NOLA Gold Rugby meets Austin in first of three straight at home

NEW ORLEANS – After slipping out of first place in Major League Rugby during its final bye week of the season, NOLA Gold can move back into the top spot Saturday when it plays host to Austin Elite Rugby at 3:30 p.m. at Gold Stadium.

San Diego jumped ahead of NOLA in the standings table last week. The Legion has 46 points to the Gold’s 45, though San Diego has played one more match and still has a bye remaining on its schedule. The teams meet next Saturday in New Orleans and in the regular-season finale June 2 in San Diego.

First up, however, is a second meeting in the Crescent City between the Gold and Elite. Saturday’s match was originally scheduled to be played in Austin, but was moved here in mid-April.

When the teams met for the first time this season on March 23, Austin pushed NOLA to the limit before Michael Baska’s late try carried the Gold to a 35-31 victory.

NOLA is looking to bounce back from a 25-24 defeat to Seattle on April 21 in its last outing. In spite of the loss, the Gold picked up two bonus points in the standings table – one for losing by seven or fewer points and one for scoring four tries.

The Gold’s top two try scorers, Tristan Blewett and Eric Howard, have each been on a roll. Blewett has tries in three consecutive matches, while Howard has scored four tries in the Gold’s last four matches.

Blewett ranks second in MLR with nine tries and Howard is third with seven tries as NOLA remains the league’s highest-scoring team with 366 points.

JP Eloff is third in the league in scoring with 115 points, thanks largely to 44 conversions.

Zack Stryffeler, who will be used in a reserve role for the second consecutive match, ranks second in MLR with 167 tackles.

Saturday’s match is the first of three consecutive home matches for the Gold to close out the regular season home schedule. In addition to the showdown with San Diego next week, NOLA plays host to Houston on May 18.

Because of the late schedule change, the Austin match is not a part of the Gold’s season ticket package and ticket specials are available beginning at $10. Visit nolagoldrugby.com or call (504) 50-RUGBY for tickets.