Mistakes And Short Week Catch Up With Injury-Riddled Jackals
RFC Los Angeles flipped the script on the Jackals in more ways than one Friday night and came away with a walk-off 29-26 triumph at Choctaw Stadium.
In the March season opener between the two teams, the Jackals rallied for an improbable 32-29 victory. Friday night, they seemed to be taking control of the match again when Makeen Alikhan scored a try in the 67th minute. But Martin Elias missed the conversion kick to make the score, 26-19, and keep LA within range.
LA took advantage by making good use of its lineouts. For most of the season, the Jackals have been the best lineout team in Major League Rugby. But LA found something it liked on its lineouts late in the first half.
The lineouts clicked on long passes to Jason Damm, who turned them into two tries in the closing minutes of the first half and erased a Jackals lead to put LA up 19-14 at halftime.
Damm took another lineout pass in the 72nd minute for a try, and Jordan Chait made the conversion to tie the match at 26-all.
The match had started getting chippy early in the second half when LA’s Jason Davey-Emery got a red card for what was deemed a dangerous hit on Mitchell Richardson. The Jackals didn’t get full advantage of the man advantage because Juan Pablo Zeiss was called for the first of his two yellow cards ten minutes later.
That made it seem appropriate that the match ended with a penalty kick by Chait in the 80th minute.
The Jackals, who lead the league in tries, also got two from Samuel Tuifua and one from Dewald Kotze. That gives Kotze 10 tries, tops in the league.
The Jackals dropped to 4-6. LA improved to 2-6-1.
The Jackals return to action on Sunday, May 19, when they play host to the Seattle Seawolves at Choctaw Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, and the match will be televised by The Rugby Network.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lori Barber
lorib@lux214.com
The Dallas Jackals are a professional rugby team that plays at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Jackals are members of Major League Rugby. The team has played in Dallas/Fort Worth since 2022. Stay connected with the latest updates by following the Dallas Jackals on social media and visiting the official team website.
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