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The Utah Warriors celebrated their home opener with a 29-15 victory over the Chicago Hounds on Saturday. It was a fierce contest with the result left in the balance until the final quarter, when mistakes from the visitors compounded and helped the Warriors pull away in the final minutes.
There was barely a minute on the clock when Julián Domínguez crossed in the corner for the opening try. It came on the end of a long sequence of attack that saw the Hounds using the full width of the pitch. Adriaan Carelse was spot on with the sideline conversion.
The Warriors responded with a long-range effort that started with a cross-kick from Joel Hodgson that found Sione Mahe in space. Bailey Wilson was there in support and the captain fended off Lucas Rumball before delivering the scoring pass to a streaking Zion Going. As the try was awarded Nate Augspurger was shown a yellow card for diving on Going after the grounding and Hodgson would have possession at halfway after kicking the conversion.
After holding out against Utah’s advance, a penalty gave Carelse a shot at the posts from 50 meters and he struck if perfectly to raise the flags and put the Hounds back in the lead. It would be wrestled away before halftime when Saia Uhila powered over on the back of a charging run from Thomas Tu’avao, with the kick from Hodgson leaving it 14-10 to the Warriors at halftime.
Early in the second half the Hounds had an opportunity to kick for points but they instead opted for the corner, and it proved the wrong decision as the Warriors earned a turnover at an ensuing breakdown. A raft of changes were made at the 50-minute mark, and then Utah center Tomasi Tonga was helped off with what looked like an ankle injury with Robbie Povey summoned from the bench.
When play resumed a messy throw-in from Utah handed the ball to Chicago just a couple meters away from the line, and Zura Zhvania squeezed over from short range to nudge the visitors in front. The kick from Carelse was pulled left of the uprights and only a single point separated the two sides.
Luke Carty came on to play flyhalf for Chicago and a miscommunication at the scrum saw his first pass going to deck, with the Warriors earning a penalty at the breakdown. Hodgson lined up a kick at goal from straight in front but the ball bounced off the right post and the flags stayed down.
Chicago couldn’t clear their end and the pressure stayed on until the Warriors earned an attacking lineout. This time Phil Bradford found his target in Matt Jensen, and the drive worked a charm with Bradford himself falling over the line for the try. Hodgson found his range, curling the ball through to put Utah up by six with under 20 minutes to play.
The physical nature of the game was taking its toll on the Warriors, with Onehunga Havili, Sione Mahe, and Franco van den Berg all leaving the pitch injured. Despite now fielding a makeshift backline the Warriors moved forward and earned a penalty straight in front, with Hodgson doing the honors with three minutes to play.
There was still enough time to earn a losing bonus point but Carty’s punt to the corner went too long and instead it was a scrum to Utah. Hodgson sold a dummy on the gainline and raced over halfway before sending Jesse Hamilton free into the corner for a bonus point try. The conversion was no good but it was academic as the home crowd voiced their approval.
Both teams return to action next Saturday. It’s another road game for the Hounds as they take on Eastern Conference rivals Old Glory in Maryland. The Warriors stay put for a Western Conference clash against the Seattle Seawolves.
| SCORING |
UTAH 29
Tries (4) – Z. Going (16′), S. Uhila (36′), P. Bradford (62′), J. Hamilton (79′)
Cons (3) – J. Hodgson 3/4 (16′, 37′, 63′)
Pens (1) – J. Hodgson 1/2 (77′)
CHICAGO 15
Tries (2) – J. Domínguez (1′), Z. Zhvania (54′)
Cons (1) – A. Carelse 1/2 (2′)
Pens (1) – A. Carelse 1/1 (23′)
YC (1) – N. Augspurger (16′)
| LINEUPS |
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg (17 Emerson Prior 71′), 2 Nic Souchon (16 Phil Bradford 50′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 50′), 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Saia Uhila (19 Matt Jensen 50′), 6 Thomas Tu’avao (20 Onehunga Havili 50′ {22 Kalisi Moli 65′}), 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Zion Going (21 Kieran McClea 50′), 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Sione Mahe (9 Zion Going 67′), 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Tomasi Tonga (23 Robbie Povey 53′), 14 Jesse Hamilton, 15 Caleb Makene
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Zura Zhvania (17 Fred Apulu 66′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Guillermo Pujadas 46′), 3 Paddy Ryan (18 Ignacio Péculo 46′), 4 James Scott, 5 George Merrick (19 Brad Tucker 50′), 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Lucas Rumball (21 Maclean Jones 60′), 8 Luke White (20 Conall Boomer 63′), 9 Nick McCarthy (22 Jason Higgins 50′), 10 Billy Meakes (capt.), 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Bryce Campbell, 13 Mark O’Keeffe (23 Luke Carty 57′), 14 Nate Augspurger, 15 Adriaan Carelse
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 9
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 14:00 local
Weather: sunny, 46°F (8°C), wind S 11-16mph (18-26km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistants: Kage Green (USA) & Chris O’Malley (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
