North American Rugby Database

Report

The Miami Sharks host the NOLA Gold at Autonation Sports Field in Fort Lauderdale, in an Eastern Conference Southern Showdown.

The NOLA Gold had the chance to clinch their first playoff spot in club history with a win here, as long as they didn’t let the Sharks pick up 2+ points in the standings. The warm Florida weather and very high humidity made this game a bit of a slog for both sides, and the Sharks seemed more at home early on. Scoring was hard to come by, with NOLA opening their account first, 22 minutes in. despite falling 0-3 down, Santiago Videla levelled the score with a penalty of his own 5 minutes later, and it looked as though we would head for the sheds with the score at only 3-3, but a Tomas Inciarte try on the stroke of HT gave the hosts the lead into the second frame.

This lead wouldn’t last long however, as Augusto Bohme would hit back 4 minutes into the 2nd half, and Dorian Jones made no mistakes with the conversion to level the game up once more, at 10-10. Videla’s boot would be called on once more a few minutes later, restoring a slim Sharks lead before a flurry of substitutions from both sides. The difference came just before the hour mark, when a Malcolm May score gave the Gold the lead and they defended it well. The conversion from Jones was on target again, and he would add a penalty with 5 minutes left in the game as an insurance marker, and the Sharks weren’t able to respond.

The NOLA Gold will be heading to the MLR Playoffs for the first time in their history, the only remaining founding member club to have not made it before this season.