NEWS

Geico XV | Week 9

Loosehead Prop,  Jamie Mackintosh – Austin Gilgronis

Mackintosh led a dominant front row against New York creating an attacking platform in the scrum and attacking hard at the breakdown with his 22 ruck arrivals.  On attack he made 7 carries 22 meters and completed five tackles on defense.

Hooker, Michelangelo Sosene-Feagai – Old Glory DC

Sosene-Feagai had a solid game at the breakdown with 18 ruck arrivals.  On attack he scored a try from six carries for 26 meters. On defense he completed six tackles. 

Tighthead Prop, Steven Longwell – Old Glory DC

Longwell provided an excellent platform for the DC attack to work from in the scrum.  On attack he made four carries for 37 meters.  On defense he completed 12 tackles and in the breakdown he completed a breakdown steal and had 20 ruck arrivals. 

Left Lock, Jurie Van Vuuren – Utah Warriors

Van Vuuren put in the hard work against LA being all around the pitch to challenge on defense making 12 tackles.  On attack he scored a try from nine carries for 44 meters, a line break, a tackle break, and an offload In the breakdown he completed a breakdown steal and had 25 ruck arrivals.

Right Lock, Corey Thomas – Los Angeles Giltinis

Thomas was excellent with the ball in hand, he was fed the ball when they needed the hard meters made.  He scored a  try from 10 carries for 38 meters, and two tacklebreaks. On defense he completed 12 tackles and had 25 ruck arrivals in the breakdown.  In the aerial game he came down with three lineout takes. 

Blindside Flanker, Angus Cottrell – Los Angeles Giltinis

Cottrell had a great match for the Giltinis going to work on attack and in the breakdown.  With great vision he scored two tries from 11 carries for 55 meters, a tacklebreak, and an offload.  In the breakdown he completed a breakdown steal and had 19 ruck arrivals.  

Openside Flanker, Maclean Jones – Austin Gilgronis

Jones cut up the New York defense on his nine carries for 77 meters, two line breaks, three tackle breaks, and an  offload.  On defense he completed 9 tackles and had 19 ruck arrivals in the breakdown.  

No 8., Manuel Diana – Toronto Arrows

Diana was given the ball 20 times in order to break through the Houston defense making 86 meters, five tackle breaks, an offload, and scoring a try.  On defense he completed 11 tackles and had 21 ruck arrivals in the breakdown.   

Scrum-half, Harrison Goddard – Los Angeles Giltinis

Goddard marshalled the Giltinis forwards around Sofi stadium, but also made his trademark deadly carries scored two tries including a seven-pointer from four carries for 41 meters, a line break, and two tackle breaks.  He also used his foot to control the game with seven booming kicks for 161 meters.

Fly-half, Joe Pietersen – San Diego Legion

Key reason the Legion played so well against NOLA as his passes/rugby IQ is amazing. One key reason for choosing Joe this match would be his passing of the ball, super accurate and the timing was almost perfect. True veteran to this spot and is very well polished which provides him an advantage, especially in this league as he’s played almost all positions in the back field.  Also, did a very good job kicking to goal! Try, (14 points), 3 carries, 96 meters, 1 lb, 11 kicks for 334m

Left Wing,  Renata Roberts-Tenana – Old Glory DC

Roberts-Tenana caused the greatest issues for Seattle as he used his creativity to create attacking opportunities.  On a short chip he burst through the Seattle line in transition to collect the ball and score a try.  On attack he made eight carries for 94 meters, a line break, four tackle breaks, and an offload.  

Inside Center, JP du Plessis – NOLA Gold

Not a lot of bright spots for the Gold, but du Plessis did everything he could on attack making 13 carries for 108 meters, two line breaks, six tackle breaks, and an offload.  On defense he completed seven tackles and had 11 ruck arrivals in the breakdown. 

Outside Center, Mark O’Keeffe – Rugby ATL

O’Keeffe was a major link player in the Atlanta attack, but also continued his physical run style with the ball in hand.  On attack he scored a seven-point try from six carries for 71 meters, a line break, and five tackle breaks. 

Right Wing, Ross Neal – Seattle Seawolves

Since moving to the wing full time Neal has been the catalyst for the Seattle attack.  He displayed this against Old Glory as he tore through their defense scoring a try from 12 carries for 129 meters, a line break, two tackle breaks, and two offloads.

Fullback, Cecil Afrika – San Diego Legion

Afrika had his best outing at fullback for San Diego as he almost glided through gaps in the Gold defense to score two tries from nine carries for 76 meters, a line break, and two tacklebreaks. On defense he completed six tackles and had 7 ruck arrivals in the breakdown. 

Written by Aaron Castro.