South African born, Australian raised hooker Theo Fourie played in Major League Rugby during the 2026 season. He represented the Chicago Hounds for his entire MLR career.

Theo Fourie was born in South Africa where he spent the first few years of his life, before moving with his family to Australia, where he attended Rockhampton Grammar School in Queensland. Once he left school, Fourie played with the Souths under current Chicago Hounds Forwards Coach Todd Dammers, and got his first glimpse at pro rugby in 2019 when he signed with the Queensland Reds academy. His performances at the Reds academy earned him a spot in the Wallabies U20 squad in 2020, but didn’t get a chance to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the Junior World Cup that year. Later that year he moved to Melbourne having joined the Rebels as a member of the Training Squad, appearing in pre-season contests in 2021 and 2022 while still playing for Souths.

In July 2022, the Rebels signed Fourie as a full-time player ahead of the 2023 Super Rugby season, where he earned his pro debut in Round 14 against the Western Force which would be his only Super Rugby appearance for the Rebels before signing with the Waratahs once the 2023 season concluded. He earned 3 further Super Rugby appearances with the Waratahs in 2024, but returned to the Queensland Reds for the 2025 campaign, where he started their Round 1 clash with the Brumbies. On 24th November 2025, the Chicago Hounds announced the addition of the 25yo Theo Fourie for the 2026 MLR season, reuniting with Todd Dammers.

Fourie had big shoes to fill in his debut season in North America, replacing MLR legend and all-time leading try scorer Dylan Fawsitt in the Hounds front row, and he filled them excellently. Fourie appeared in 9 of the Hounds’ 10 regular season games that year, starting 8 times and scoring 9 tries to help the team secure a perfect 10-0 regular season and finish the season in 1st place. He started both of Chicago’s playoff games, scoring a try in both to take his total on the season to 11 tries in 11 games as the Hounds finished as MLR Champions at the end of an undefeated season. Fourie finished as MLR’s top try scorer in 2026 and beat 18 defenders on over 200m gained, recording 99 tackles completed. For his excellent season, he was named to the All-MLR First XV for 2026.

achievements

• 2026 All-MLR First XV Selection
• 2026 MLR Champion: Chicago Hounds
• MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 7
• MLR Team of the Week: 2026 – Rd 4

NARDB Player #1,634