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Dylan Fawsitt will become Major League Rugby’s first centurion when he takes the field for the Chicago on Sunday. The Hounds doubly celebrate their home opener as they welcome Utah to Bridgeview, with the new-look Warriors making their first appearance of the 2025 campaign.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
1-0-0 (W1) East 4th
n/a
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 10 | Adriaan Carelse | Tim Swiel |
| 11 | Nate Augspurger | Mark O’Keeffe |
|
n/a |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(12) – Pifeleti, Fawsitt, Augspurger, Campbell, Brown, White, Baska (USA), M Flesch, Rumball, N Flesch (Canada), Devoto (England), Péculo (Uruguay)
(10) – Seiuli, Leuila (Samoa), Coltman (New Zealand), Jensen, Mano, MacLellan, Wilson, Lasike (USA), Jones, Benn (Canada)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(0) – none
(10) – Seiuli*, Coltman*, Thornbury*, Crowley*, Leuila*, Brown*, Makiri*, Trainor, Apulu, Benn
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Zura Zhvania (LH), Tim Swiel (FH), Julián Domínguez (WI)
– none
| PREDICTION |
The Hounds went well enough to claim a road win over Western Conference contenders Houston last week. They’ve lost Tim Swiel and Mark O’Keeffe to injury, but Adriaan Carelse and Nate Augspurger are more than capable replacements. It’s the first look of the year at the Warriors, who have made big changes during the off-season. Cold conditions might make this a set piece heavy battle. Chicago are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 James Scott, 5 Hamish Bain, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Mitch Short, 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Ben Pollack
Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Liam Fletcher, 18 Ignacio Péculo, 19 Conall Boomer, 20 Luke White, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Sam Walsh, 23 Noah Flesch
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Aki Seiuli, 2 Liam Coltman, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Matt Jensen, 5 Gavin Thornbury (capt.), 6 Frank Lochore, 7 Kalisi Moli, 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Logan Crowley, 10 D’Angelo Leuila, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Kyle Brown, 14 Blake Makiri, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Phil Bradford, 17 Fred Apulu, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Bailey Wilson, 20 Tyler Wong, 21 Zion Going, 22 Paul Lasike, 23 Nic Benn
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, February 23
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 13:00 local (11:00 Pacific, 12:00 Mountain, 14:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 37°F (3°C), wind SW 11-16mph (18-26km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Gulf Coast Sports, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Peter Pender (Canada) & Shanda Assmus (Canada)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) – Utah 2, Chicago 1
2024-03-09 – Utah Warriors 29, Chicago Hounds 15 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2023-06-10 – Utah Warriors 24, Chicago Hounds 26 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2023-03-05 – Chicago Hounds 10, Utah Warriors 14 (SeatGeek Stadium)
