Rugby New York Hold Off NOLA Gold Comeback

Rugby New York defeated NOLA Gold 36-28 on Sunday, May 1 at JFK Stadium in Hoboken, New Jersey. The match was streamed on The Rugby Network and the replay is available.

In the first meeting between the teams on March 19 at the Gold Mine, Rugby New York beat NOLA Gold 30-19.

Preceding the match, the New York Foundry lost 47-19 to the Toronto Arrows Senior Academy side.

Match Recap

Rugby New York opened the scoring in the 12th minute with Andy Ellis diving for a try from short range and Jack Heighton adding the extras for a 7-0 lead.

An Ellis offloads after a scrum had Kara Pryor scoring to the left of the posts with Heighton converting, 14-0.

NOLA Gold answered back with a try from short range by Kevin Sullivan with Damian Stevens slotting, 14-7.

New York extended their lead with a Dylan Fawsitt try after a 5-meter attacking scrum with Heighton converting, 21-7.

In the 40th minute, a kick ahead by Andy Ellis was gathered on the bounce for Ed Fidow’s 7th try of the season. Heighton continued to be perfect with his boot and New York led 28-7 at the break.

Second Half

Rugby New York’s Jack Heighton extended their lead to 31-7 after a penalty goal in the 51st minute.

Then NOLA Gold began a comeback with tries by Juan Cappiello and Damian Stevens with Stevens converting both, 31-21.

Rugby New York was on the verge of scoring after a line out 5 meters out, but a knock-on thwarted this opportunity.

Instead, a long break by Stevens ended in a converted try to cut the lead to 31-28 with 5 minutes remaining.

New York added a try in the final minute with Dylan Fawsitt adding a brace to win 36-28.

Both teams picked up bonus points with Rugby New York improving to a 7-4 record with 37 points. This is 7 points ahead of the 4th place Toronto Arrows which the team plays away on May 8.

NOLA Gold record fell to 3-9 with 20 points. The team scored three tries in 20 minutes during the second half, but New York held on for the win.

NOLA Gold will regroup as they enter a bye week before hosting Old Glory DC on May 14.

Squads with Player Article Links & Match Preview

Rugby New York: 1 Sak Taulafo 2 Dylan Fawsitt 3 Kalolo TuilomaNate Brakeley (C) 5 Nick CivettaBen Bonasso 7 Brendon O’ConnorKara Pryor 9 Andy Ellis 10 Jack Heighton 11 Ed Fidow 12 Jason Emery 13 Faasiu Fuatai 14 Ismail Shabazz 15 Troy Lockyear 16 Kaleb Geiger 17 Chance Wenglewski 18 Nic Mayhew 19 Charlie Hewitt 20 Joe Basser 21Connor Buckley 22 Sam Windsor 23 Quinn Ngawati

NOLA Gold: 1 Kevin Sullivan 2 Eric Howard 3 Dino Waldren 4  Ignacio Dotti 5 Billy Stewart 6 Moni Tonga’uiha 7 Devin Short 8 Cam Dolan (C) 9 Damian Stevens 10 Robbie Coleman 11 Nick Feakes 12 JP du Plessis 13 Juan Cappiello 14 Harley Wheeler 15 JP Eloff 16 Pat O’Toole 17 Kavika Peniata 18 Brian Nault 19  William Waguespack 20 Maciu Koroi 21 Devereaux Ferris 22 Ross Depperschmidt  23 Jack Webster

2022 Records

Rugby New York: Record 7-4, 37 points, 3rd place

NOLA Gold: Record 3-9, 20 points, 5th place

  • NOLA Gold 13-24 New England Free Jacks
  • NOLA Gold 9-14 Rugby ATL
  • NOLA Gold 23-24 Toronto Arrows
  • Seattle Seawolves 24-25 NOLA Gold
  • Dallas Jackals 26-32 NOLA Gold
  • NOLA Gold 19-30 Rugby New York
  • Old Glory 22-31 NOLA Gold
  • New England Free Jacks 33-29 NOLA Gold
  • NOLA Gold 17-34 Rugby ATL
  • Toronto Arrows 53-36 NOLA Gold
  • NOLA Gold 10-32 Austin Gilgronis
  • Rugby New York 36-28 NOLA Gold Match Preview
  • NOLA Gold vs Old Glory DC May 14
  • NOLA Gold vs San Diego Legion May 21
  • New England Free jacks vs NOLA Gold May 29
  • Rugby ATL vs NOLA Gold June 3

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North American Rugby News With A USA Slant