NOLA Gold cruises past Austin Elite, reclaims top spot in Major League Rugby standings
Story by: Brian Wollitz, The Advocate | @brian_wollitz
It only took the NOLA Gold a minute to get the scoring started on Saturday, and they didn’t let up in their 26-14 win over Austin Elite Rugby.
Captain Eric Howard powered his way in from 20 meters in the first minute after taking a quick pass from Taylor Howden and finding a gap in the Austin defense.
“We started exactly how we wanted to start. We played our game plan perfectly and we did the simple things really, really well,” Howard said.
NOLA extended its lead to 12-0 in the 30th minute after Nick Feakes offloaded to Ignacio Dotti for the score.
Just before the half, however, Dominique Bailey found a hole in the NOLA defense and scored on a 50-meter run that cut the NOLA lead to 12-7 at the break.
After halftime, the Gold came out with two quick scores, first earning a penalty try in the 43rd minute, giving them the 19-7 lead.
A score in the 46th minute from Tulane product Billy Stewart extended their lead to 26-7 a