Rugby New York Gains Bonus-Point Win Over Old Glory

Rugby New York beat Old Glory DC 35-31 on Sunday, April 3 at JFK Stadium in Hoboken, New Jersey. The match replay is available on The Rugby Network.

With the win, Rugby New York is in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-2 record and 30 points, the same as the Rugby ATL, who are in second place based on point differential. The New England Free Jacks top the standings with a 7-1 record and 33 points.

Rugby ATL traveled to Toronto and left with a 20-14 win over the Arrows, while the Free jacks jumped to a 26-5 lead at the break before NOLA Gold stormed back to take the lead. New England prevailed with a try to win 33-29.

At the midpoint of the season, the Toronto Arrows (4-4, 20 points) and NOLA Gold (3-5, 18 points) need to put together an extensive winning streak if they are to contend for the playoffs.

Old Glory DC played some inspired rugby gaining two bonus points against Rugby New York, yet their record is 0-8 with 3 points. They have a new interim coach in Nate Osborne and the league should expect some exciting attacking rugby for the remainder of the season.

On Saturday Old Glory will face the Arrows in Toronto, while Rugby New York also is on the road with a match against the Western Conference third-place team, the Los Angeles Giltinis.

Match Recap

Rugby New York will be pleased with the bonus-point win over Old Glory DC, as they conclude mid-season with a 6-2 record with 30 points and are in playoff contention. They will not be pleased with not finishing five potential tries, four after they scored following a penalty advantage.

Handling errors and penalties impacted some of the above and lead to Old Glory gaining momentum throughout the match, in spite of Rugby New York’s advantage in the set pieces.

Old Glory DC met Rugby New York’s five tires, however, two difficult missed conversions were the difference in the end.

First Half

Rugby New York struck first after a high ball by Sam Windsor was gathered by New York. A Fasi Fuatai grub was picked up and offloaded by Troy Lockyear to Will Tucker for a try in the left corner. Sam Windsor then slotted the extras for a 7-0 lead.

Old Glory went through multiple phases but was penalized at in-goal, allowing New York to clear. The ensuing New York attack ended deep inside Old Glory territory after losing the ball forward and Old Glory clearing.

Rugby New York countered after a steal of an Old Glory lineout at DC’s 22-meters with Sam Windsor finding a gap to score under the posts, 14-0.

New York advanced again to within 5-meters from in-goal, but a penalty thwarted their potential score. Following the ensuing Old Glory lineout, a kick exited the dead ball line and was brought back to midfield to a New York scrum. New York advanced deep inside Old Glory territory, but a lineout steal ended another scoring opportunity.

Soon after, a loose ball was gathered by DC captain Danny Tusitala, and after a break by Junio Sa’u, William Talataina finished with a try, with Mike Dabulas converting to cut the lead to 14-7.

Old Glory attacked again with Renata Roberts-Te Nana racing down left touch, offloading to Tusitala and Mike Dubalas finishing with a try under the posts to knot the match at 14.

Before the break, a New York lineout 5-meters from in-goal, resulted in a Dylan Fawsit try from a maul. Windsor slotted again for a 21-14 lead at the break.

New York could have had a commanding lead prior to Old Glory scoring, but instead found themselves in an invigorated DC team.

Second Half

Old Glory DC leveled the match again in the 53rd minute with Dom Bailey, scoring from a maul and Dabulus added the extras.

Rugby New York answered back after a break by Will Tucker with Conor McManus grounding under the posts, 28-21.

Old Glory came back again after a crash ball by Thretton Palamo, and moved the ball first wide right to Peni Lasaqa and then left to Junio Sa’u for a try in the left corner, 28-26. However, the difficult conversion was wide.

The teams would trade tries again, with Kaleb Geiger scoring from a maul and Jason Emery converting, 35-26.

After a break by Mike Dabulas, Junior Sa’u scored a brace in the left corner with Dabulas’s conversion short, 35-31.

Rugby New York reached inches from in-goal in the closing minute, but a scrum penalty allowed DC to clear.

New York claimed a bonus-point 35-31 win, and Old Glory in the loss received two bonus points and momentum going into their match against Toronto on the road on Saturday.

Rugby New York will also travel cross-country to face the streaking LA Giltinis, who won 47-7 over the Dallas Jackals yesterday.