NOLA Gold Defeats Rugby Midwest Selects

NOLA Gold Rugby defeated the Midwest Select 74-0 in their third Major League Rugby exhibition match on January 5 at Gold Stadium. Preceding the match NOLA Gold Academy played against 5785 U-19 Rugby. The Match was streamed by Gift-time Rugby Network on their Facebook page.

A preview of the match may be viewed here. To read about NOLA Gold player profile articles, click on the player’s name below. Articles on NOLA Gold players Billy Stewart and Amro Gouda are in progress.

Match Recap

NOLA Gold dominated the first half using quick ball to create numbers mismatches in taking a 41-0 lead at the break. Interesting use of Scott Gale a left footed kicker and JP Elofff a right-footed kicker on conversion attempts based on field position.

NOLA Gold took the opening kick and had a 2 on 1 leading to a JoJo Tikoisuva try in the left corner. Scott Gale then missed the conversion from touch. The Midwest Selects almost answered back, but the ball was knocked on crossing the line.

NOLA Gold extended their lead from a Tim Maupin try and a Gale conversion for a 12-0 lead. A few minutes later, Eric Howard scored a try after a 5-meter scrum and after Gale’s conversion, Gold led 19-0.

The ensuing restart was taken by the Selects and after a few phases, Cam Dolan intercepted a pass and raced 50-meters for a try and a 26-0 lead after Gale’s conversion.

Gold added a second Maupin try after a 2 on 1 with Eloff’s kick wide. Taylor Howden added a try from a dummy for a 41-0 lead as Eloff’s kick was wide again.

In the 36th minute, the Selects fullback Peter Roy was sent to the bin for a elbow used during a tackle. The Selects were able to defend well for the rest of the half.

NOLA Gold opened the second half with a number of substitutions and with a try by Cam Falcon pushing the lead to 48-0 after a successful conversion. A Cam Dolan try and an Eloff conversion pushed the lead to 55-0.

Amro Gouda dove over from a pick at short range and after Gale’s conversion the score was 62-0.

In the 70th minute, there was an unfortunate incident by Selects Chris Williams at the breakdown leading to a red card. Scott Gale took advantage with a try and a conversion pushing the lead to 69-0.

The Midwest Selects then had a sustained attack, but a penalty near in-goal thwarted their second potential try. NOLA Gold had one final attack with JP Eloff finding a gap for a long break and Michael Baska finishing with a try in the corner for a 74-0 victory.

NOLA Gold had a dominant effort on the day using a quick ball which led to having numbers for scores. For the Selects, it was a learning experience, however, both Ryan Cochran, PJ Van Zil, and Osama Shayeb had an excellent match.

Midwest Selects Head Coach Philp Payne indicated that the NOLA Gold forwards were outstanding in scrums, with the Selects couldn’t winning ball to attack. He also said that the Selects had three scoring opportunities with the ball knocked on as a player was crossing the line. The other two were lost due to poor decisions under defensive pressure.

NOLA Gold Head Coach Nate Osborne said about the match that “It was a good hit-out for us. For a lot of guys, it was there first time playing together. So it was good to work on our timing, communication, and shape. All in all, I was happy with what I saw. Few things to work on and take into next weekends game vs Dallas!”

Squads

NOLA Gold Rugby: 1 Hubert Buydens 2 Eric Howard (C) 3 Ben Tarr 4 Billy Stewart 5 Ignacio Dotti 6 Nikola Bursic 7 Kyle Baille 8 Cam Dolan 9 Holden Yungert (VC) 10 Scott Gale 11 JoJo Tikoisuva 12 Cam Foley 13 Taylor Howden 14 Tim Maupin 15 JP Eloff 16 Matt Harmon 17 Cam Falcon 18 Kevin Sullivan 19 Amro Gouda 20 William Waguespack 21 Malcolm May 22 Zack Stryffeler 23 Nick Feakes 24 Michael Baska 25 Shawn Riley

Midwest Selects: 1. Kavika Peniata – Metro 2. Glen Maricelli – Palmer 3. Terry Laursen – Palmer 4. John Luhrsen – Griffins 5. Michael Lawerson – Palmer 6. Osama Shayeb – Palmer 7. Weston Loder – Palmer 8. PJ van Zyl – Columbus 9. Ryan Cochran – Columbus 10. Joel Conzelmann – Griffins 11. Dan Heisterkamp – Wolfhounds 12. Kevin Schmidt – Milwaukee Barbarians 13. Matt Drzewiecki – Milwaukee Barbarians 14. Ehron Enyedy – Tradesman 15. Peter Roy – Palmer 16. Chris Williams – Griffins 17. Jordan Bach – Palmer 18. Michael Kellett – Bombers 19. Issac Hall – Wolfhounds 20. Manuel Aranda – Griffins 22. Mike Houston – Lions 23. Joshua Williams – Lions 24. Dante Cambroni