Last minute try saves Gold from Elite defeat

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