MLR WEEK 15 WRAP-UP

NOLA GOLD 26 – 14 AUSTIN ELITE RUGBY

The NOLA Gold picked knocked off Austin Elite Rugby 26-14 on Saturday afternoon.

NOLA (9-3) wasted very little time getting the scoring started in their victory over Austin (0-12) as hooker and team captain Eric Howard punched in a try in the first minute of the match to give the Gold a 7-0 lead after J.P. Eloff’s conversion. In addition to a penalty try, NOLA received two more tries from Ignacio Dotti Uria and Billy Stewart en route to their 26-14 victory. Austin received tries from Dominique Bailey and Soheyl Jaoudat in the loss.

The five points that NOLA picked up in the victory propelled them back into first place in the table. They sit in first place with 50 total points on the season, three points ahead of the second place San Diego Legion. Austin didn’t pick up any points in the loss and remain in ninth place with four points on the season.

Austin will be back in action in just four days as they travel up to Toronto to take on the red-hot Arrows (7-5) on Thursday, May 9 while the Gold will welcome the second-place San Diego Legion (9-3-1) for a match that could end up determining playoff positioning on Saturday, May 11.

UTAH WARRIORS 22 – 64 GLENDALE RAPTORS

The Glendale Raptors used a nine-try performance to down the Utah Warriors 64-22 at Infinity Park on Saturday evening.

Glendale (7-4-2) received nine tries from six different scorers in their victory over Utah (2-9-1) on Saturday evening. The 64 points that the Raptors scored mark the most that they have scored in Major League Rugby and ties the most points ever scored in an MLR match. The Toronto Arrows also scored 64 points in their victory over the Warriors back on March 30. Glendale’s Robbie Petzer scored three tries, hit eight conversions and one penalty goal to lead all scorers with 34 points on Saturday night. Outside center Tim O’Malley led the Warriors in scoring with seven points in the loss.

The Raptors picked up five points in the victory to move into the fourth and final playoff position with 42 points on the season. The Warriors didn’t pick up any points in the loss and remain in seventh place with 16 points in the table.

The Warriors will looks to get back in the win column on Sunday, May 12 when they travel up to Toronto to take on the Arrows (7-5) while the Raptors will try to extend their win streak to three when they travel to Houston to take on the SaberCats (2-10) on Saturday, May 11.

SAN DIEGO LEGION 19 – 23 TORONTO ARROWS

The Toronto Arrows defeated the San Diego Legion 23-19 to pick up their third straight victory and sweep the season series between the two sides on Sunday afternoon.

The Arrows (7-5) used a last-minute try from Steve Ng and a conversion from fly-half Sam Malcolm to hand the Legion (9-3-1) their first loss since the last time these two teams met on March 10. That match resulted in a 27-20 Arrows victory. Malcolm was perfect off the boot, nailing all three penalty goals and both of his conversion attempts to lead all scorers in the victory with 13 points. Legion fly-half Joe Pietersen scored a try and hit two of his three conversion attempts to lead San Diego in scoring with nine points.

Despite dropping the match, San Diego picked up a valuable bonus point in the loss and remain in second place with 47 total points on the season. They sit just three points behind the first place NOLA Gold. The Arrows picked up four points in the victory and currently sit in sixth place with 38 total points in the table. They sit just three points behind the fifth-place Seattle Seawolves and just four points behind the Glendale Raptors for the fourth and final playoff spot.

Toronto has a tough week ahead. They will take on Austin Elite Rugby (0-12) on Thursday, May 9 in what will serve as the makeup match for a match that was originally scheduled to be played on April 14. The Arrows will then host the Utah Warriors (2-9-1) for another match on Sunday, May 12. The Legion will travel to NOLA to take on the first-place Gold (9-3) on Saturday, May 11 in a match that will carry significant weight in the standings come playoff time.

HOUSTON SABERCATS – RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK

Read more about Rugby United New York’s 21-0 victory over the Houston SaberCats here.