Old Glory DC battled Rugby Football Club Los Angeles and after 87 minutes the match ended in a 22-22 draw on April 6 at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, Maryland.

The match was streamed on The Rugby Network domestically and internationally and is available to view on replay.

Match Recap

It was a windy day at the Maryland SoccerPlex and made for difficult conditions, that affected kicks and lineouts. LA struck first after a Will Leonard offload to Dan Hollinshead, who sped near the right corner for a try, and a 0-5 lead.

The first of LA’s five yellow cards occurred after a high tackle by Theo Vukasinovic in the 13th minute. Old Glory appeared to take advantage and as Ethan McVeigh went to the blind side from a DC maul, Andrew Coe stripped the ball and raced ahead before kicking the ball deep. This led to a Will Leonard try in the left corner, 0-10.

In the 20th minute, Alex Maughan was sent to the bin, and LA defended with 13 men. Old Glory capitalized with an Ethan McVeigh try and a Jason Robertson conversion to cut the lead to 7-10. Old Glory would add a try by Cory Daniel to take the lead with Robertson slotting the conversion, 14-10.

In the 40th minute, both Andrew Coe and Alex Maughan received yellow cards, and for the latter, this meant a red card.

Second Half

A turnover by LA in the 57th minute had DC’s Axel Muller grubbing ahead with William Talataina grounding in goal beating out two LA defenders. This pushed the lead to 19-10.

Penalties were a problem for both sides in the match and when the match ended, LA had 14 and DC 9. In the 59th minute, LA was pinged for a scrum infraction and Jason Robertson slotted a penalty goal for a 22-10 lead. As a spectator, you can always second-guess a match decision, especially with at least 20 minutes left, but another choice could have been to kick to gain territory to set up a chance to get a fourth-try bonus point.

LA would answer back with a try by Jason Damm, converted by Hollinshead, to cut the lead to 22-17. After Will Leonard pierced the gainline, Niall Saunders added the team’s fourth try to claim a bonus point and tie DC 22 all. Hollinshead had a chance for LA to take the lead, but the kick was wide in the tricky wind from near touch.

In the 79th minute, Max Katjijeko was issued the team’s fifth yellow card for an intentional knock-on.

Both teams had scoring opportunities at the end of the match, which ended in the 87th minute with a 22-all draw.

Old Glory DC picked up 2 points in the standings and is in third place in the Eastern Conference with 13 points, one behind NOLA Gold. They have a bye week and then host the Houston SaberCats on April 20.

RFC Los Angeles picked up three points in the standings and are in sixth place in the Western Conference with 11 points and a 1-3-1 record. This is within striking distance of the Utah Warriors with 13 and the Dallas Jackals in fourth place with 15. The top four teams at the end of the season make the playoffs.

On Sunday, April 14, RFCLA will host the 5-1 Seattle Seawolves at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Matchday Team Rosters & Match Preview

OLD GLORY DC: 1 Quentin Newcomer 2 Facundo Gattas 3 Cali Martinez 4 Bill Whiteside 5 Ignacio Dotti 6 Collin Grosse 7 Brady Daniel 8 Lautaro Bavaro 9 Ethan McVeigh 10 Jason Robertson (C) 11 John Rizzo 12 William Talataina 13 John Powers 14 Axel Müller 15 Damien Hoyland 16 KoiKoi Nelligan 17 Jack Iscaro 18 Tyler Rowland 19 Tevita Naqali 20 Rob Harley 21 Danny Tusitala 22 Gradyn Bowd 23 Mike Dabulas

RFC LOS ANGELES 1 Dane Zander 2 Bruce Kauika-Petersen 3 Alex Maughan 4 Reegan O’Gorman 5 Theo Vukasinovic 6 Michael Amiras 7 Matt Heaton (C.) 8 Semi Kunatani 9 Tas Smith 10 Dan Hollinshead 11 Jack Shaw 12 Jason Emery 13 Will Leonard 14 Andrew Coe 15 Rory van Vugt 16 Ben Strang 17 Lincoln Si’i 18 Conor Young 19 Jason Damm 20 Max Katjijeko 21 Niall Saunders 22 Seth Purdey 23 Austin White

Old Glory DC Players with Article Links

The team has 10 international player spots (Players names Bolded)

Props: Jack Iscaro, Quentin Newcomer, Joe Wrafter, Kevin Brou (season-ending injury?), Calixto Martinez, Tyler Rowland
Hookers: Tristan Cole, Facundo Gattas, Koi Koi Nelligan, Martin Vaca
Locks: Ignacio Dotti, Rob Harley, Tevita Naqali, Charlie Overton, Bill Whiteside
Back-rows: Lautaro Bavaro, Brady Daniel, Cory Daniel, Collin Grosse, Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, Niko Jones (Loan to Moana Pasifika), Dacoda Worth
Scrumhalf: Connor Buckley, Ethan McVeigh, Danny Tusitala
Flyhalf: Gradyn Bowd, Jason Robertson, Mike Weir
Centers: Tommaso Boni, John Powers, Palema ‘Nikey’ Roberts, William Talataina
Back-three: Perry Humphreys, Alex Müller, John Rizzo, Ishmail Shabazz, Mike Dabulas, Damien Hoyland

RFC Los Angeles Players with Article Links

The team has 11 international player spots (Players names Bolded)

Prop: Connor Grindal, Alessandro Heaney, Dane Zander, Alex Maughan, Lincoln Sii, Conor Young
Hooker: Bruce Kauika-Petersen, Ben Strang, Wilton Rebolo (Also prop)
Lock: Liam Antrobus, Matt Gelhaus, Reegan O’Gorman, Jurie Van Vuuren, Theo Vukasinovic
Back-Row: Michael Amiras, Matt Heaton, Max Katjijeko, Semi Kunatani, Jason Damm, Bruce Yun
Scrumhalf: Niall Saunders (C), Tasman Smith
Flyhalf: Matthew Anticev, Jordan Chait, Dan Hollinshead, Sam Walsh
Center: Jason Emery, Will Leonard, Seth Purdy, James Stokes
Back Three: Andrew Coe, Jack Shaw, Austin White, Rory Van Yugt

Interviews

Pete Sickle shares his rugby background and the team was bought, building team cohesiveness, what was learned from Rugby ATL and the Giltinis, community involvement in club and youth rugby, AEG involvement, and satisfying fan expectations.