Last minute try saves Gold from Elite defeat

photo credit: Craig Boudreaux / NOLA Gold Rugby

Recap

A last-minute try from Michael Baska pulled the NOLA Gold from the jaws of defeat as they escaped with a 35-31 win over a defiant Austin Elite side at Gold Stadium on Saturday. The two teams went toe-to-toe throughout, scoring five tries apiece in an exciting exhibition of free-flowing rugby.

It was played at a ferocious pace from the get-go and the home side struck first with JP Eloff cutting back across the blindside to give Tim Maupin a clean shot at the line. The Eagles winger did not disappoint, stepping past two and fending a third for an early seven-pointer.

Austin would be next on the board, though it would come against the run of play. Scott Gale spotted a three-man overlap to his left but didn’t see Soheyl Jaoudat creeping up, and the fullback snared the ball from the air and sprinted 80 meters, just outstripping the desperate chase from Nick Feakes to score under the posts.

New Orleans went back to work and the pressure was rewarded with two tries. The first was easy as you like for Holden Yungert, who pounced on a loose ball as it squired out the back of a 5-meter scrum. More pressure brought more points from big prop Hubert Buydens, who used good body position and a little help from his friends to breach the line.

Just as it looked like the Gold might pull away Rodrigo Silva sliced through the line. NOLA repelled the initial attack but couldn’t clear the ball from their end. Doug Fraser, a late promotion to the starting lineup, nearly went over on debut and his captain Ben Mitchell was there to finish the job, bouncing off one and reaching out for the score.

An inside pass from Gale found Kyle Baillie on a clever angle and the Canadian sprinted 35 meters up-field, completing the simple two-on-one with Con Foley doing the finishing honors. At 28-12 the Elite were now three scores down and it was again looking like job done for the home side. Only it wasn’t.

NOLA took their foot off the gas and Austin hit a purple patch with three tries in the span of 10 minutes. Silva was on the end of a cheeky dab over the top from Mickaël Romera. Next it was Chris Schade who went over after several pick and drives from the forwards, and almost from the restart the crowd was stunned as Andrés Vilaseca ripped through a hole in the defense and sent Jaoudat in for a double.

The Elite defense held strong as the Gold recognized their peril. Twice NOLA spurned easy penalty kicks at goal for a shot at the corner, and neither decision paid off. Baska joined the fray at scrumhalf with Kevin O’Connor brought in for his first Major League Rugby appearance on the flank. Despite their impetus it looked as though the game was lost when a knock-on gave possession back to Austin with only two minutes to play.

To their delight, instead of killing the clock the Elite inexplicably kicked the ball straight down the park into the waiting arms of Maupin who initiated the counter-attack. Two phases later Moni Tonga’uiha was through, and then simple hands to O’Connor and finally Baska shattered Texan dreams of victory.

 

SCORING

NOLA 35
Tries – T. Maupin (8’), H. Yungert (24’), H. Buydens (30’), C. Foley (47’), M. Baska (79’)
Cons – J. Eloff 5/5 (9’, 25’, 31’, 48’, 80’)

AUSTIN 31
Tries – S. Jaoudat 2 (19’, 67’), B. Mitchell (40’), R. Silva (57’), C. Schade (65’)
Cons – M. Romera 2/3 (20’, 58’), A. Vilaseca 1/2 (66’)

 

TEAMS

NOLA GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens (17 Cam Falcon 59’), 2 Eric Howard (capt.), 3 Ben Tarr, 4 Kane Thompson, 5 Ignacio Dotti (19 Billy Stewart 63’), 6 Nikola Bursic, 7 Zack Stryffeler (20 Kevin O’Connor 73’), 8 Kyle Baillie (21 Moni Tonga’uiha 59’), 9 Holden Yungert (22 Michael Baska 73’), 10 Scott Gale, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Taylor Howden (23 Joeli Tikoisuva 69’), 14 Tim Maupin, 15 JP Eloff

Not used: 16 Mason Briant, 18 Kavika Peniata

AUSTIN ELITE
1 LaRome White (17 Chris Schade 61’), 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Juan Echeverría (18 Brendan Rams 66’), 4 Ben Mitchell (capt.), 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Kyle Breytenbach (20 Rikus Zwart 51’), 7 Moe Abdelmonem (16 Dom Bailey 63’), 8 Travis Larsen, 9 Mickaël Romera (21 Marcelo Torrealba 61’), 10 Rodrigo Silva, 11 Reece Czarnecki (23 Alex Faison-Donahoe 51’), 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Aidan McMullan, 15 Soheyl Jaoudat

Not used: 19 Dylan Pieterse, 22 Sione Fangaiuiha

 

Result

TeamTCPDBPPoints
NOLA Gold5500135
Austin Elite5300231

NOLA Gold

1Hubert Buydens 17 Loosehead Prop
2Eric Howard Hooker
3Ben Tarr Tighthead Prop
4Kane Thompson Left Lock
5Ignacio Dotti 19 Right Lock
6Nikola Bursic Blindside Flanker
7Zack Stryffeler 20 Openside Flanker
8Kyle Baillie 21 Number Eight
9Holden Yungert 22 Scrumhalf
10Scott Gale Flyhalf
11Nick Feakes Left Wing
12Con Foley Inside Center
13Taylor Howden 23 Outside Center
14Tim Maupin Right Wing
15JP Eloff Fullback
16Mason Briant Hooker
17Cam Falcon 1 Tighthead Prop
18Kavika Peniata Loosehead Prop
19Billy Stewart 5 Right Lock
20Kevin O’Connor 7 Openside Flanker
21Moni Tonga’uiha 8 Blindside Flanker
22Michael Baska 9 Scrumhalf
23Joeli Tikoisuva 13 Left Wing

Austin Elite

1LaRome White 17 Loosehead Prop
2Tiaan Erasmus Hooker
3Juan Echeverría 18 Tighthead Prop
4Ben Mitchell Left Lock
5Josh Larsen Right Lock
6Kyle Breytenbach 20 Blindside Flanker
7Moe Abdelmonem 16 Openside Flanker
8Travis Larsen Number Eight
9Mickaël Romera 21 Scrumhalf
10Rodrigo Silva Flyhalf
11Reece Czarnecki 23 Right Wing
12Andrés Vilaseca Inside Center
13Doug Fraser Outside Center
14Aidan McMullan Left Wing
15Soheyl Jaoudat Fullback
16Dom Bailey 7 Openside Flanker
17Chris Schade 1 Loosehead Prop
18Brendan Rams 3 Tighthead Prop
19Dylan Pieterse Lock
20Rikus Zwart 6 Blindside Flanker
21Marcelo Torrealba 9 Scrumhalf
22Sione Fangaiuiha Center
23Alex Faison-Donahoe 11 Right Wing

Officials

Referee
Derek Summers (USA)
Assistant Referee 1
Paul-Henri Courbier (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Ed Gardner (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season Attendance
March 23, 2019 3:00 pm Major League Rugby 2019 1455

Venue

Archbishop Shaw Stadium
Walkertown, Marrero, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, 70073, United States of America

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