Week 9: Maupin and Bursic earn First XV honors

Winger Tim Maupin and blindside flanker Nikola Bursic were both honored by the Major League Rugby for their performances in the Gold’s 35-31 win against Austin Elite Rugby on Saturday.

In the ninth minute, Maupin opened up the day’s scoring, receiving a quick ball from JP Eloff and breaking a couple Austin tackles on his way in for the score.

Try Time for the Gold! Eloff ➡️Maupin to dot it down.

7-0, Gold, 9′#NOLAvAER pic.twitter.com/rJu0ca8Rb9

— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) March 23, 2019

Maupin finished off his 30th birthday with eight carries for 64 meters, a line-break, a team-high two tackle-breaks and added four tackles on defense.

After coming into the starting lineup for injured Cam Dolan, Bursic made the most of his opportunity in 80 minutes of play.

Bursic was a workhorse for the Gold in his first start since returning from injury – he recorded 14 tackles and carried the ball 16 times for 94 meters.

The No. 1 Gold (6-1, 31 points) head on the road to face the No. 4 Glendale Raptors (3-3-2, 23 points) on Saturday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m.

Photo Credit: Craig Boudreaux