New Orleans Gold
 | |||
| Founded | 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Metairie, Louisiana | ||
| Ground(s) | Gold Mine (Capacity: 10,000) | ||
| Coach(es) | Nate Osborne | ||
| Captain(s) | Kyle Ballie, Con Foley | ||
| Top scorer | JP Eloff (206) | ||
| Most tries | Tristan Blewett (12) | ||
| League(s) | Major League Rugby | ||
| 2019 | 5th place (regular season) | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
The New Orleans Gold (also known as NOLA Gold) is a professional rugby union team based in New Orleans. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby.[1] Since January 2020, French rugby power ASM Clermont Auvergne has owned a minority stake in the team.[2]
Home field
The team plays at the Gold Mine, also known as Shrine on Airline, in Metairie, Louisiana, on the East Bank of the New Orleans metropolitan area.[3]
For the first two seasons of Major League Rugby in 2018 and 2019, the team played at Joe Zimmerman Stadium under the branding of Gold Stadium. The natural turf field with grandstand seating for up to 3,000 people is located on the West Bank at Marrero, Louisiana.[4][5]
Broadcasts
2019 home games were shown on Cox Sports Television. Ian McNulty and Scott Alexander were the on air talent.
Sponsorship
| Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | XBlades | None |
| 2019 | Louisiana Tourism | |
| 2020–present | Paladin Sports |
Players and personnel
Current squad
The following players have been reported for New Orleans for the 2020 season:[6]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- Senior 15's and senior 7's internationally capped players in bold
- Players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds*
- MLR teams are allowed to field up to five overseas players per match
Head coaches
- Nate Osborne (2018–present) [7]
Captains
- Taylor Howden (2018)
- Eric Howard (2019–present)
Records
Season standings
| Year | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 6th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 209 | 291 | -82 | 5 | 17 | Did not qualify |
| 2019 | 5th | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 17 | 53 | Did not qualify |
2018 season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 20 | Capital Selects° | Home | Won, 68–15 |
| February 24 | Houston SaberCats° | Away | Won, 30–12 |
| March 10 | Glendale Raptors° | Home | Lost, 14–38 |
| March 28 | Houston SaberCats° | Home | Draw, 32–32 |
| March 31 | Austin Elite° | Home | Won, 48–17 |
| April 7 | Austin Elite° | Away | Won, 38–10 |
| April 21 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 35–26 |
| May 3 | Austin Elite | Away | Lost, 17–30 |
| May 12 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Lost, 29–31 |
| May 19 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Won, 24–20 |
| May 27 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 26–55 |
| June 3 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Lost, 10–41 |
| June 9 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 22–39 |
| June 16 | Utah Warriors | Away | Won, 46–43 |
° = Exhibition game
2019 season
Exhibitions
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 8, 2018 | USA South Panthers | Home | Won, 45–10 |
| December 15, 2018 | Stars Rugby[8] | Home | Won, 113–0 |
| January 5, 2019 | Midwest Selects | Home | Won, 74–0 |
| January 12, 2019 | Dallas Reds | Home | Won, 72–0 |
Regular season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 26 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Won, 36-31 |
| February 2 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Won, 40-31 |
| February 10 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Won, 41-31 |
| February 16 | Rugby United New York | Home | Lost, 24–27 |
| March 2 | Utah Warriors | Away | Won, 21-19 |
| March 16 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 49-11 |
| March 23 | Austin Elite | Home | Won, 35–31 |
| March 30 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Lost, 33-34 |
| April 7 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won, 35-31 |
| April 13 | Utah Warriors | Home | Won, 28-19 |
| April 21 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 24–25 |
| May 4 | Austin Elite | Away | Won, 26-14 |
| May 11 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 19–26 |
| May 18 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Lost, 20–27 |
| May 26 | Rugby United New York | Away | Lost, 22-24 |
| June 2 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 10-22 |
2020 season
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] One week later (March 19), MLR announced that it had canceled the rest of the 2020 season.[10]
Regular season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 8 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 46–13 |
| February 16 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 10–22 |
| February 22 | Colorado Raptors | Away | Won, 27–20 |
| February 29 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 21–25 |
| March 7 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Won, 31–22 |
| March 13 | Utah Warriors | Away | Postponed, later canceled |
| March 28 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Canceled |
| April 5 | Rugby ATL | Away | Canceled |
| April 11 | Old Glory DC | Away | Canceled |
| April 18 | Rugby United New York | Home | Canceled |
| April 25 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Canceled |
| May 3 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Canceled |
| May 9 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Canceled |
| May 17 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Canceled |
| May 23 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Canceled |
| May 30 | Rugby United New York | Away | Canceled |
References
- ^ "New Orleans Confirms Major League Rugby Plans". This is American Rugby. 2017-05-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
- ^ Williams, Bob (January 30, 2020). "Austin MLR team gains new name and owners, NOLA Gold partners with Clermont Auvergne". SportBusiness. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ Mackel, Travers (August 30, 2019). "When Baby Cakes leave, what happens to "Shrine On Airline?'". WDSU. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Major League Rugby Stadiums". This is American Rugby. 2017-12-27. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
- ^ Songy, Marielle (2017). "Archbishop Shaw High School Breaks Ground on New Stadium". The West Bank Beacon. New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
- ^ "Players - NOLA Gold Rugby". Americas Rugby News. 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
- ^ "Nate Osborne To Coach New Orleans Gold". DJ Coil Rugby. 2017-06-16. Archived from the original on 2017-10-20.
{{cite news}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 2017-10-19 suggested (help) - ^ https://www.facebook.com/StarsRugby7s/posts/2037785909642813?comment_id=2071278522960218&reply_comment_id=2071340742953996&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R1%22%7D
- ^ "Major League Rugby Suspends 2020 Season for 30 Days" (Press release). Major League Rugby. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ "Major League Rugby Has Decided to Cancel the Remainder of the 2020 Season and Turn Attention to 2021" (Press release). Major League Rugby. March 19, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
External links
 | This rugby union team article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |