League: Major League Rugby

Founded in 2017 with it’s inaugural season played in 2018, Major League Rugby (MLR) is the highest level of professional rugby in North America.

Ben Strang

New Zealand hooker Ben Strang played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented Rugby ATL (2023) and Rugby FC LA (2024-2025).

He was signed by ATL in November 2022 on a long term deal that would have seen him in Atlanta through the 2025 MLR season. He has previously represented Manawatu in New Zealand’s NPC but on 30th June 2023 the Southland Stags announced Strang’s signing for their 2023 NPC season. Strang was born in Maryland and so qualifies as a domestic player in Major League Rugby.

He scored 1 try in 4 appearances (1 start) during 2023, gaining over 100m and completing 24 tackles in limited game time. Following the 2023 season, MLR and Rugby ATL announced that the ownership of the team had changed, and that the new ownership group would be relocating to Los Angeles (who had been without a team since the demise of the LA Giltinis) for the 2024 season, and the identity of Rugby FC LA was revealed in December 2023. Strang followed the team to Los Angeles and enjoyed a solid 2024 season, appearing in all 16 of RFCLA’s games, earning 11 starts and scoring 5 tries. He ran for just under 500m gained and finished 10th in MLR tackling, with 170 tackles completed. RFCLA missed the playoffs, but enjoyed solid performances for their inaugural season.

Strang had a contract through the 2025 MLR season with Rugby ATL, and it’s unclear if that contract has transferred to RFCLA, or if they had signed a new contract for the 2024 season. Regardless, on December 12th, 2024, Rugby FC LA confirmed the return of Ben Strang for their sophomore season in 2025.

achievements

  • 10th in MLR Tackling: 2024 (170)
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 18
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 12

Rewita Biddle

New Zealand born Fly-half/Fullback Rewita Biddle represented Rugby ATL during their final season in Atlanta, in 2023. He currently represents the Toronto Arrows, with whom he is signed through 2025.

Biddle’s signing was announced by ATL in October 2022 on a 3yr contract, relatively long for the fledgling MLR. He joined from Palmyra RFC in Australia having spent 2021-2022 playing with Slava Moscow in Russia. Biddle proved to be a breakout star for Atlanta during his debut MLR season, earning 13 caps and impressing almost immediately with an excellent try during the season-opening Fire and Ice Cup against the Toronto Arrows. In total, he scored 4 tries and 32pts in his debut year, gaining close to 1000m.

On 31st July 2023, just days before Rugby ATL announced that a new onwership group had taken over and the team would be leaving Atlanta for Los Angeles, Rewita Biddle was traded along with promising Australian lock Jordan Brown to the Toronto Arrows in exchange for an International Player slot and Salary Cap Considerations in 2024. Toronto had a good relationship with Rugby ATL having spent the entire 2021 MLR season camped in Georgia, and picked up a number of players from ATL when their relocation was announced.

Contract Status: Signed through 2025

Achievements:

  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 10
  • MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Week 1

Jack Shaw

English born, Canadian raised winger Jack Shaw played in Major League Rugby between 2023-2025. He represented Rugby ATL (2023) and Rugby FC LA (2024-2025).

Born in England but raised in Canada, Shaw played rugby throughout high school at Shawnigan Lake School, before attending Bishop’s University where he was named Rookie of the Year in his freshman year, and helping the Rugby team advance to the Canadian University Championships. Shaw was selected for the Canada U20 side in 2020, and he played with the Canada Sevens team at the RAN Sevens tournament in Trinidad in November 2024. Upon his graduation, Shaw declared for the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft where he was selected in the 2nd Round, 22nd Overall by Rugby ATL.

Rugby ATL signed Jack Shaw for their 2023 MLR campaign, where he scored 4 tries in 10 games (9 starts) and gained over 600m in an impressive rookie season. Following that season, Shaw followed the franchise as they relocated to Los Angeles after a change in ownership, and represented the newly named Rugby FC LA in 2024, scoring another 4 tries in 14 games (13 starts) during RFCLA’s inaugural season. On December 6th, 2024, RFCLA confirmed the return of Jack Shaw for the 2025 MLR season where he scored his 9th MLR try and gained 129m in possession in limited game time, starting 2 of his 3 appearances to help RFCLA qualify for the postseason for the first time in team history.

