South African born, Arkansas raised scrumhalf Ruben de Haas played in Major League Rugby in 2021, and again between 2025-2026. He represented the Austin Gilgronis (2021), the NOLA Gold (2025), and the Chicago Hounds (2026).

De Haas was born in George in South Africa’s Western Cape, before emigrating to the US at the age of 10, settling in Arkansas in 2009. He played football through high school at Jessieville HS, while also playing club rugby with one of only two teams in Arkansas at the time, the Little Rock Junior Stormers. De Haas represented the USA U19s in their 2016 tour of Ontario, Canada, captaining the team before playing with the U20s that same year in the World Rugby Trophy. The following year he represented the USA Selects in the Pacific Rugby Challenge while also signing an academy contract with the Free State Cheetahs organisation, playing with the U19s. He played with CUT IXIAS in the 2018 Varsity Cup, also earning his test debut for the USA at the age of 19 as Eagle #522 against Chile in February 2018. He played with the Cheetahs through 2020, representing the team in the Currie Cup as well as the Pro 14 and Super Rugby, before making his first move to MLR, with the Austin Gilgronis.

De Haas started 4 of his 6 appearances for the AGs in 2021, before heading to Europe and signing with Saracens in the English Premiership, where he played from 2021-2023. Following 2 years in the Premiership, de Haas returned to the Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup, where he is the third generation of his family to play for the club. He has become the USA national teams’ go-to number 9 in recent years, representing the Eagles at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and is still a regular starting 9 in 2024. On January 3rd, 2025, the NOLA Gold announced the signing of Ruben de Haas on a 5-month loan deal for the 2025 season, returning to MLR for the first time in 4 seasons. Unsurprisingly, de Haas set career highs across the board in 2025, starting 6 of his 13 appearances for the NOLA Gold and running for just shy of 150m gained. His loan period with the Gold ended at the same time as his 2yr deal with the Cheetahs, making De Haas a free agent.

What was a disappointing season for the NOLA Gold in 2025 would turn out to be their last in MLR, with the team announcing their withdrawal in August of that year. On 14th November 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the addition of De Haas for the 2026 MLR season.