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RFC Los Angeles again showed off their attacking prowess with a 31-24 victory over the Gold in New Orleans on Saturday. The visitors repeatedly found success running from their side of the pitch, with two scores just before halftime giving them a lead they would not relinquish.
Rory van Vugt skipped through the defense to spark the first breakout a few minutes in, with Jack Shaw – only just on for the injured Seth Purdey – finishing off the 60-meter move under the posts. LA were pressing for a second score when Xavier Mignot plucked a loose pass from Christian Leali’ifano out of the air for a 70-meter sprint against the run of play.
On the other sideline Ed Fidow looked to have created a try for Reece Botha, but the TMO ruled there was an obstruction. NOLA would get the try soon after anyway when Ale Lopeti went over the back of a maul. The clearance attempt after the restart missed touch and gave a golden opportunity to the visitors. After the forwards inched ahead, Gonzalo Bertranou spun and squeezed over on the edge of a ruck. Leali’ifano’s conversion attempt bounced off the crossbar and the scores stayed level.
An awkward bit of officiating came just after the half-hour mark. Bertranou reached over from a ruck and the referee ruled he had knocked-on in the scoring attempt and allowed advantage, with Jonah Mau’u breaking free from the bewildered LA players. At the next stoppage the TMO chimed in and called the play back, awarding the try to Bertranou. Before halftime would come another break from their own ended with Ben Houston touching down to give LA a 12-point advantage with 40 minutes on the clock.
Not long into the second half NOLA went on the attack after Mike Sosene-Feagai saw yellow for a late hit on Botha. LA’s pack crumbled at the lineout and Lopeti had a double from the driving maul. Just shy of the hour mark, however, the visitors snagged what turned out to the the winning score. Bertranou took a quick tap and fed Billy Meakes angling back into the corner, with Andrew Coe on hand to take the offload in for the try. Leali’ifano stuck the extras to make it 31-17.
While victory now looked unlikely, there was still time for NOLA to earn bonus points. Declan Leaney was binned after collapsing a lineout drive, and the Gold made the advantage count. An attack on the short side saw JP du Plessis fending his way over to earn the four-try bonus. The conversion from wide out was curled in by Luke Carty to bring the Gold within seven and secure a second bonus point in defeat.
Both teams play at home next Saturday. NOLA takes on the Chicago Hounds, and it’s East Coast versus West Coast in Los Angeles as Old Glory makes the long flight from the nation’s capital.
| SCORING |
NOLA 24
Tries (4) – X. Mignot (15′), A. Lopeti 2 (23′, 47′), J. du Plessis (76′)
Cons (2) – R. Botha 1/3 (16′), L. Carty 1/1 (77′)
LOS ANGELES 31
Tries (5) – J. Shaw (7′), G. Bertranou 2 (28′, 34′), B. Houston (40′), A. Coe (59′)
Cons (3) – No kick (7′), C. Leali’ifano 2/4 (35′, 60′)
YC (2) – M. Sosene-Feagai (46′), D. Leaney (74′)
| LINEUPS |
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon (17 Jarred Adams 50′), 2 Ale Lopeti (16 Joe Taufete’e 30′-HT, 50′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Tyler Matchem 67′), 4 Chase Jones (19 Kaden Duguid 50′), 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Aidan King, 7 Jonah Mau’u (capt.), 8 Tupou Afungia (20 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha 63′), 9 Luke Campbell (21 Ruben de Haas 60′), 10 Reece Botha (22 Luke Carty 60′), 11 Ed Fidow, 12 Nikolai Foliaki, 13 Isaac Te Tamaki, 14 Xavier Mignot (23 JP du Plessis 55′), 15 Cooper Coats
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Alessandro Heaney (17 Declan Leaney 57′), 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai (16 Ben Sugars 60′), 3 Maliu Niuafe (18 Franco van den Berg 62′), 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Tim Anstee (19 Semi Kunatani 60′), 7 Ed Timpson (1 Alessandro Heaney 80′), 8 Ben Houston (16 Ben Sugars 50′-56′) (20 Ben Strang 69′), 9 Gonzalo Bertranou (22 Tas Smith 67′), 10 Christian Leali’ifano (21 Will Leonard 69′), 11 Andrew Coe, 12 Billy Meakes (21 Will Leonard 63′-69′), 13 Matias Jensen, 14 Seth Purdey (23 Jack Shaw 3′), 15 Rory van Vugt
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 22
Venue: The Gold Mine, Metairie
Kickoff: 18:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 73°F (23°C), wind S 6-9mph (10-14km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Elvy Asonye (USA)
TMO: Saro Turner (Canada)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
