Former AB’s Shine For AG’s On Debut

Jamie ‘Whoppa’ Mackintosh earned a start against the Utah Warriors with a 67 minute performance from the tighthead position. The former All Black found himself at the top of every ruck category from Sunday’s match, earning himself Man of the Match honors from the Warriors leadership.

Whoppa did earn a yellow card after two consecutive penalties at the breakdown in the first half. “The card is something I’ll have to clean up,” says Mackintosh. “Give me some time to warm up to these American refs again.”

He did find his groove after rejoining his teammates and he went on to tally 11 cleanouts for the AG’s. The two early penalties is something he’ll look to clean up this week in training ahead of a tough contest against Old Glory DC and ‘The Beast’.

Frank ‘The Tank’ Halai provided an instant impact for the AG’s off the bench in the #23 jersey. Any fans wondering why he’s called ‘The Tank’ quickly got their answer. On his first touch he made a 1st phase line break from the fullback spot, bumping off a Warriors defender. Halai’s first carry put the AG’s inside the Warriors’ 22m where the Gilgronis would score the equalizer on the pick-and-go from Tiaan Strauss Erasmus.

Halai then supported a long run Lino Saunitoga and collected an offload from Corey Jones to dot down a try on debut. Fireworks exploded and the Austin crowd went wild as the AG’s took the lead.

Both debutants added a surge of energy to the team Sunday, and they’ll both be excited to get a a full week’s training with the team ahead of the AG’s first day match of the season at Toyota Field in San Antonio!

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