Canadian born back row Matt Oworu played in Major League Rugby between 2025-2026. He represented the Chicago Hounds for his entire MLR career.

Born in Canada, Oworu and his family moved to Zimbabwe when he was a child, where he was introduced to rugby while at Lewisam Primary College in Harare. Oworu returned to Canada for University, and was invited to join the Pacific Pride high performance pathway program, eventually joining the Canadian 7s team. He made his debut for the Canadian 7s side in Vancouver in 2021 and has since played in over 100 games with the 7s side across 25+ tournaments including the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens, both in 2022. His performance for the national sevens team drew the attention of the 15s, and he was included in the squad for Canada’s 2022 summer tests, where he earned his test debut off the bench against Belgium. He has been a regular in the 15s squad when not representing the 7s team, and featured in the La Vila Cup in Spain in 2023, the Pacific Nations Cup in 2024, and was included in the Canada squad for their November 2024 internationals against Romania and Chile.

On 4th November, 2024, the Chicago Hounds announced the signing of Matt Oworu for their 2025 MLR season, joining a number of Canadian internationals in the Hounds squad. Oworu started 3 of his 13 games, gaining 130m in possession and completing 93 tackles to help the Hounds take the defending champions right to the edge in the Eastern Conference Final, where he came off the bench. On 12th December, the Chicago Hounds announced the return of Matt Oworu for the 2026 MLR season. He was the 4th Canadian player announced by the Hounds, and the 8th league-wide. Unfortunately, Oworu’s 2026 season was significantly impacted by injury but this didn’t stop him from making an impact. He started all 3 of his appearances that season, adding a pair of tries and completing 43 tackles, while beating 12 defenders in possession. He gained 130m which ties his total from 2025 in 10 fewer appearances, was named to the MLR Team of the Week for Round 5, and finished the year as a MLR Champion, helping the Chicago Hounds record the league’s first ever perfect season.

While still very much on the radar of the Canadian national team, Matt Oworu’s injury prevented him from putting on the Maple Leaf for their Nations Cup and PNC campaigns later in 2026. On 14th October KHAOS Sport, the agency representing Oworu, announced that he had signed with Biarritz in the Pro D2 for their 2026/27 season. Oworu will join the likes of fellow Canadians and MLR Champions Andrew Quattrin and Cole Keith in France, along with a number of other Canadians in the French leagues. The mammoth Pro D2 regular season runs until early June, which all but rules Oworu out of the 2027 MLR season, as more Canadians head to Europe over MLR.

achievements

• 2026 MLR Champion: Chicago Hounds
• MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 5

NARDB Player #1,317