cons – J. Eloff 0/3
Pens – J. Eloff 2/2 (17’, 20’)
Yellow cards – K. Thompson (24’)

 

TEAMS

UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Logan Daniels (16 Blake Burdette 63’), 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Saia Uhila, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ara Elkington, 8 John Cullen, 9 Johnny Ika, 10 James Semple, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 12 Tim O’Malley (capt.), 13 Jeremy Misailegalu, 14 Tonata Lauti, 15 Josh Whippy

Not used: 17 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 18 Jackson Kaka, 19 Kenny Scott, 20 Alex Tucci, 21 Nolan Tuamoheloa, 22 Josh Anderson, 23 Ian Luciano

NEW ORLEANS GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan (17 Cam Falcon 53’), 2 Eric Howard (capt.), 3 Ben Tarr (16 Matt Harmon 68’), 4 William Waguespack (19 Moni Tonga’uiha 53’), 5 Billy Stewart, 6 John Sullivan, 7 Zack Stryffeler, 8 Kane Thompson, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 Scott Gale, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Taylor Howden (22 Bobby Johns 60’), 14 Tristan Blewett, 15 JP Eloff

Not used: 18 Mason Briant, 20 Kevin O’Connor, 21 Michael Baska, 23 Shawn Riley

 

Result

TeamTCPDBPPoints
Utah Warriors3200119
NOLA Gold302021

Utah Warriors

1Franco van den Berg Loosehead Prop
2Logan Daniels 16 Hooker
3Angus MacLellan Tighthead Prop
4Saia Uhila Right Lock
5Matt Jensen Left Lock
6Lance Williams Blindside Flanker
7Ara Elkington Openside Flanker
8John Cullen Number Eight
9Johnny Ika Fullback
10James Semple Flyhalf
11Fetu’u Vainikolo Left Wing
12Tim O’Malley Inside Center
13Jeremy Misailegalu Outside Center
14Tonata Lauti Right Wing
15Josh Whippy Fullback
16Blake Burdette 2 Hooker
17Huluholo Mo’ungaloa Loosehead Prop
18Jackson Kaka Number Eight
19Kenny Scott Blindside Flanker
20Alex Tucci Tighthead Prop
21Nolan Tuamoheloa Wing
22Josh Anderson Wing
23Ian Luciano Scrumhalf

NOLA Gold

1Kevin Sullivan 17 Loosehead Prop
2Eric Howard Hooker
3Ben Tarr 16 Tighthead Prop
4William Waguespack 19 Left Lock
5Billy Stewart Right Lock
6John Sullivan Blindside Flanker
7Zack Stryffeler Openside Flanker
8Kane Thompson Number Eight
9Holden Yungert Scrumhalf
10Scott Gale Flyhalf
11Nick Feakes Left Wing
12Con Foley Inside Center
13Taylor Howden 22 Outside Center
14Tristan Blewett Right Wing
15JP Eloff Fullback
16Matt Harmon 3 Loosehead Prop
17Cam Falcon 1 Tighthead Prop
18Mason Briant Hooker
19Moni Tonga’uiha 4 Blindside Flanker
20Kevin O’Connor Openside Flanker
21Michael Baska Scrumhalf
22Bobby Johns 13 Right Wing
23Shawn Riley Wing

Officials

Referee
Scott Green (USA)
Assistant Referee 1
Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Kage Green (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season Attendance
March 2, 2019 9:00 pm Major League Rugby 2019 1477

Venue

Zions Bank Stadium
14787 Academy Parkway, Herriman, UT 84065, USA

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