LA outlasts DC in messy card-filled contest

RFC Los Angeles made it three wins on the trot with a 54-44 win at home over Old Glory DC on Saturday. As the scoreline suggests, defense was not a high priority in a match that saw numerous TMO reviews and seven cards handed out including a send-off for Argentine scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou.

The poor tackling was evident from the start when Nick Grigg simply ran straight through the middle of LA’s defense to score just two minutes in. An overthrow at the lineout gave the home side a chance to respond. After several phases on attack, Ed Timpson wrestled his way over the tryline, but the conversion attempt from Rory van Vugt rang off the upright.

Jason Robertson took three points with the boot after his pack won a scrum penalty, but Old Glory immediately gave away a penalty on the restart. Billy Meakes mimicked Grigg’s earlier effort, running straight over Robertson to score under the posts. Robertson would have his say soon after, however, landing another three after Maliu Niuafe was binned for a high tackle.

A third Robertson penalty nudged DC ahead but again they were found wanting at the restart. Jack Shaw was first to the ball and when Ben Houston took off from the ruck there was nobody at home to stop him. Once again Old Glory pushed into LA territory and Bertranou was guilty of side entry at a maul, the scrumhalf earning a yellow card with a penalty try going up on the board for the visitors. Before halftime arrived Coe joined Bertranou in the bin for cynical play at the breakdown.

With LA down to 13 men Jack Iscaro found a gap off Robertson’s shoulder and the prop went clean through to give Old Glory an 11-point lead. Bertranou returned to the pitch and immediately looked for redemption with a quick tap penalty, finding Timpson unguarded on the short side of a ruck to give the flanker a brace. Soon after another quick tap put DC on the back foot and Christian Dyer snuck through a gap to put LA in the lead by three.

Bertranou turned to villain again when a no-arms tackle on a line break. Again the result was a penalty try, and a second yellow meant red for the Pumas international. Another frantic sequence saw Mike Sosene-Feagai setting Tas Smith free with an offload, with Sosene-Feagai following up to pick and drive over from a subsequent ruck. The score now read 40-37 to LA at the hour mark, just as KoiKoi Nelligan was forced to the pay a 10-minute price for repeat DC infringements.

More chaos ensued in the final quarter. Joe Wrafter saw yellow for a dangerous clearout, and then John Rizzo joined him on the sideline for a jersey grab on Andrew Coe that also handed a penalty try to LA. Old Glory retook the lead when Martin Vaca broke from a maul and spun over for a try, but a minute later Smith finished off a Reece MacDonald line break to secure the result for Los Angeles.

Both teams return to action next Saturday. Old Glory head home to await the arrival of the Seawolves from the Pacific Northwest, while LA head to Texas to square off against the Houston SaberCats.

 

SCORING

LOS ANGELES 54
Tries (8) – E. Timpson 2 (11′, 47′), B. Meakes (17′), B. Houston (29′), C. Dyer (51′), M. Sosene-Feagai (59′), Penalty try (70′), T. Smith (74′)
Cons (7) – R. van Vugt 0/1, No kick 2 (17′, 70′), C. Leali’ifano 4/4 (30′, 48′, 52′, 60′), R. MacDonald 1/1 (75′)
YC (3) – M. Niuafe (23′), G. Bertranou (37′), A. Coe (40′)
RC (1) – G. Bertranou (55′)

DC 44
Tries (5) – N. Grigg (2′), Penalty try 2 (37′, 55′), J. Iscaro (42′), M. Vaca (72′)
Cons (5) – J. Robertson 2/2 (3′, 73′), No kick 3 (37′, 42′, 55′)
Pens (3) – J. Robertson 3/3 (16′, 24′, 28′)
YC (3) – D. Nelligan (59′), J. Wrafter (63′), J. Rizzo (70′)

LINEUPS

RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Alessandro Heaney (17 Declan Leaney 48′), 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai (16 Ben Strang 59′), 3 Maliu Niuafe (18 Franco van den Berg 63′), 4 Lucas Bur, 5 Jurie van Vuuren (19 Jason Damm 59′), 6 Semi Kunatani (20 Matt Heaton 42′), 7 Ed Timpson (21 Tas Smith 55′), 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou (2 Mike Sosene-Feagai 75′), 10 Christian Leali’ifano (23 Reece MacDonald 63′), 11 Andrew Coe, 12 Billy Meakes (capt.), 13 Matias Jensen, 14 Jack Shaw (22 Christian Dyer HT), 15 Rory van Vugt

OLD GLORY DC
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Joe Wrafter 59′), 2 KoiKoi Nelligan (16 Martín Vaca 9′-22′, 69′), 3 Joe Rees (18 Cali Martinez 46′), 4 Ignacio Dotti (16 Martín Vaca 63′-69′) (3 Joe Rees 69′-73′), 5 Tevita Naqali (19 Bill Whiteside 49′), 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel (3 Joe Rees 65′-69′) (20 Logan Weidner 69′), 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley (21 Ethan McVeigh 59′), 10 Jason Robertson, 11 John Rizzo (23 John Powers 26′-34′), 12 Nick Grigg (22 Jason Emery 63′), 13 Steff Hughes (capt.), 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Damien Hoyland (23 John Powers 63′)

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles
Kickoff: 15:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 66°F (19°C), wind W 9-14mph (14-22km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Mike Lawrenson (USA) & Austin Reed (USA)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)

HIGHLIGHTS