The Hounds put forth their case as contenders in the Eastern Conference with a 26-20 road victory over the New England Free Jacks on Sunday afternoon. Chicago made the most of their scoring opportunities while the defending champions again struggled with accuracy at the set piece.
From the kickoff the Free Jacks were on the front foot, but in a microcosm of the match their lineout failed to connect at the vital moment and instead the Hounds regained possession. Chicago worked their way to New England territory and their driving maul worked as intended with Maclean Jones falling over the line for the opening try.
New England used some creativity to make their own lineout work, with Seta Baker crossing after the ball had been handed off mid-air. The Hounds responded with a penalty goal via Adriaan Carelse, which was soon cancelled by a similar effort from Jayson Potroz.
A turning point came when Potroz was thrown into touch by Nate Augspurger after calling the mark. Baker came in to defend his flyhalf and the referee decided that the Free Jacks flanker should be punished, brandishing a yellow card to the disbelief of the home faithful. Chicago took immediate advantage with Dylan Fawsitt scoring from a driving maul to leave it 13-8 to the visitors at halftime.
In the opening moments of the second half the Hounds attacked the short side of a lineout. Jones worked a give-and-go with Fawsitt, before toeing the ball down the sideline. Jones regathered to ground the ball and after a TMO review the try was given.
Immediately following the restart Danyon Morgan-Puterangi took to the air to reel in a high ball, and upon landing freed Paula Balekana down the left sideline to close the gap. Chicago then lost their own fullback Luke Carty to an HIA after a high-speed collision with Morgan-Puterangi.
Carelse landed a penalty go push Chicago’s lead back into double digits and then came a hammer blow to New England. Potroz was forced off holding his ribs after being on the receiving end of a crunching tackle from Hounds lock Mason Flesch. The visitors again pushed into New England territory and another kick from Carelse made it 26-13 at the hour mark.
Morgan-Puterangi stepped into the flyhalf role and after several phases, a wide pass from Ben LeSage put Balekana in for a double. One final attack teased the home crowd but just as it built momentum Billy Meakes won a turnover at the breakdown and Chicago sent the ball into the stands to end the game.
It’s a home game for the Hounds next Saturday when they square off against Old Glory DC. The Free Jacks will enjoy a bye week before making the long trip to San Diego on Sunday, May 19.
| SCORING |
NEW ENGLAND 20
Tries (3) – S. Baker (15′), P. Balekana 2 (43′, 64′)
Cons (1) – J. Potroz 0/2, D. Morgan-Puterangi 1/1 (65′)
Pens (1) – J. Potroz 1/1 (27′)
YC (1) – S. Baker (35′)
CHICAGO 26
Tries (3) – M. Jones 2 (8′, 41′), D. Fawsitt (37′)
Cons (1) – A. Carelse 1/3 (42′,)
Pens (3) – A. Carelse 3/3 (21′, 53′, 60′)
| LINEUPS |
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai (17 Foster DeWitt 53′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Mason Koch 53′), 3 John-Roy Jenkinson (18 Kaleb Geiger 53′), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Jackson Thiebes (19 Kyle Baillie 53′), 6 Piers von Dadelszen (23 Ethan Fryer 65′), 7 Seta Baker, 8 MartÃn Sigren (20 Cam Davidowicz 53′), 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti (21 Holden Yungert 60′), 10 Jayson Potroz (22 Ben LeSage 55′), 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Charlie Abel (17 Fred Apulu 72′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Janus Venter 73′), 3 Paddy Ryan ( 18 Ignacio Péculo 65′), 4 Mason Flesch, 5 James Scott, 6 Ben Landry (19 George Merrick 56′), 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Conall Boomer (20 Luke White 53′), 9 Jason Higgins (21 Nick McCarthy 55′), 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Billy Meakes (capt.), 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Luke Carty (22 Mark O’Keeffe 49′)
Not used: 23 Cassh Maluia
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 5
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 12:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 55°F (12°C), wind SE 9-14mph (14-24km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Cisco Lopez (USA) & Eanna O’Dowd (Ireland)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
The post Hounds halt Free Jacks in Eastern Conference contender clash appeared first on Americas Rugby News.
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