Austin comeback falls short against Old Glory

photo credit: Norma Salinas / Austin Gilgronis Rugby

Recap

The Gilgronis recovered from a poor first half to make the game interesting, but ultimately fell by 28-19 to Old Glory in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon. Austin trailed 23-7 at halftime and had a chance to steal a win before Renata Roberts-Te Nana’s late try sealed the result.

Jason Robertson continued his fine early season form with a long-range penalty just a few minutes after kickoff. Not long after the horror start for the Gilgronis continued as Danny Tusitala finished off a Dylan Taikato-Simpson break, curling around under the posts for an easy seven.

A second Robertson penalty stretched the lead and once again a try followed immediately after. Tusitala’s cutout pass was tapped on by Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz to Thretton Palamo. The big center drew and passed to Doug Fraser, who stepped back across the grain to bamboozle the defense and set up Robertson’s conversion.

Now 20 points adrift, the Gilgronis finally got something to cheer about with a penalty try via their scrum. It came after Will Vakalahi was sent to the bin for an infringement inside Old Glory’s five-meter line. Austin couldn’t hold out to the break, however, immediately conceding their own penalty which Robertson duly punished for three more.

Whatever was said at halftime seemed to work, as the Texans came out a different side in the second half. A successful lineout drive ended with Tiaan Erasmus falling over for a try in the corner. Marcelo Torrealba stuck the conversion and the gap was down to nine.

Old Glory came roaring back and pressed the Gilgronis line for several minutes but the defense held strong and they cleared their lines. Instead it was Austin who scored at the other end. Zinzan Elan-Puttick walked off with an arm injury but his team stayed focused and Frank Halai found space on the right side for his second try in as many games.

With the clock ticking down and the momentum firmly with Austin, an opportunity presented itself but a knock-on turned the ball over and instead Old Glory countered. Taikato-Simpson connected with Robertson and finally Roberts-Te Nana who raced free to halt the comeback and deny the Gilgronis a losing bonus point.

 

SCORING

AUSTIN 19
Tries – Penalty try (39′), T. Erasmus (54′), F. Halai (72′)
Cons – M. Torrealba 1/2 (55′)

DC 28
Tries – D. Tusitala (8′), D. Fraser (24′), R. Roberts-Te Nana (78′)
Cons – J. Robertson 2/3 (9′, 25′)
Pens – J. Robertson 3/3 (4′, 22′, 40′)
Yellow cards – W. Vakalahi (37′)

 

TEAMS

AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jamie Mackintosh (17 LaRome White 60′), 2 Tiaan Erasmus (16 Brendan Rams 63′), 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Potu Leavasa, 5 Maikeli Naromaitoga (19 Luca Tani 52′), 6 Dominic Akina, 7 Moe Abdelmonem (20 Stewart Morris 79′), 8 Lino Saunitoga, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 10 Zinzan Elan-Puttick (capt.) (23 Peni Tagive 71′), 11 Rodrick Waters, 12 Gabe Farley, 13 Frank Halai, 14 Corey Jones, 15 Rodrigo Silva

Not used: 18 Juan Echeverría, 21 Colby Stevens, 22 Sione Fangaiuiha

OLD GLORY DC
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Max Lum 79′), 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai (16 Dante Lopresti 67′), 3 Will Vakalahi (18 Gordon Fullerton 67′), 4 Tevita Naqali, 5 Api Naikatini (19 Dylan Pieterse 48′), 6 Travis Larsen (18 Gordon Fullerton 37′-47′) (20 Matt Hughston 52′), 7 Mungo Mason (co-capt.), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala (21 Michael Reid 79′), 10 Jason Robertson (22 Mike Dabulas 79′), 11 Doug Fraser, 12 Ciaran Hearn (23 Renata Roberts-Te Nana 60′), 13 Thretton Palamo (co-capt.), 14 Declan O’Donnell, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson

 

Result

TeamTCPDPoints
Austin Gilgronis320019
Old Glory DC323028

Austin Gilgronis

1Jamie Mackintosh 17 Loosehead Prop
2Tiaan Erasmus 16 Hooker
3Mason Pedersen Tighthead Prop
4Potu Leavasa Left Lock
5Maikeli Naromaitoga 19 Right Lock
6Dominic Akina Blindside Flanker
7Moe Abdelmonem 20 Openside Flanker
8Lino Saunitoga Number Eight
9Marcelo Torrealba Scrumhalf
10Zinzan Elan-Puttick 23 Flyhalf
11Rodrick Waters Left Wing
12Gabe Farley Inside Center
13Frank Halai Outside Center
14Corey Jones Right Wing
15Rodrigo Silva Fullback
16Brendan Rams 2 Hooker
17LaRome White 1 Loosehead Prop
18Juan Echeverría Tighthead Prop
19Luca Tani 5 Right Lock
20Stewart Morris 7 Openside Flanker
21Colby Stevens Scrumhalf
22Sione Fangaiuiha Inside Center
23Peni Tagive 10 Outside Center

Old Glory DC

1Jake Turnbull 17 Loosehead Prop
2Mike Sosene-Feagai 16 Hooker
3Will Vakalahi 18 Tighthead Prop
4Tevita Naqali Right Lock
5Apisai Naikatini 19 Left Lock
6Travis Larsen 20 Blindside Flanker
7Mungo Mason Openside Flanker
8Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz Number Eight
9Danny Tusitala 21 Scrumhalf
10Jason Robertson 22 Flyhalf
11Doug Fraser Left Wing
12Ciaran Hearn 23 Inside Center
13Thretton Palamo Outside Center
14Declan O’Donnell Right Wing
15Dylan Taikato-Simpson Fullback
16Dante Lopresti 2 Hooker
17Max Lum 1 Loosehead Prop
18Gordon Fullerton 3 Tighthead Prop
19Dylan Pieterse 5 Left Lock
20Matt Hughston 6 Blindside Flanker
21Michael Reid 9 Scrumhalf
22Mike Dabulas 10 Flyhalf
23Renata Roberts-Te Nana 12 Left Wing

Officials

Referee
Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistant Referee 1
Kat Roche (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Butch Neuenschwander (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season
February 29, 2020 4:00 pm Eastern Conference 2020

Venue

Toyota Field
5106 David Edwards Dr, San Antonio, TX 78233, USA

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