NEWS

Week Four | First XV

1. Loosehead Prop, Jake Turnbull – Old Glory

Turnbull put in a strong 80-minutes going opposite Mason Pedersen in scrum. On defense he completed 13 tackles. Where he shined was in the break down with 20 attacking ruck arrivals and six defensive ruck arrivals.

2. Hooker, Tiaan Erasmus – Austin Gilgronis

Erasmus’ return gave Austin a much better set-piece having excellent accuracy with his lineout throws. He then directed the Austin maul perfectly yielding a try. On attack he had four hard carries for 12 meters and an offload. On defense he completed ten tackles and in the breakdown he flew around with 26 ruck arrivals.

3. Tighthead Prop,  Cole Keith – Toronto Arrows

Keith went the distance with an 80 minute shift putting pressure on Jamey Ferrante and Chance Wenglewski, and in the second half his consistency led to Toronto dominating in the scrum. On attack he had three carries for five meters. He completed nine tackles on defense and 22 ruck arrivals in the break down.

4. Left Lock, Nate Brakeley – Rugby United New York

Brakeley was a monster in the break down for a second week in a row executing over 41 attacking ruck arrivals and massive 19 defensive ruck arrivals. On defense he went to work leading his team by example with 28 tackles.

5. Right Lock, Kyle Breytenbach – Houston SaberCats

Breytenbach was everywhere for Houston at the break down with 34 attacking ruck arrivals and six defensive ruck arrivals. On defense he completed nine tackles. On Attack he made nine brutish carries for 50 meters and a line break. In the Aerial game he went up for ten lineout takes.

6. Blindside Flanker, Hanco Germishuys – Rugby United New York

Germishuys went off on attack for the Roosters with 12 carries for 162 meters, two tackle breaks, and two offloads. On defense he completed 16 tackles, at the break down he had 14 ruck arrivals.

7. Openside Flanker, Nakai Penny – Seattle Seawolves

Penny has rounded into form in his third season of Major League Rugby with the ability to will his team forward as a needed spark. On attack he scored two tries, made six carries for 60 meters, a line break, and one tackle break. In the break down he had 22 ruck arrivals.

8. No 8, Keni Nasoqeque – San Diego Legion

Nasoqeque scored a try in traffic, had nine carries for 62 meters, a tackle break, and one offload on attack. On defense he showed his true range completing 11 tackles around the pitch. In the break down he had 13 ruck arrivals.

9. Scrum-half, Juan-Philip Smith – Seattle Seawolves

Smith scored two tries, and on attack he made six carries for 48 meters, a line break and a tackle break. He displayed his season two form as a field general with key passes all over the pitch. When needed he put pressure on New England with eight kicks for 180 meters.

10. Fly-half, Ben Cima – Seattle Seawolves

Cima went eight for eight from the tee accounting for 19 points. Perfectly in sync with JP Smith his passes were pin point to help marshall the Seawolves attack. In the kicking game he put immense pressure on the Free Jacks with seven kicks for 285 meters.

11. Left Wing, Leandro Leivas – Toronto Arrows

Leivas took a hard line in support of Ben LeSage, taking the ball and stiff arming Duncan Van Schalkwyk. On attack he scored two tries, made six carries for 66 meters, two line breaks, and a tackle break.

12. Inside Center, Ma’a Nonu – San Diego Legion

Nonu continued to show his ability to create plays two moves ahead of the defense, distributing the ball in space to a waiting support running. On attack he scored two tries, made eleven carries for 92 meters, three line breaks, and three offloads.

13. Outside Center, Rene Ranger – Colorado Raptors

Ranger made his presence felt in every phase with pressure on defense at key moments. He scored two tries coming inside on short lines in traffic. On attack he made eight carries for 79 meters, a tackle break, and three offloads. In the break down he had seven attacking ruck arrivals, five defensive ruck arrivals, and a break down steal.

14. Right Wing, Declan O’Donnell – Old Glory DC

Declan found the space in Austin’s defense with his passes and his 11 carries for 86 meters, a line break, three tackles breaks, and three offloads. He earned a try assist kicking through the Austin defense for Danny Tusitala to collect and score.

15. Fullback, Mason Emerson – Colorado Raptors

Emerson went to work on eleven carries making an eye popping 218 meters, three line breaks, and a tackle break. On defense he completed five tackles and 10 ruck arrivals in the break down.