Ayarza Scores First MLR Try as Arrows Succumb to Late NOLA Surge

News May-1-2023

Ayarza Scores First MLR Try as Arrows Succumb to Late NOLA Surge

The Arrows hung tight with the Gold for the opening 60 minutes of their back-and-forth clash on Sunday afternoon, but a three-try outburst in the final quarter saw New Orleans to pull away to a 40-24 victory.

Mitch Richardson, Lolani Faleiva, and Ramon Ayarza all crossed the whitewash for Toronto, while Shane O’Leary tacked on seven points from the kicking tee.

First blood went to the hosts, with early tries from JP du Plessis and Eric Howard sending the Gold ahead 14-0 after 11 minutes. The Louisianans were soon back in Toronto territory and hunting for a third when an errant pass from Liam Hallam-Eames was snatched mid-air by Richardson, who raced 60 metres untouched to score under the posts and halve the deficit.

The Gold continued to probe, but the Arrows defence did well to stymie the home side’s repeated advances, eventually holding up du Plessis in-goal. However, the defensive stand proved costly, as Fabian Goodall and Mitch Eadie both took knocks on the play and were forced to exit the match at the same time, resulting in early substitutions for Dawson Fatoric and Travis Larsen — the latter notably returning to on-field action for the first time since Week 4.

As the clock ticked on in the first half, O’Leary lined up a pair of shots at goal: the first attempt deflected off the left post and went through, while the second, taken moments before the halftime whistle, struck the right upright and cruelly bounced out to keep the hosts ahead by four.

The Arrows began the second half with strong intent. After a early penalty gave Toronto favourable field position and Isaac Salmon and Gene Syminton pounded the ball close to the try line, Faleiva finished the scoring drive with an acrobatic dive over the ruck to dot down. O’Leary’s conversion put the Arrows ahead by three, capping off a stretch of 17 unanswered points for the visitors.

The Gold responded through Jordan Jackson-Hope, who spotted daylight behind the Toronto line, chipped ahead, and gathered his own kick to score under the posts. The lead, now regained by the hosts, wouldn’t be relinquished.

New Orleans increased their advantage to 40-17 through a triple-barrelled outburst that began at the stroke of the hour mark, with Matt Harmon, Harley Wheeler and Maciu Koroi all scoring tries over a potent 10-minute stretch to seal the home victory.

Refusing to go down quietly, Toronto had the final say in the contest, with Ayarza scoring off a quick-tap penalty — the Chilean international’s first Major League Rugby try — while the clock was in the red to bring the match to a close.

Ten Arrows were unavailable for the game due to injury.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Toronto Arrows (@torontoarrows)

Toronto now enters its final bye week before returning home to host Rugby ATL for its Friday Night Lights fixture on Friday, May 12.

Toronto Arrows Stat Leaders:

Ball Carries: Travis Larsen – 13
Carry Metres: Mitch Richardson – 190
Defenders Beaten: Mitch Richardson – 4
Tackles Made: Lucas Rumball – 15
Offloads: Lolani Faleiva – 2
Attacking Breakdown Arrivals: Adrian Wadden – 18
Defending Breakdown Arrivals: Shay Kerry – 5

NOLA Gold Stat Leaders:

Ball Carries: JP du Plessis – 12
Carry Metres: JP du Plessis – 133
Defenders Beaten: JP du Plessis – 6
Tackles Made: Maciu Koroi – 17
Offloads: Luke Campbell – 3
Attacking Breakdown Arrivals: Matt Harmon – 17
Defending Breakdown Arrivals: JP du Plessis – 6

Toronto Arrows Score Report:

Tries: Mitch Richardson (19’*), Lolani Faleiva (43′), Ramon Ayarza (80’+2′)
Conversions: Shane O’Leary 2 (44′, 80’+3′)
Penalty Goals: Shane O’Leary (32′)
* = seven-point try

NOLA Gold Score Report:

Tries: JP du Plessis (6’*), Eric Howard (11′), Jordan Jackson-Hope (50’*), Matt Harmon (61′), Harley Wheeler (66′), Maciu Koroi (71′)
Conversions: Rodney Iona 2 (12′, 62′), Damian Stevens (72′)
* = seven-point try