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The San Diego Legion picked up their first win of the new season with a 30-23 result over the Dallas Jackals on Sunday. Both sides were intent on playing expansive rugby on a sunny Arlington afternoon, and the crowd were treated to an exciting contest with the two sides combining for seven tries.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring with a sensational try five minutes into the game. Ronan Foley snatched the ball off the deck at a tackle and sped over halfway, linking with Juan-Dee Oliver on the right for a runaway try on debut for the scrumhalf. Vaughan Isaacs split the uprights from the right sideline to make it a full seven for the Jackals.
The Legion shook off the early letup and went to work on a try of their own. Ma’a Nonu started the attack with a barging run over the gainline, and after several phases it was Nonu who did the finishing as he carried three defenders over the line for the score. Lincoln McClutchie’s first conversion attempt was pulled left of the posts.
After a bout of kick tennis the Legion were awarded a kickable penalty and McClutchie found the sticks to put the visitors in the lead by one. Isaacs sparked a counter-attack with a long run, and then hit Manuel Covella on the right side with a cross-kick but the final pass didn’t go to hand and instead Dallas settled for three points from Isaacs to regain control.
Dallas nearly created a try at the half-hour mark as Foley ripped through a gap at the end of a lineout. Foley offloaded from the deck to keep the move alive and Golla crashed ahead, but Daemon Torres couldn’t connect with Covella on the outside. San Diego couldn’t clear and the attack continued until Isaacs took another three off the tee.
With the clock winding down in the half the Legion won a breakdown penalty just inside halfway and summoned McClutchie to close the gap. He duly obliged to make it a 13-11 score at the intermission with Dallas holding the lead.
When the game restarted McClutchie again lined up another long-range shot at the sticks, this time from the right side of the pitch. It fell short and San Diego nearly regathered but a knock-on gave the scrum to Dallas. Connor Winchester kicked to halfway and San Diego countered, with Hugh Roach and Connor Tupai carrying most of the way and Blair Cowan sliding over on the end of an overlap.
San Diego seemed to find another gear and continued to pile on the pressure. Dallas had a chance to clear but a mistake at the lineout gave the ball straight back to the Legion. Roach got behind the defense with a half-break and when Tupai was stopped just short, Marcel Brache picked up and scored from the ruck as a confused Dallas defense looked on.
Just before the hour mark Matai Leuta clattered into his opposite Covella while the Jackals winger was catching a high ball. A review showed contact to the head and a yellow card came from the referee’s pocket sending Leuta to the sideline for 10 minutes. Instead of Dallas taking advantage it was San Diego who pounced on a loose pass with Ethan Grayson sprinting 40 meters down the sideline for the bonus point try. McClutchie added two more from wide out.
The win was secured but Dallas would not lie down in the final minutes. Golla sprinted home from 40 meters on a superb individual effort to bring the Jackals to within striking range of a bonus point. Josh Henderson attempted a penalty goal that rang off the upright, and with time expired a wild end-to-end sequence finished with Kyle Steeves crossing to earn Dallas a consolation bonus point.
It’s a short turnaround for San Diego who head back to Snapdragon Stadium to play their new Californian cousins Los Angeles on Saturday. Dallas have a full week to prepare for their road game against Anthem Carolina in Charlotte on Sunday.
| SCORING |
DALLAS 23
Tries (3) – J. Oliver (5′), S. Golla (73′), K. Steeves (80’+3′)
Cons (1) – V. Isaacs 1/3 (6′)
Pens (2) – V. Isaacs 2/2 (25′, 34′)
SAN DIEGO 30
Tries (4) – M. Nonu (9′), B. Cowan (46′), M. Brache (54′), E. Grayson (59′)
Cons (2) – L. McClutchie 2/4 (55′, 60′)
Pens (2) – L. McClutchie 2/3 (16′, 40′), J. Henderson 0/1
YC (1) – M. Leuta (58′)
| LINEUPS |
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray (16 Joaquín Horcada 54′), 2 Dewald Kotze (17 Tomas Bekerman 68′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Kyle Steeves 57′), 4 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 5 Lucas Bur (19 Ronnie McElligott 66′), 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (co-capt.), 7 Daemon Torres (20 Makeen Alikhan 48′), 8 Ronan Foley (22 Marques Fuala’au 66′), 9 Juan-Dee Oliver (21 Brock Gallagher 54′-55′, 66′), 10 Vaughen Isaacs, 11 Manuel Covella (23 Jason Tidwell 60′), 12 Connor Winchester, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Nic Benn, 14 Nazareno Valentini
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio (17 Nathan Sylvia 53′), 2 Hugh Roach (16 Cyrille Cama 71′), 3 Luke Green (18 Darcy Breen 53′), 4 Isaac Ross (19 Charlie Hewitt HT), 5 Greg Peterson, 6 Vili Helu, 7 Blair Cowan (capt.) (20 Tevita Tameilau 60′), 8 Tupou Afungia, 9 Connor Tupai (21 Nick Boyer 71′), 10 Lincoln McClutchie, 11 Matai Leuta (22 Josh Henderson 68′), 12 Ma’a Nonu (23 Ethan Grayson 53′), 13 Marcel Brache, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Mikey Te’o
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, March 10
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 63°F (17°C)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Fernando García (Mexico)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
