Anthem's Late Fightback Offers Hope Despite Chicago Defeat in Home Opener
MLR Anthem Rugby Carolina

Anthem's Late Fightback Offers Hope Despite Chicago Defeat in Home Opener

Published on April 6, 2026 under Major League Rugby (MLR)
Anthem Rugby Carolina News Release


Dan Brooks

A week is a long time in rugby. Seven days after rewriting the record books with a famous first victory in California, Anthem Rugby Carolina arrived in Charlotte for their first home game of the season riding a wave of optimism. The flags were up, the sun was out, 81 degrees and climbing, and a spirited crowd had turned out to welcome their team back home. What they got was a reminder that building a franchise is not a straight line.

Chicago Hounds, last season's 11-3 powerhouse making their own 2026 debut, were clinical where Anthem were ambitious, precise where Anthem were adventurous, and ruthless at the set piece where Anthem were vulnerable. The final scoreline of 33-19 told a tale of two halves, and two very different Anthem performances. For forty minutes the hosts were pinned back, struggling to convert territorial pressure into points and losing key ball at the lineout. For the final twenty, they were a different side altogether, scoring three tries in a blistering spell that had the Charlotte crowd on their feet and Chicago scrambling.

The first half belonged almost entirely to the visitors. Anthem started brightly, camping on the Chicago line inside the opening five minutes and coming agonisingly close before the ball was held up over the whitewash. It was a pattern that would define their afternoon: enterprise without reward. Mason Flesch, Chicago's blindside flanker, crossed first on 13 minutes after a slick offload in the tackle opened a gap through the middle. Anthem hit back through Seth Smith, who finished off a textbook lineout maul on 21 minutes, James Scott taking the ball cleanly at first jumper before the pack drove the hooker over. Luke Carty narrowly missed the conversion from the touchline, and at 7-5 the contest was finely poised.

It would not stay that way. From the restart, Scott misjudged a contestable kick by mere inches, Chicago regathered, and Tavite Lopeti sliced through midfield on a devastating angle to restore the visitors' advantage at 12-5. Worse was to come. Flesch powered over for his second of the afternoon at 36 minutes, Chris Hilsenbeck converted, and at 19-5 Chicago had a commanding lead at the half.

The lineout was a frustration for Anthem. Chicago's well-drilled pack disrupted five of Anthem's 19 throws across the match, often at the worst possible moments, starving the hosts of attacking platform when they needed it most. Captain Johan Momsen was characteristically blunt afterwards. "You can't get momentum if you can't get the ball," the South African flanker said. Smith, making his season debut in Charlotte's heat, was replaced at half-time by Ramiro Gurovich, and the set piece did improve as the game wore on. But Chicago's pack, marshalled superbly by captain Lucas Rumball at number eight, had already exploited those early wobbles to build a lead that would prove decisive.

The second half began in dispiriting fashion. A penalty try extended Chicago's advantage, and when Mark O'Keeffe finished off a sharp counter-attack on 59 minutes, Hilsenbeck converting, the scoreboard read 33-5 and a rout seemed inevitable. Assistant Coach Brendan O'Meara admitted the errors had a compounding effect. "When a ball gets dropped, it deflates the team a bit. If we lose a line out, then another, the team gets pretty deflated," he said. Head Coach Cuca emptied his bench, bringing on five replacements in a single wave just ten minutes into the half, and the fresh legs changed the game's complexion entirely.

The turning point came at 68 minutes. Malacchi Esdale, the utility back off the bench, produced a superb interception in midfield and Carty banged a 50-22 kick into the Chicago half to hand Anthem an attacking lineout. This time the set piece functioned, Johan Momsen taking a clean catch, and the forwards went to work. Phase after relentless phase, they battered the Chicago line until Baden Godfrey, two tries in two games now, burrowed over to make it 33-12.

