Rugby ATL took the field for the first time ever on Sunday, as they hosted the NOLA Gold for a preseason contest in front of a healthy crowd approaching 2,000 at Lupo Family Field. It was a winning feeling on Day One as ATL took a 34-33 win in an unusual format that saw three periods played totaling 100 minutes instead of the usual two halves of 40.

The first points in ATL club history would come at the five minute mark. Martini Talapusi knocked over a routine penalty goal after good pressure. It wouldn’t take long for the first try. Vili Helu’s offload nearly put Zander van Schalkwyk over, and the recycle was too quick for the defense to react as Austin White slipped in for the score. Talapusi was on target with the kick from a bad angle to bring up double digits.

Atlanta’s dominance in the first quarter continued with a well-worked try for Johan Momsen. The big South African lock drove over from short range after Helu’s take had set up the lineout drive. Again Talapusi split the uprights and it was 17-0 with only 20 minutes played.

NOLA raised their standards following the restart and JP Eloff spurned an opportunity for three to instead kick for the corner. The decision paid off as the Gold forwards drove their own maul over with Eric Howard the man to come up with the ball. Eloff matched Talapusi’s form with his own conversion from near the sidelines.

Nick Feakes was binned for an intentional knock-on at the half-hour mark and Talapusi needed no second invitation to knock over another three. Despite the numerical disadvantage, however, it was the Gold who scored next. A lovely passing exchange between Carl Meyer, Robbie Coleman, and finally Con Foley put the midfielder clear for a try.

The second period started with ATL ahead 20-12. It would be stretched after their scrum won a penalty deep in Gold territory. Duncan van Schalkwyk took the quick tap and caught the NOLA defense napping for a cheeky try, with Talapusi chipping over the extra two.

While the Gold scrum was under pressure, their lineout was working a charm and it produced the next try. Cam Falcon hit Moni Tonga’uiha and then took his place at the back of the maul. The front rower copied Howard’s earlier effort with Eloff making it a full seven.

van Schalkwyk got a double when he picked off a short pass from Eloff intended for Meyer. Talapusi’s impressive day from the tee continued as he slotted his fourth conversion to make it 34-19 after an hour.

Both sides made wholesale changes to start the third period. It was NOLA who got the first score with trialist Bryan Ptomey on the end of a huge cutout pass from Feakes. Ptomey converted his own to close the gap to eight points.

A fifth try would come for the Gold before the end, with John Sullivan burrowing over on a pick-and-drive. The Ptomey conversion made it a one point game with plenty of time remaining. There would be no further scoring, however, as the final 20 minutes ticked away with no points added by either side.

The match in its entirety can be viewed here.

SCORING

RUGBY ATL 34

Tries – A. White (12’), J. Momsen (19’), D. van Schalkwyk 2 (47’, 55’)

Cons – M. Talapusi 4/4 (13’, 20’, 48’, 56’)

Pens – M. Talapusi 2/3 (5’, 31’)

NOLA GOLD 33

Tries – Eric Howard (24’), C. Foley (33’), C. Falcon (51’), B. Ptomey (67’), J. Sullivan (76’)

Cons – J. Eloff 2/3 (25’, 52’), B. Ptomey 2/2 (68’, 77’)

Yellow cards – N. Feakes (30’)

TEAMS

RUGBY ATL

1st PERIOD (40 mins)

1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Neethling Gericke, 3 Cronan Gleeson, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Vili Helu, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 10 Martini Talapusi, 11 Harley Wheeler, 12 Ryan Nell (capt.), 13 Jeremy Misailegalu, 14 Austin White, 15 Zander van Schalkwyk

2nd PERIOD (20 mins)

1 Jamie Ferrante, 2 Alex Maughan, 3 Duane Aholelei, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Vili Helu, 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Ross Deacon, 9 Duncan van Schalkwyk, 10 Martini Talapusi, 11 Harley Wheeler, 12 Ryan Nell, 13 Jeremy Misailegalu, 14 Austin White, 15 Zander van Schalkwyk

3rd PERIOD (40 mins)

1 Jamie Ferrante / Julian Montes, 2 Alex Maughan (capt.) / Amro Gouda, 3 Duane Aholelei / Sam Chaney, 4 Johan Momsen / Conor Keys, 5 Stefan Willemse, 6 Frederick Henry-Ajudua, 7 Paris Hollis, 8 Harry Higgins, 9 Kurtis Werner, 10 Duncan van Schalkwyk / Zac Mizell, 11 Zander van Schalkwyk / Eamonn Matthews, 12 Ryan Britain, 13 Richard Shore, 14 Tommy Wallace, 15 Zac Mizell / Rory van Vugt

NOLA GOLD

1st PERIOD (40 mins)

1 Matt Harmon / Kevin Sullivan, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 5 Will Waguespack, 6 Nikola Bursic, 7 Kevin O’Connor, 8 Moni Tonga’uiha, 9 Scott Gale, 10 Robbie Coleman, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Carl Meyer, 14 Joeli Tikoisuva, 15 JP Eloff

2nd PERIOD (20 mins)

1 Kevin Sullivan, 2 Eric Howard / Cam Falcon, 3 Cam Falcon / Matt Harmon, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Kevin O’Connor, 8 Tabo Maree, 9 Holden Yungert, 10 JP Eloff (capt.), 11 Shawn Riley, 12 Ross Depperschmidt, 13 Tim Maupin, 14 Jonathan Poole, 15 Carl Meyer

3rd PERIOD (40 mins)

1 John Sullivan / Doc Irey, 2 Cam Falcon, 3 Doc Irey / Kavika Peniata, 4 Nikola Bursic / Kane Thompson, 5 Billy Stewart, 6 Ignacio Dotti / Giovanni Lapp, 7 Malcolm May, 8 Tabo Maree, 9 Holden Yungert (capt.), 10 Nick Feakes, 11 Shawn Riley, 12 Ross Depperschmidt / Osaiasi Tonga’uiha, 13 Tim Maupin / Cameron Troxler, 14 Jonathan Poole / Kenneth Jenkins, 15 Bryan Ptomey

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Henrique Platais (Brazil)

Assistants: Cisco Lopez (USA) & AN Other (USA)