Chicago outruns LA in high flying contest

Three tries from Nate Augspurger helped Chicago to a dominant 54-31 win over RFC Los Angeles at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday. The Hounds never looked in danger and put on a spectacle for their fans, though defense seemed optional at times in a contest that featured 13 tries between the two sides.

LA made a hash of the opening kickoff and immediately gave the ball to the Hounds. A few phases later and Augspurger was wide open for his first with just two minutes on the clock. Adriaan Carelse then landed a 50-22 that pinned the visitors in their end and eventually Ben Landry bashed over to ground the ball under the sticks for an automatic seven.

Dylan Fawsitt was next to get in on the scoring. Conall Boomer charged ahead and offloaded to Fawsitt, who ran clean through a disorganized defensive line. While the try was being awarded Semi Kunatani was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous hit behind the play leaving LA down a man.

The Hounds seemed to lose their focus despite the advantage and instead the men in blue struck twice in a matter of minutes. Matt Anticev regathered a Rory van Vugt chip ahead and returned the ball to the fullback for a try in the corner.

Theo Vukasinovic was helped off with a bad shoulder, but again LA showed resilience when Augspurger was caught trying to run from his own end. Jason Damm won a turnover at the breakdown and Niall Saunders went quick at the penalty, connecting with Dan Hollinshead to close the gap to seven.

It was stretched before halftime when Luke Carty regathered his own long kick ahead on a counter-attack to set up a fourth Chicago try. Landry grabbed his brace from close range and the bonus point was secure with the scoreboard reading 26-12 to the Hounds.

A quiet start to the second half ended when Los Angeles pushed into Chicago territory. Their initial attack was held up, but another opportunity came from the drop-out. The Hounds left the edge of a ruck unguarded and Saunders took advantage, breaking free and touching down between the posts from 40 meters to make it a one-score game.

Chicago put the game out of reach with three tries in succession. Augspurger scored on a training ground move from a scrum, and then Nick McCarthy’s kick found nobody at home for Noah Brown to score the sixth try for the Hounds. The seventh went to Mason Flesch who crashed over after Janus Venter had made ground down the short side of a lineout.

Maclean Jones was singled out for a dangerous clearout that gave LA a shot at a bonus point. They took advantage when Kunatani raced straight through the middle of the pitch from a lineout to score under the posts. Jack Shaw grabbed a late score for the visitors after some phase play, but the final say went to Augspurger who finished off a Caolan Dooley grubber into space off a scrum.

The victory brings Chicago’s first half of the campaign to a close with their next match a road game against the New England Free Jacks on Sunday, May 5. Los Angeles will face the same opponent at home next Sunday as part of a double-header with the Pacific Four match between Canada and the USA.

CHICAGO 54
Tries (8) – N. Augspurger 3 (2′, 59′, 80′), B. Landry 2 (11′, 35′), D. Fawsitt (17′), N. Brown (61′), M. Flesch (67′)
Cons (7) – A. Carelse 4/5 (18′, 36′, 62′, 68′), No kick 2 (11′, 33′), C. Dooley 1/1 (80’+1′)
YC (1) – M. Jones (70′)

LOS ANGELES 31
Tries (5) – R. van Vugt (20′), D. Hollinshead (24′), N. Saunders (52′), S. Kunatani (71′), J. Shaw (77′)
Cons (3) – D. Hollinshead 1/3 (25′), No kick 2 (52′, 71′)
YC (1) – S. Kunatani (19′)

CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Charlie Abel (17 Fred Apulu 65′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Janus Venter 60′), 3 Ignacio Péculo (18 Paddy Ryan 51′), 4 Mason Flesch, 5 James Scott, 6 Ben Landry (19 George Merrick 55′), 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Conall Boomer (20 Luke White 55′), 9 Jason Higgins (21 Nick McCarthy 60′), 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Billy Meakes (capt.) (22 Caolan Dooley 68′), 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown (23 Michael Baska 66′), 15 Luke Carty

RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Dane Zander (18 Alex Maughan 52′), 2 Ben Strang (16 Bruce Kauika-Petersen 68′), 3 Conor Young (17 Lincoln Si’i 62′), 4 Reegan O’Gorman, 5 Theo Vukasinovic (19 Liam Antrobus 21′ {7 Max Katjijeko 70′}), 6 Semi Kunatani, 7 Max Katjijeko (20 Michael Amiras 52′), 8 Jason Damm, 9 Niall Saunders (capt.) (21 Tas Smith 55′), 10 Matt Anticev, 11 Rory van Vugt, 12 Dan Hollinshead, 13 Seth Purdey (22 Jack Shaw 68′), 14 Brooklyn Hardaker, 15 Sam Walsh (23 Austin White HT)

Date: Sunday, April 21
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 17:00 local
Weather: sunny, 58°F (14°C), wind NW 12-18mph (19-29km/h)

Referee: Marquise Goodwin (USA)
Assistants: Cisco Lopez (USA) & Shawn Bastic (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)