Day: May 10, 2026

2026 – RD 7: Chicago Hounds v Anthem RC

The Chicago Hounds host Anthem RC at Seatgeek Stadium for a Sunday Night Rugby marquee matchup during Round 7 of the 2026 MLR season.

The Hounds remain unbeaten through the first half of the 2025 season, and top the MLR standings with the maximum 25pts and a 5-0 record, holding the Old Mate in the process. Anthem RC are coming off their bye week in Rd 6, and sit in 4th with a respectable 2-3 record. The Hounds fielded a rotated lineup for this game, and Anthem may see this as their best chance to take them down a peg.

The visitors came flying out of the gate and opened the scoring through Dom Akina in just the 3rd minute, but Luke Carty was unable to add the extras fora  5-0 lead that lasted roughly 5 minutes when the Chicago Hounds hit back through Matt Oworu, then Maclean Jones a few minutes later with Videla able to add the extras for both, giving the Hounds a 5-14 lead. The first half an hour was pretty end to end, with Johan Momsen and Mark O’Keeffe picking up a pair of tries each, and Mac Jones adding a second of his own to balloon the score to 33-19. Incidentally, this was the score at the final whistle of the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season, but they got there in just over 30 minutes this time.

Just as they did in the first half, the Rising Stars started the second on the front foot, and got on the board early once again, this time through Malacchi Esdale to cut the deficit to 9pts. Unfortunately for Anthem, the Chicago Hounds then hit back roughly 8 minutes later (also similar to the first half) with Theo Fourie and Brock Webster tries sandwiching a Marques Fuala’au try, then Peyton Wall & Jake Kinneeveauk scores sandwiching a Campbell Robb try to finish things off. A strong effort from Anthem RC, who secure a try BP and record 6 tries, but the Chicago Hounds continue to dominate this season, scoring 9 tries of their own and setting a new franchise record with 61pts scored. It’s quite the statement from Chicago to concede 6 tries and 36pts but still win by 25.

With 6 wins from 6, the Chicago Hounds can already secure a playoff spot in their clash with the 2nd placed California Legion, while Anthem RC fall to 2-4 but still sit in a playoff spot with 12pts. The Rising Stars need to get back in the win column soon if they want to stay competitive however, and face a resurgent Seattle Seawolves team on the road next week.

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WER 2026 – RD 2: Chicago Tempest v Boston Banshees

The Chicago Tempest host the Boston Banshees at Benedictine University during Round 2 of the 2026 WER season!

The Boston Banshees hold a 2-0 series lead in this matchup, claiming a 49-12 victory over the Tempest in their most recent meeting during Round 9 of the 2025 season. Having recorded a 0-10 season last year, the Chicago Tempest are still looking for their first ever win as a franchise and in this match, they finally got it.

In front of a home crowd, the Chicago Tempest trailed 14-27 to the Banshees at the halftime break. Although the Banshees scored quick, the Tempest hit right back with early second half scores from Colleen Murphy, Katie Lohaus, and Gracie Anderson put the hosts into the lead with just under 30 to play, leading 29-27. Nicoleta Mesina was able to extend the Tempest lead in the 63rd minute and Nicole Fisch added the extras for a full 7pts to take their lead up to 36-27, and even though the Banshees hit back through a 67th minute Keisha Durden score, it wasn’t enough.

The Chicago Tempest claim an historic 36-32 victory over the Banshees for their first ever WER win!

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WER 2026 – RD 2: Denver Onyx v TC Gemini

The Denver Onyx host the TC Gemini in their 2026 home opener at Infinity Park during Round 2 of the WER season!

The reigning champion Denver Onyx swept the TC Gemini during the 2025 season, with the most recent result, a 75-14 rout during Round 12 of the 2025 season. Can the TC Gemini improve this time around?

Coming off of an enormous 22-78 road victory over the Chicago Tempest, the TC Gemini did indeed improve against the defending champions, but it wasn’t enough. They reduced the deficit from 61pts in their last meeting of 2025 and actually led 24-21 at half time, but they were blown away by the Onyx in the second half, who raced to a 25pt loss, rallying from their opening round defeat to the Bay Breakers with an 8-try, 54-29 victory for their first win of the 2026 WER season.

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2026 – RD 7: Old Glory DC v Seattle Seawolves

Old Glory DC host the Seattle Seawolves at George Mason University during Round 7 of the 2026 MLR season.

Old Glory DC enter the second half of the 2026 season with 4 home games in their remaining 5 fixtures. They sit 5th in the standings but right in the mix with a 2-3 record. The Flags are looking to bounce back after giving the Chicago Hounds their biggest test of the season last week. The Seattle Seawolves sit 1pt ahead of DC in the standings, also with a 2-3 record. The injury-striken Seawolves managed a convincing road win over the reeling Free Jacks last week to jump from 6th to 3rd.

Two of the more defence-minded teams in Major League Rugby spend the majority of the first have trying to figure each other out. The Seawolves, again without their regular kicker Davy Coetzer, relied on Divan Rossouw from the tee which worked well, and held a narrow 3-6 lead until just half time. It was very much ‘one for the purists’ through the first 35 minutes until John Rizzo struck twice in quick succession including a spectacular solo effort to deal a huge blow to the Seawolves morale just before the break, going from leading 3-6 to trailing 15-6 in the space of 3 minutes!

Whatever coach Allen Clarke said to the visitors at half time worked. In his first game of the season after picking up an injury in pre-season, Ina Futi got things rolling for Seattle early in the second half, and Andre Warner added a second a few minutes later to re-take the lead, and the guests would strike twice over the next 12 minutes to extend this lead to 15-30 and now it was Old Glory DC that were reeling. They would add a Damien Hoyland score and both a conversion and penalty from the boot of Jason Robertson to pull within 5, but couldn’t get that final try thanks in part to a red for Captain Rob Harley, and a yellow for Cali Martinez to put Old Glory at a disadvantage for the past quarter of the game. The Flags pick up a losing bonus point, but fall 25-30 to Seattle and sit with a 2-4 record in 5th place.

Old Glory DC will rally to face their rivals the New England Free Jacks next week, with the defending champions having closed the gap in the standings following their victory over the California Legion yesterday. The Seattle Seawolves improve to a 3-3 record through 6 games, and sit all the way up in 3rd on 16pts, strengthening their playoff push.

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