Following the 2025 Campaign, RFCLA and the San Diego Legion announced that the two MLR sides were merging to create the California Legion. This, coupled with MLR re-defining ‘domestic player’ to no longer include Canadian talent, forced Jack Shaw to step away from MLR. During this uncertainty Shaw was included in the Canadian Pacific Nations Cup squad, and he earned his test debut when he started against Tonga in the 3rd Place Playoff on September 20th, 2025. Following his test debut at XVs level, Shaw re-joined the Canadian Men’s Sevens team, featuring for the Maple Leafs at their HSBC SVNS Series D3 weekend in Dubai in January 2026.

achievements
  • 2022 MLR Draftee – 2nd Round (22nd Overall) – Rugby ATL

Chicago Hounds

Background & History

The Chicago Hounds were announced as a Major League Rugby expansion side on November 17, 2022 and played in their inaugural MLR season in 2023, with SeatGeek Stadium hosting their home games. The team is co-owned by a small group of investors including majority owner Peter Bernick and part-owners Matt Satchwell and Phil Groves. Also among the ownership group are former Ireland internationals Dave & Rob Kearney, with Dave also representing the team during the 2024 season.

The inaugural Hounds roster was primarily created through an expansion/dispersal draft of players from Austin & LA after the two franchises ceased operations following their disqualification from the 2022 MLR season. Former Austin Head Coach Sam Harris moved to Chicago to take the reigns as Hounds HC, along with many of his AG players. Harris remained in charge of the Hounds from 2023 to the tail end of the 2024 season, when he was let go following a 4 game skid and a playoff spot on the line. Forwards Coach Rob Webber, former England international and Jersey Reds head coach, was promoted to interim head coach and went on a 3 game win streak to lock in the Hounds’ first ever Playoff appearance, where they defeated the higher seeded NOLA Gold, but fell to the New England Free Jacks in a close contest in Quincy, MA. Shortly after Webber‘s promotion to interim HC, English Premiership side Saracens announced that Webber would be joining them as Assistant Forwards Coach for their 2024/25 season, leaving the Chicago Hounds to find his replacement for the 2025 season. They did so on 11th September 2024, when they announced Wallabies legend Chris Latham as their head coach for 2025. The Hounds’ first season under Latham was their best to date. They finished 2nd in the East with an 11-5 record and 53pts, just 2 behind the 1st placed New England Free Jacks. This secured their first home playoff game against Old Glory DC in which they were victorious, and they advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for a replay of the 2024 ECF against the Free Jacks in Quincy. The Hounds led 0-17 at the 50 minute mark before New England began to pile on the pressure, and trailed 21-20 as the clock turned red. Chris Hilsenbeck lined up a penalty kick in the last play of the game, which rang off the post to hand the Free Jacks the victory.

Records & Record Holders

All-Time

Top Scorer: Luke Carty (127pts)
Top Try Scorer: Dylan Fawsitt (23)
Top Playoff Scorer: Chris Hilsenbeck (22pts)
Most Appearances: Maclean Jones (49)
Most Starts: Maclean Jones (46)
Top Tackler: Maclean Jones (591)
Top Meter Eater: Billy Meakes (2,238m)

Single Season:

Top Scorer: Chris Hilsenbeck (109pts) – 2025
Top Try Scorer: Dylan Fawsitt (14) – 2024
Top Tackler: Maclean Jones (204) – 2025
Top Meter Eater: Billy Meakes (1,154m) – 2023

historical performance

2023: 3-0-13 (-170) – 20pts: 5th in Western Conference
2024: 8-1-7 (+67) – 45pts: 3rd in Eastern Conference (Conference Finalist)
2025: 11-0-5 (+69) – 53pts: 2nd in Eastern Conference (Conference Finalist)

All-Time Regular Season Record: 22-1-25
All-Time Playoff Record: 2-2
Championship Series Appearances: 2 (2024, 2025)

The Old Mate

Total Possessions: 10
Longest Streak: 6 Games
First Possession: 2025 – Rd 3
Last Possession: 2026 – Rd 6 (Current Holder!)
Successful Challenges: 2
Failed Challenges: 6
Challenge Success Rate: 25.00%
Successful Defences: 8
Failed Defences: 1
Defence Success Rate: 88.89%

Head coach & captain

Head Coach:
Captain:

Logo & Jersey

The Chicago Hounds logo features a white Medieval-esque hounds head reminiscent of House Stark from Game of Thrones. This Hounds head sits within a green shield. This shield is in turn within two circles, the outer of which features ‘Chicago Hounds Rugby’ and 4 light blue stars, a nod to the flag of Chicago.

2023-2025

The Chicago Hounds have traditionally played in green and white. Typically green has featured as an accent colour, with some exceptions such as the 2023 St. Patrick’s Day kit which was dark green with a white collar. In 2023, their home jersey was primarily white with gray accents, and their away jersey a black version of the same jersey. For 2024, they switched their primary jersey for a white and green hooped jersey featuring a collar, which was used as a one-off in 2023 and went down extremely well then, as it did for the 2024 season.

 

venue

The Chicago Hounds have played their home games out of Seatgeek Stadium, the 20,000 seater home of the Chicago Fire of the MLS. Seatgeek Stadium was also used as the venue for the 2023 MLR Championship Final between the San Diego Legion and the New England Free Jacks.

Seatgeek Stadium