NEWS

Round 9 | First XV, Player of the Week

1. Loosehead Prop, LaRome White (Austin Elite) – Joining Austin in the off-season from the Seattle Seawolves, LaRome earned his first start at loosehead and provided much-needed stability for the scrum as an attacking platform. On offense, he contributed four carries for 22 meters and rounded out his day with nine tackles on defense.

1. Hooker, Dylan Fawsitt (Rugby United New York) – The Butcher chopped up the Glendale defense by scoring a try, earning 78 meters on nine carries. Fawsitt dominated both sides of the ball with 16 tackles, one line-break, and one tackle-break. The number two also showed some fancy footwork with two kicks from hand for 54 meters.

1. Tighthead Prop, Paddy Ryan (Rugby United New York) – Paddy Ryan enforced a dominant attacking platform on Sunday, coercing Glendale to concede five scrum penalties. In the open field, he punished the Glendale defense with 10 carries gaining 55 meters and contributed on defense with two tackles.

1. Left Lock, Ben Mitchell (Austin Elite) – Big Ben leads with both his on-field physical efforts and tactical decision making. Mitchell kept his squad’s spirit in the game by scoring a try in extra time to close out the first half. With 12 carries for 50 meters and one line-break, Mitchell’s game-to-game contributions are one of the main reasons behind Austin’s recent improvement. On defense, he completed 16 tackles and completed five lineout-takes.

1. Right Lock, Luke White (Glendale Raptors) – Luke tried with all his power to keep Glendale within striking distance of New York by carrying the ball powerfully on 12 occasions for 82 meters. Often needing three defenders to take him down, he completed two offloads in traffic. On defense, he brought the game to the Roosters with 13 hard tackles and a maul-turnover.

1. Blindside Flanker, Nikola Bursic (New Orleans Gold) – In his first start since returning from injury, Bursic got to work early and often with his 16 carries for 94 meters. On defense he completed 14 tackles, making his presence felt often around the breakdown.

1. Openside Flanker, Lance Williams (Utah Warriors) – One of the few bright spots in a heartbreaking loss for the Warriors, Lance Williams led the team with his work rate and by scoring a hard-fought try. Putting in a massive shift on attack with 13 carries for 112 meters, a tackle-break, and one offload, he also completed eight tackles in defense.

1. No 8., Alejandro Nieto (Houston SaberCats) – Nieto was the powerful ball carrier that the SaberCats needed in the Warriors matchup. The No. 8 recorded 10 carries for 82 meters gained. On defense, he seemed to be everywhere as he made 16 punishing tackles. In a tough night for the aerial game for both teams, Nieto completed one lineout take.

1. Scrum-half, Mike Petri (Rugby United New York) – Mike used the great attacking platform provided by the scrum to influence Glendale into multiple errors. The field general also provided great service off of the scrum and breakdown to eager ball carriers. On attack, he made eight meters from three carries, had one line-break, and three offloads from his runs. On defense, he completed ten tackles. He relieved some pressure when the Roosters were in their own half with two kicks for 59 meters.

1. Fly-half, Sam Windsor (Houston SaberCats) – Sam is the engine to the SaberCats offense. With the SaberCats using their dominant scrum to achieve penalties, Sam opted for the points on penalties and kicked for five with two conversions for 19 points on the evening. Windsor ran all over the pitch on Saturday, threatening with the ball in hand with five carries for 58 meters, one tackle-break, one offload, and five kicks in play for 154 meters. He rounded out his game by completing eight tackles against the Utah attack.

1. Left Wing, Malacchi Esdale (Houston SaberCats) – The speedster on the wing covered 63 meters from five carries, adding one tackle-break, and one offload in traffic. Esdale rose to the occasion of Utah’s attack by keeping the offensive-attempts at bay with 14 disruptive tackles.

1. Inside Center, Tim O’Malley (Utah Warriors) – Tim’s wide looping passes helped the Utah backs gain hundreds of meters. With a sure foot, he kicked two penalties and three conversions, amassing 12 points on the evening. O’Malley carried hard in the midfield with seven carries for 72 meters. When the number 12 needed to shift the field position he did so by kicking three times from the hand for 109 meters.

1. Outside Center, Mark O’Keeffe (Rugby United New York) – The Irish center finds ways to break through holes in the defensive line at the key moment, this time scoring two tries. He added 68 meters from seven carries and had one line-break on attack. On defense, he completed six tackles.

1. Right Wing, Tim Maupin (New Orleans Gold) – Maupin, back in full fitness on his birthday, brought his A-game early by opening the match with a sublime try. On attack, he made eight carries for 64 meters, had one line-break, two tackle-breaks, and completed four tackles on defense.

1. Fullback, Soheyl Jaoudat (Austin Elite) – Jaoudat single-handedly kept Austin in this game with his two rapid tries. He gained 143 meters from four carries, had one tackle-break, and kicked the ball in play three times for 102 meters. On defense, he completed seven tackles.

Player of the Week: Hooker, Dylan Fawsitt (Rugby United New York) – Affectionately known as the Butcher, Dylan continues his Major League Rugby campaign with one of the highest work rates in the league. Whether it was in the scrum or lineout, his tactical calls provided New York the upper-hand all afternoon. He scored RUNY’s third try of the match, effectively silencing any threat from the Glendale Raptors midway through the second quarter of the game.