Anthem sensed blood. From the restart, Julian Roberts, outstanding all afternoon on the left wing with 86 metres carried, bounced through three tacklers and set the platform for another sustained assault. Esdale's electric running and Ishma-eel Safodien's sharp service from the base of the ruck were driving the hosts forward. When Chicago's discipline cracked under the pressure, the scrum-half pounced. Safodien took a quick tap penalty, spotted the gap in a retreating Chicago defence, and darted over from close range. Carty converted to make it 33-19, and suddenly the impossible felt merely improbable.

With Chicago reduced to 13 men after two yellow cards in the closing stages, Anthem threw everything at the line. Roberts, Mooneyham and Godfrey all made surging carries deep into Chicago territory, and a try was chalked off for a knock-on with the line at their mercy. The stats told the story of Anthem's ambition, 764 metres in carry distance to Chicago's 557, nine clean breaks to four, and 568 metres made overall. The clock, ultimately, was the enemy. When the final whistle sounded, Anthem had scored three tries to Chicago's none in the final quarter, a passage of play that would have given Cuca more to work with than the opening sixty minutes might have suggested.

Momsen acknowledged the team had been riding high after last week's breakthrough. "We started very slow. Every time we got a lineout we had errors. You can't build momentum," he said, before adding: "We talk about expressing ourselves, which is great. But sometimes the smart play is just to keep it simple." Around him, Roberts justified his selection with a tireless display on both sides of the ball, while Jordan Trainor led all comers with 121 metres in carry distance. The bench, though, was the story. O'Meara singled out Baden Godfrey, Marques Fuala'au and Isma-Eel Safodien for the energy they brought, while Cuca pointed to the heart his players showed in the closing stages. "They never gave up and they tried until the end," the Head Coach said. "I'm sure that with better discipline, better execution, we can be much better than this." O'Meara framed it best: "We went from the joy of a first win ever for Anthem to a bit of reality and a humbling experience. We still believe in this group."

Chicago Hounds 33: Tries Flesch 2 (13, 36), Lopeti (23), pen try, O'Keeffe (59). Cons Hilsenbeck 3.

Anthem Rugby Carolina 19: Tries Smith (21), Godfrey (68), Safodien (73). Cons Carty 2.

Anthem Rugby Carolina J Trainor; C Mooneyham, T Pittman, W Leonard, J Roberts; L Carty, Z Going; P Telea-Ilalio, S Smith, A Maughan, W Sherman, J Scott, J Momsen (capt), T Tonga'uiha, M Alikhan. Replacements: R Gurovich, A Heaney, O Kane, S Golla, B Godfrey, I Safodien, M Esdale, M Fuala'au.

Chicago Hounds B Webster; M O'Keeffe, T Lopeti, O Devoto, N Brown; C Hilsenbeck, R De Haas; J Turnbull, T Fourie, C Abel, T Casares, N Den Hoedt, M Flesch, M Jones, L Rumball (capt).

Scoring Summary

Time Team Scorer Type Score

13 ‚¬Â² CHI M. Flesch Try 0-5

14 ‚¬Â² CHI C. Hilsenbeck Conversion 0-7

21 ‚¬Â² ARC S. Smith Try 5-7

22 ‚¬Â² ARC L. Carty Missed Conv. 5-7

23 ‚¬Â² CHI T. Lopeti Try 5-12

24 ‚¬Â² CHI C. Hilsenbeck Missed Conv. 5-12

36 ‚¬Â² CHI M. Flesch Try 5-17

36 ‚¬Â² CHI C. Hilsenbeck Conversion 5-19

- CHI - Penalty Try 5-26

59 ‚¬Â² CHI M. O'Keeffe Try 5-31

60 ‚¬Â² CHI C. Hilsenbeck Conversion 5-33

68 ‚¬Â² ARC B. Godfrey Try 10-33

68 ‚¬Â² ARC L. Carty Conversion 12-33

73 ‚¬Â² ARC I. Safodien Try 17-33

73 ‚¬Â² ARC L. Carty Conversion 19-33

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Major League Rugby Stories from April 6, 2026


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