Johan Momsen: The South African Who Chose Charlotte

Anthem RC’s captain has played in two MLR Championship Finals, won the league’s Forward of the Year award, and led teams in three different American cities. Now, with a new daughter, a home in Georgia, and a roster he believes can dominate, the Paarl-born lock-turned-flanker is building something bigger than a winning record.

Will Sherman remembers the moment he learned who would be in Anthem’s forward pack. The 2025 number one overall draft pick, still finding his feet in professional rugby, had one name circled above all others.

“I’m excited to play under guys like Johan Momsen and James Scott — two second rows with professional experience,” Sherman said before the season. “Learning from them is going to be an amazing opportunity.”

With the 2026 season now underway — including the historic first win that ended Anthem’s thirty-two-game losing streak — that opportunity is playing out exactly as Sherman hoped. Momsen is the captain, the set-piece anchor, and the quiet engine room voice that this franchise has been missing since its inception.

Literally grew up with it

Johan Momsen did not choose rugby. Rugby chose the entire family.

“I literally grew up with it,” he says. His father was the first-team head coach at Paarl Gimnasium — one of the Western Cape’s most storied rugby schools, nestled in South Africa’s wine country an hour outside Cape Town. The childhood dream wrote itself: play for the Gimmies first team, then the Stormers, then the Springboks.

He made it through the first two checkpoints. Paarl Gimnasium led to Stellenbosch University, where he captained the Maties to the 2019 Varsity Cup title, scoring a try in the final. From there it was Western Province, then Griquas in the Northern Cape — the smaller union where opportunities were limited and the path to green and gold felt increasingly narrow.

The Springbok dream, he says, “never dies.” He points to players earning debut caps deep into their thirties as proof that the door is never fully closed. But Momsen is also honest about the moment he recalibrated.

“I became more realistic and sought other opportunities,” he says. “And if I had not chosen this path to the MLR, I would not have met my wife. I would not have my daughter.”

Atlanta, New Zealand, Houston, Charlotte

The American chapter began in 2020, when Momsen joined Rugby ATL on loan from Griquas. What followed was the most productive forward season in MLR history. In 2021, he made 193 tackles, carried the ball 103 times — every single carry into contact — broke 22 tackles for 513 meters, and took 83 lineouts with 11 steals. The league named him Forward of the Year and described his statistics as “off the charts for a player in his position.”

He signed a long-term deal with ATL and helped them reach the MLR Championship Final that same year. Between American seasons, he went back and forth to Griquas and spent time playing in New Zealand — feeding a love of travel that had drawn him to the States in the first place.

A trade took him to Houston in 2023, where he was named captain. Over two seasons with the SaberCats, he appeared in all nineteen games in 2025, posted a career-high 220 tackles, and led the team to the Western Conference Championship and another Championship Final appearance. Two finals with two different franchises. One of the most consistent forwards the league has ever produced.

Then Charlotte called.

A new challenge, close to home

The move to Anthem was not complicated. Momsen married a girl from Georgia. Charlotte is close. He had a strong relationship with head coach Agustín Cavalieri. And after competing for the cup at Houston, the challenge of building something from zero appealed to him.

“It was a new and exciting challenge,” he says. “The immediate goal was simply getting the first win.”

That goal was achieved on March 28, 2026, when Momsen captained Anthem to a 41–24 victory over California Legion in the season opener — ending the longest losing streak in MLR history. He lined up at blindside flanker, a position he finds “a little easier” than lock because the scrum demands are lighter, though his focus remains the same regardless of the number on his back: “physically dominant in contact.”

After the final whistle, there was no grand celebration. That is not how Momsen operates.

“It was great to get the first win for the club,” he says. “But we have a next-job mentality. Based on our training and our performance, nothing can stop us. We are capable of competing with and beating the best teams.”

Little candies

Momsen does not describe his captaincy in terms of speeches or grand gestures. He talks about “little candies” — small lessons accumulated across a decade of professional rugby that he shares with teammates when the moment is right.

“I’m not trying to fundamentally change the team’s structure,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate to learn from great examples as a younger player. I just try to pass those small things on — the ones I know work.”

With Will Sherman, his approach is balance. Encourage the younger player to express himself and make mistakes, while remaining open to suggestions. “All the younger players have been open to advice,” he says. “The team has a good mindset.”

The philosophy extends beyond individual mentorship. Momsen believes the development gap between international and American players is closing fast — and that the remaining distance is mostly mental, not physical.

“There is nothing the American players cannot do,” he says. “Physically, in terms of rugby ability — nothing. The difference is mental. Experienced international players can help by providing cues during the game or talking through film situations.”

But his view of an international player’s responsibility goes further than tactical guidance.

“The biggest thing is igniting the spark,” he says. “Igniting an interest and passion for the game in young American players. Falling in love with rugby means seeking out the game, watching it, finding a way to deepen your understanding. I try to ignite conversations about deeper things in the game.”

Blue collar, nothing flashy

Momsen’s alignment with Cuca’s coaching philosophy is complete. He describes the head coach’s approach in terms that could double as a self-portrait: “Blue collar. Hard work. Nothing flashy.”

“It keeps you honest,” he says. “It pushes you to get better. It is difficult to stop a team of twenty-three players who are on the same page and willing to commit themselves fully.”

The set-piece-dominant game plan suits a South African forward whose entire career has been built on lineout mastery and defensive brutality. But Momsen is clear that the most critical factor is not any individual’s contribution — it is connection.

“Everyone has their own superpower,” he says. “Their own strength they bring to the team. Players should try to learn from each other, incorporate new skills, but always stick to their superpower and make it stronger.”

Fresh parents, deep roots

Off the field, Momsen is adjusting to the most transformative role of his life. His daughter Minka turned four months old the day after our conversation. He and his wife  Ashlyn are, in his words, “fresh parents” who are still learning.

“It is a new chapter,” he says, smiling.

Charlotte feels like the right place for it. Close to his wife’s family in Georgia, warm enough to remind him of home, and attached to a rugby project he believes in. When asked whether he will support the USA at the next World Cup — given his American wife and daughter — the answer comes without hesitation.

“I will always be a proud South African Springbok supporter,” he says, laughing. “But I will be happy for any good outcome for the USA.”

He describes himself as an “in-the-moment kind of guy” who doesn’t dwell on legacy. But when pressed, a vision emerges — not of trophies or statistics, but of conversations.

“My goal is one person at a time,” he says. “If I can ignite a deep conversation about the game with one or two individuals, and they go and do the same, eventually the effect is exponential.”

For Anthem fans heading to the first home game, Momsen’s message is direct: “Expect exciting rugby and dominating forwards. And come talk to the players afterwards.”

The most decorated forward in Major League Rugby is thirty years old, four months into fatherhood, and captaining the most talented roster Anthem has ever assembled. He did not come to Charlotte to rebuild. He came to build.