NEWS

Holden Yungert as NOLA Gold Look to Crack the Playoffs

Written by Joe Harvey | Photo by Ed Moran

There is a broad grin across the face of Holden Yungert when he joins the Zoom call. It doesn’t take long to figure out the reason, he and his NOLA Gold teammates are just several days removed from their 20-21 win at the LA Memorial Coliseum over the LA Giltinis. 

It was thanks to Hanno Dirksens’ 79th minute try that NOLA were able to secure the victory, the former USA U18 international fed the ball by Yungert as the Gold camped themselves in LA’s 22m as time ticked away.

Photo by Brian Jackson

No doubt it was already a special day for the scrum-half, the California native having grown to prominence as a player in the state. Having attended Saint Mary’s College, Yungert played on three championship teams, was named a first-team Collegiate All-American, and was the MVP of the D1A College Rugby Championship in 2017.

Often cutting a striking figure on the field thanks to his mutton chops, the 27-year-old is a ferocious competitor, a key reason that Nate Osbourne has kept Yungert in Louisiana for each year of Major League Rugby.

CRACKING PLAYOFF RUGBY

If you had to describe NOLA’s four years in MLR so far, you’d probably call the team the ‘nearly men’. On two occasions, the team have faded at the end of the season, eventually resulting in the team having never managed to play post-season rugby.

Currently second in the East Conference, leapfrogging Rugby United New York thanks to their better record, Yungert believes that he and his teammates reaching the playoffs would be a just reward after several years of hurt and especially after an impressive win on Sunday night.

“I would say that we are all pretty juiced,” Yungert said. “I don’t think any of our guys every counted us out, I know we were underdogs, but we got a sniff and kept the momentum going. It came at the perfect time.

Photo by Brian Jackson

“I have been here for four seasons now and we have narrowly missed out on the playoffs every time and that is a big goal for us, just to crack that spot. We are sitting pretty right now, but there is still a lot of hard work to do, and it would just be so huge for the organization.

“The fans, they want it, the players want it and it’d just be the icing on the cake for us.”

DIGGING DEEP

With four players away with the USA Eagles and two with Canada, a number of players who have been on the fringes of selection so far this season had to step up to the plate against LA. 

Playing their fourth consecutive away fixture at the Giltinis, NOLA are certainly running the gauntlet to end the season and will close out the season with two more games on the road. 

With Seattle up this weekend before what looks to be a massively vital encounter with New York to close out the regular season, Yungert is massively impressed by how his teammates have taken on the increased responsibility with others unavailable.

“We have got two more away games and it looks as though we are going to match up with New York for a winner takes all final game, so we are pretty stoked,” Yungert said. “We have got a lot of international guys away and the boys have stepped up. I would say, hands down, we have got the best 35-man squad in the whole league.

“The intensity that these guys bring at training, and we match each other, we are probably playing in the best competition every day at training.

“I think this past weekend was a great example of how hard our guys have been working. We have got guys like Cam Dolan who are always going to be on that roster, but these guys (at NOLA) don’t always get to shine.

“Gio Lapp came in, he made his debut for Gold, played a stunner for 6-70 minutes, made all his tackles, did everything he needed to do, and it is just that next man up attitude. 

“We are just grinding away; we found a way and I couldn’t be happier for the boys who have put in the work.”

NEXT UP

Heading back to the west coast in order to take on Allen Clark’s Seattle Seawolves, while the two-time champions are well out of playoff contention, the message all season has been that by no means are the side a pushover. 

More than aware of this, Yungert believes that by matching the efforts of a team with nothing to lose, he and his teammates can head back east in good spirits.

“You can never count a team out,” The 27-year-old said. “It is an odd shaped ball, right? It bounces either way. They could get up on us and we could have a hard time coming back.

“They are a good team, so we have to respect them and some of the most dangerous games are ones where you think you have them and their backs are up against the wall.

“They are out of the playoffs and have nothing left to lose, so they are going to come out firing and we have got to match them.”

HOW TO WATCH 

NOLA Gold plays the Seattle Seawolves on Sunday night and fans in the USA can watch on FS2, while fans abroad can watch for free on The Rugby Network.