NEWS

Geico XV | Week Three

Loosehead Prop, Cole Keith – Toronto Arrows

Keith had to line up at both loosehead and tighthead against Old Glory at different points in the match putting in in 80 minutes to establish a dominant attacking platform for the Arrows.  He made four carries for 10 meters gained, had 10 tackles on defense, and 13 ruck arrivals in the breakdown. 

Hooker, Mason Koch – Austin Gilgronis

Koch, the rookie with the mustache, put in a terrific shift against the SaberCats scoring two tries.  He had nine carries for 49 meters and a tackle break.  His workrate proved important for Austin as made 15 tackles on defense, and had 19 ruck arrivals in the breakdown.  

Tighthead Prop, Jonas Petrakopoulos – Rugby ATL

Petrakopoulos helped set the attacking platform that had struggled for Rugby ATL in the last week, this time not losing a single scrum against San Diego.  His workrate around the park with 8 tackles and 20 ruck arrivals saw him face off numerous times against San Diego Hooker Dean Muir. 

Left Lock, Matt Jensen – Utah Warriors

In a match where Utah had to fight hard, Jensen brought the intensity in the breakdown with 31 ruck arrivals.  On attack he often went straight into contact on his eight carries for 49 meters, a line break, and a tackle break.  In the aerial game he proved an asset for the Warriors and a nuisance for the Free Jacks with his eight lineout takes and one lineout steal.

Right Lock, Johan Momsen – Rugby ATL

Momsen continues to be in forme as his defense with 11 tackles, and work around the break down with his 21 ruck arrivals made the night difficult for San Diego scrum-half Carlo de Nysschen.  On attack he had seven carries for 60 meters, a line break, a tacklebreak, and two offloads. In the aerial game he came down with four lineout takes.   

Blindside Flanker, Psalm Wooching – San Diego Legion

Wooching continues to put in hard work for the Legion, against Atlanta he ran a perfect line off a set-piece to score a try.  On attack he made nine carries for 87 meters, a line break, and five tackle breaks.  On defense he made nine tackles and at the breakdown he had 17 ruck arrivals. 

Openside Flanker, Joe Johnston – New England Free Jacks

Johnston was the link within the passing channels for the Free Jacks which allowed them to maintain their tempo throughout the match.  On attack he scored a try, had eight carries for 35 meters, and two tackle breaks.  On defense he was in the action completing 20 of 21 tackle attempts.  In the breakdown he completed a breakdown steal and had 25 ruck arrivals. 

No 8., Manuel Diana – Toronto Arrows

Diana continues to find the hole, this time with great support running, he sidestepped a defender who was on the wrong side of a ruck to dot down a try.  On attack he had 11 carries for 71 meters, a line break, three tackle breaks, and an offload.  On defense he made nine tackles and in the breakdown he had 11 ruck arrivals. 

Scrum-half, Pele Cowley – Austin Gilgronis

Cowley had a great match marshalling the the Austin attack around the pitch with a rapid tempo at the ruck.  He made five carries for 18 meters, a line break, and three tackle breaks.  He completed 13 tackles on defense.  At the breakdown he completed a breakdown steal on one of his eight ruck arrivals.  He used his boot to take pressure off Austin with five kicks for 125 meters. 

Fly-half,  Bautista Ezcurra – Rugby ATL

Ezcurra, used his boot to find the holes in the San Diego line kicking 14 times for 446 meters paired with the intense kick chase of Rugby ATL proved immeasurable. On attack he carried 12 times for 77 meters, six tackle breaks, and three offloads.

Left Wing, Mark O’Keeffe – Rugby ATL

O’Keeffe showed again why he was so dangerous in 2019 for New York, this time he sliced and diced the San Diego backline for 2 tries, 10 carries for 137 meters, four line breaks, and four tackle breaks.  He also completed seven tackles on defense, one saving a possible try by Carlo de Nysschen. 

Inside Center, Doug Fraser – Old Glory DC

In a tough match for Old Glory, Fraser set the physical tone for Old Glory as he proved almost impossible to tackle by Toronto on every one of his nine carries for 90 meters, five tackle breaks, and an offload.  He was tough to deal with at the breakdown as he completed two breakdown steals and 20 ruck arrivals. 

Outside Center,  Ben LeSage – Toronto Arrows

LeSage carried hard and physically throughout the match with 11 carries for 102 meters, two line breaks, and five tackle breaks.  His awareness in contact proved excellent making five offloads.  To open the second half he scored a 7-point try which proved to be a crescendo for the Arrows performance.  On defense he completed nine tackles and had 8 ruck arrivals at the breakdown. 

Right Wing, Roderick Waters – Austin Gilgronis

Waters was explosive and electric with every carry for Austin as he made nine carries for 104 meters, two line breaks, three tackle breaks, and an offload.  He put a cap on the match for Austin by scoring their final try off a beautiful pass from Pele Cowley. 

Fullback, Rory Van Vugt – Rugby ATL

Van Vugt, much like O’Keeffe made San Diego defenders miss every time he had the ball on his nine carries for 98 meters, a line break, seven tackle breaks, and an offload.  He aided the possession game with his boot kicking five times for 190 meters.