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A man-of-the-match performance from Jayson Potroz inspired the Free Jacks to a 22-17 win on the road against the Hounds on Sunday afternoon. The 2023 Major League Rugby Player of the Year scored 15 points and also contributed heavily on defense to guide New England past their frustrated hosts.
Chicago had the edge in the scrum early and were nearly in for a try but Mason Flesch was held up over the line. The Free Jacks flipped the script with their own penalty at the scrum that resulted in an attacking lineout. When the ball bounced free from the throw-in, Potroz was on hand to regather and weave his way past the cover defense for a superb individual score.
Nate Augspurger was carried off at the half-hour mark after the Chicago winger got his head on the wrong side of a tackle. Noah Brown came into the game and the Hounds went on the attack. Another powerful burst from Flesch backed up the Free Jacks and then a penalty try was awarded when Reece MacDonald stuck out a hand to break up a certain scoring try, the fullback earning a yellow card for his troubles.
Despite being down a man it was New England who would create an overlap just before halftime. The scrum wheeled to the short side and Potroz quickly delivered to a streaking Danyon Morgan-Puterangi. He committed the last man and returned the ball to a circling Potroz for a 12-7 lead at the intermission.
Early in the second half a scoring opportunity was left begging by Chicago when Mark O’Keeffe broke to the outside. He was tripped up just short but his offload attempt to George Merrick was forward. Searching for inspiration, the Hounds brought Cassh Maluia into the midfield to partner Billy Meakes and moved Adriaan Carelse into the first receiver role for the remainder of the game.
Potroz made another impression with a short pass to Morgan-Puterangi on a counter-attack that saw the latter flying all the way inside Chicago’s 22-meter line. A dangerous tackle gave the New England flyhalf a shot at three points and he didn’t disappoint, making it a two-score game just ahead of the hour mark.
A wide ball from the Hounds put Brown in space. Dave Kearney and Lucas Rumball were there in support, but the scoring pass to Nick McCarthy was knocked-on. Instead the home side were forced to settle for three points from Carelse after winning a scrum penalty.
New England regained possession and crashed ahead with their forwards until Malakai Hala-Ngatai breached the line under the posts for an automatic seven. Maclean Jones ensured the Hounds would take something from the match with an outside-in angle off a lineout for a try. A victory was beyond their efforts, however, as a knock-on put an end to the game after the restart.
It’s a short turnaround for Chicago as they stay at home to take on the Seattle Seawolves on Saturday. New England will rest up for a week before returning to action with a home game against the Miami Sharks on Saturday, April 6.
| SCORING |
CHICAGO 17
Tries (2) – Penalty try (32′), M. Jones (79′)
Cons (2) – No kick (32′), A. Carelse 1/1 (80′)
Pens (1) – A. Carelse 1/1 (70′)
NEW ENGLAND 22
Tries (3) – J. Potroz 2 (16′, 38′), M. Hala-Ngatai (75′)
Cons (2) – J. Potroz 1/2 (17′), No kick (75′)
Pens (1) – J. Potroz 1/1 (58′)
YC (1) – R. MacDonald (32′)
| LINEUPS |
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Zura Zhvania (17 Fred Apulu 60′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Guillermo Pujadas 50′), 3 Ignacio Péculo (18 Charlie Abel 50′), 4 George Merrick (20 Brad Tucker 50′), 5 James Scott (19 Sam Peri 77′), 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Tinashe Muchena (21 Lucas Rumball HT), 9 Nick McCarthy, 10 Billy Meakes (capt.), 11 Nate Augspurger (22 Noah Brown 29′), 12 Bryce Campbell (23 Cassh Maluia 48′), 13 Mark O’Keeffe, 14 Dave Kearney, 15 Adriaan Carelse
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera (17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai 50′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Sean Ralph 50′), 3 Cole Keith (18 Kaleb Geiger 50′), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Conor Keys (19 Kyle Baillie 60′), 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Martín Sigren (20 Cam Davidowicz 65′), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti (21 Holden Yungert 58′), 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Paula Balekana (23 Mitch Wilson 74′), 15 Reece MacDonald
Not used: 22 Killian Coghlan
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, March 24
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 13:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 44°F (7°C), wind SE 10-15mph (16-24km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Moe Chaudhry (Canada) & Andrew Dunn (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
