Anthem RC vs. Chicago Hounds — Week 7 Preview

THEY KNOW THEY CAN LIVE WITH THEM. NOW THE JOB IS TO BEAT THEM.

Written by Dan Brooks

Back To The Grind

The bye week came at the right time. After back-to-back defeats to Old Glory DC and the New England Free Jacks, both games where Anthem dominated the statistics but couldn’t convert that dominance into a result, the squad had six days away from the facility to recharge, see family, and come back with fresh legs. When they returned to training on Monday, Coach Cuca noticed exactly what he’d hoped for: energy, enthusiasm, and a group that was genuinely excited to be back together and working. The culture that has been built inside this squad since preseason, the thing Cuca keeps pointing to as the foundation of everything else, showed itself again in the way the players approached what was a heavy day of meetings, reviewing the season so far, resetting goals, and preparing for the challenge ahead.

Know The Opponent

That challenge is a significant one. Chicago are 5-0 and playing some of the most ruthless rugby in Major League Rugby. They’ve beaten every opponent by a comfortable margin this season, 48-24 over California, 50-26 over New England, 59-22 over Seattle, 49-31 over Old Glory, and their efficiency inside the opposition 22 is the best in the competition. They don’t do anything spectacular, as Cuca acknowledged this week. They don’t need to. “They are simple,” he said. “Very, very simple. But very, very efficient. They do simple things extremely well, and they punish you every time they get into your 22. They have a very good attacking front line, and as soon as they get momentum, they go really hard.” It is, in many ways, the approach Cuca himself admires, he pointed to South Africa’s dominance of international rugby as proof that simplicity and precision will always beat complexity.

But Anthem has reason to believe. When the two sides met in Charlotte in Week 2, Anthem produced their best discipline of the season, fewer turnovers than in any other match, the lowest penalty count, and long stretches where they controlled the game. The 33-19 scoreline didn’t reflect the balance of play. Cuca was candid: “Our sensation after that game was that we could win it. I’m sure that we could have won that game. But they are efficient. A few silly tries, a turnover where they picked the ball up and ran 60 meters, a penalty try from a maul where we defended badly, and suddenly the margin is bigger than it should be.” The message this week has been clear: play with the same discipline, cut out the soft scores, and make Chicago earn every point.

The Storylines

The squad announcement offers some interesting selection calls. Ishma-eel Safodien starts at scrumhalf ahead of Zion Going, who drops to the bench, a change that brings a different tempo to the nine jersey and gives Anthem the option of injecting Going’s energy later in the match when legs tire. Will Sherman starts in the second row alongside captain Johan Momsen and Sam Golla, whose return has transformed the lineout in recent weeks, shifting to blindside flanker where his workrate and leadership can influence the breakdown. The backline retains the combination that has been building through the second half of the season: Luke Carty at 10, Tom Pittman and Dominic Akina in the centers, Erich Storti and Malacchi Esdale on the wings, and Julian Roberts at fullback.

The best news is on the bench. Conner Mooneyham, who has been nursing an injury and hadn’t had full contact before this week’s training, has been named at 23. It’s a significant boost, Mooneyham’s finishing ability was a feature of the early-season wins, and his return gives Coach Cuca an attacking option from the bench that could be decisive in the final quarter. Alongside him, the bench carries the familiar mix of power and experience: Campbell Robb at hooker, Alessandro Heaney and Oliver Kane in the front row, Alejandro Martinez Tapia, Tesimoni Tonga’uiha and Marques Fuala’au in the forwards, Going in the backs.

The weapons are there to trouble Chicago. Anthem’s scrum is the best in the league by a wide margin, 18 scrum penalties won through five rounds, double the next-best team. Chicago, notably, sit second in that category with nine, so Sunday’s front-row battle shapes as one of the match-defining contests. Payton Telea-Ilalio and Alex Maughan, who have anchored the scrum all season, will relish the challenge of going head-to-head with a Hounds pack that includes former Anthem captain Jake Turnbull at loosehead, a player who knows this squad inside out. The lineout has improved dramatically since Golla’s return, and the attack, when it clicks, is as exciting as anything in the league. “When it’s working, it’s beautiful to watch,” Cuca said. “But we need more consistency there. Creating is harder than destroying, and we want to create.”

The coaching staff have been forensic in their analysis of where Chicago’s points come from. “Most of their tries come from the lineout,” Cuca said. “So we’re going to try to be very aggressive in the air, try to manipulate them into jumping where we want them to jump, give them dirty ball. The first outcome we want from the defensive lineout is to steal it.” Disrupting Chicago’s primary attacking platform won’t be easy, this is a settled side built around co-captains Lucas Rumball and Chris Hilsenbeck, with Ollie Devoto pulling the strings at inside center and Brock Webster’s unpredictability at fullback adding another dimension. But Anthem’s aerial work has improved, and any ball won against the throw would be gold.

The bigger tactical shift is about what Anthem does with the ball. The turnovers have been the recurring issue, 23 conceded against New England, too many 50-50 passes that don’t stick and hand the opposition territory for nothing. Against a team as clinical as Chicago, every turnover is an invitation. “The best defense is the attack,” Cuca said. “If you keep the ball, if you score points, if you are efficient and precise and direct, they’re going to have fewer entries into your 22 and fewer opportunities to score.” It is a conscious shift in mindset: defend by not giving the ball away.

Jordan Trainor serves the final week of his suspension, and James Scott is out for the remainder of the season after surgery, a significant loss of two of the squad’s most experienced internationals. Will Leonard is also unavailable. But the depth has been tested all season and has consistently delivered, from Elias Garza’s debut against Old Glory to Campbell Robb’s bonus-point try in the dying seconds at New England. The players coming off the bench know they belong.

There has been a major emphasis this week on the first 20 minutes. In the last two defeats, Anthem have conceded early and found themselves chasing the game before they’ve settled into their rhythm. “Sometimes we go overexcited into games,” Cuca admitted. “Silly penalties, offsides in our own 22, and suddenly we’re behind. We need to find that balance, I don’t want a team that comes onto the field with a low mindset, but we need clarity about what we want to do in the first 20.” In both of Anthem’s wins this season, California and Seattle, the opening quarter went to plan. The correlation is not a coincidence.

And then there is the quality that has defined this squad more than any other: they never give up. Anthem have won the second half in four of their five matches and drew the other. The bench has been a weapon in every game. The culture Cuca has built, the one he talked about this week with evident pride, means that even at 38-12 down in Quincy, the players were under the posts telling each other they still had a mission. They came away with a bonus point. “If we can perform for 80 minutes,” Cuca said, “we can beat everyone.”

Five-and-oh or not, Chicago should be on notice. Anthem is coming.

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