The Chicago Hounds celebrate their 2026 home opener, hosting the California Legion at Seatgeek Stadium. This game marks the first ever installment of Sunday Night Rugby (SNR) as the ‘marquee matchup’ of Round 3 of the 2026 MLR Season.

The Hounds enter their home opener on the back of a strong 33-19 victory away to Anthem RC to kick off their 2026 campaign, and will be hoping that the California Legion don’t ruin their home opener like they did down in Charlotte. The Legion currently top the league after their 2 games, bouncing back from an opening weekend loss to Anthem with a record victory over the defending champion New England Free Jacks in front of a strong crowd at Torero Stadium last weekend. This will be the first game of the 2026 MLR season to be held at SeatGeek Stadium, the venue for the 2026 Championship Game in June.

The ‘run & gun’ California Legion would struggle against the defence of the Chicago Hounds, who’s objective was clearly to stifle the Legion whereever they could. The hosts were helped by a very early score from Theo Fourie at the back of a rolling maul just 2 minutes in, and took an early 5-0 lead with Hilsenbeck unable to add the two. Around 10 minutes in, the Hounds would find themselves reduced to 13 men for almost a full 10 minutes after Fourie and Mason Flesch were carded for repeat infringements. Despite some extraordinary defence during this period, the Legion would hit back through Lance Williams from close range, bagging his 20th career MLR try and giving California the lead after Coby Miln’s successful conversion. This lead wouldn’t last however, as Hounds and Canada captain Lucas Rumball would barrel over on the other side of the hydration break and despite Hilsenbeck’s conversion sailing wide again, the Hounds wouldn’t trail again in this game. Roughly 5 minutes later, Tavite Lopeti found paydirt for the Hounds before Rumball bagged his brace another 5 minutes later. Hilsenbeck made no mistakes this time and the Hounds were up 22-7. Not out of it yet, the Legion cut the gap to 10pts through a Ben Sugars score at the back of a maul, and the teams headed for the break with a score of 22-12.

The rain began to fall as the second half started and just with the first, the Hounds struck early through Theo Fourie, picking up his second of the afternoon to keep the pressure on the Legion, who’s miserable evening was made worse when Ronan Murphy received a straight red card in the 51st minute. A man down for 20 minutes, they struggled to contain the Hounds who adapted to the increasingly heavy rain far better, focussing on a forwards-first, bruising, close range style of play. New Hounds Tomas Casares and Brandon Harvey would both cross within 10 minutes of the red card to balloon the score to 41-12. The Legion showed some signs of life in the final quarter, with scores from Ed Timpson and Joey Mano to secure a try BP for their efforts, but these were both just consolation scores that sandwiched an eighth Hounds try of the game from Chilean international Santiago Videla, who converted himself.

A wet, windy, muddy game in Chicago ends with the Hounds successfully challenging for The Old Mate, defeating the California Legion 48-24. They will now defend the Old Mate against the New England Free Jacks in Nashville next weekend! As for the Legion, they return to California to face the Seattle Seawolves in LA next week in a West Coast clash.

The 2nd placed Chicago Hounds host 3rd seeded Old Glory DC at SeatGeek Stadium in the first of two Eastern Conference Semifinals!

The Chicago Hounds finished 3pts behind the Free Jacks in 1st place with a matching 11-5 record, the best in franchise history. They qualify for the postseason for the 2nd year in a row after advancing to the Conference Final last season, when they were defeated by the New England Free Jacks. The Hounds face the 3rd seed Old Glory DC, who were also eliminated by the Free Jacks last season. They qualify for the playoffs for the 3rd consecutive season with a 8-8 record, 8pts back of the Hounds.

These teams have met 4 times in the past, with the Flags holding a 2-1 lead with 1 draw. They have never met in the postseason. The most recent meeting between these sides went to the Hounds with a 30-26 home victory back in Round 5.

The Chicago Hounds host the Houston SaberCats for a rare Wednesday night clash at Seatgeek Stadium. The Hounds are coming off a tight turnaround, having also hosted the NOLA Gold just 5 days ago on Saturday May 31st. The SaberCats are fresh off an extended bye, but will be flying back to Houston to host Anthem RC at the weekend, on a 4 day turnaround.

Heading into this game, the Hounds sit 2nd in the East and just 2pts back from 1st place following a strong win over the NOLA Gold last week. They only need a point to secure a home semifinal as the 2nd seed, but will want to pressure the Free Jacks in 1st. In the West, the Houston SaberCats are in a 3-way fight for the top seed, and will want as many points as they can to try and secure home advantage of their own with two games remaining, both in Round 17. These teams have met 4 times in the past, with the Houston SaberCats holding a 3-1 series lead. Who will take the 5th installment of the Cats v Dogs clash!?

With the rain coming down in Chicago, both teams struggled to handle the ball early on but it was the Hounds who adjusted faster. A yellow card to the SaberCats gave Chicago the perfect opportunity off of an attacking lineout, and Jackson Zabierek rumbled over at the back of the Hounds rolling maul to open the scoring with his first MLR try. In his first start of the season, Zabierek would score almost a carbon copy try just 7 minutes later to give the Hounds a 0-12 lead just after the first water break. Chicago would receive a yellow card of their own just before half-time due to a high tackle from Hamish Bain, and the SaberCats would strike back through Pita Anae-Ah Sue. Alatimu’s conversion pulled the score back to 12-7 at the break.

When the 2nd half began, the Hounds were almost immediately shown another yellow for another high tackle, this time by Matt Oworu. With Bain still in the bin, Chicago were down to 13 men for roughly two minutes, but held firm. The second half was characterized by handling errors and strong defensive stands, and the first points of the half didn’t come until the 65th minute when AJ Alatimu trotted over unopposed in the corner from short range following another yellow card to Chicago, this time Ollie Devoto. He was unable to convert however, so the score sat at 12-12 with 15 minutes to play. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Hounds were awarded a penalty and opted to go for points. Hilsenbeck stepped up and nailed a long distance, but relatively straight, attempt to give the Hounds a narrow lead. They looked like they would extend their lead in the 77th minute as the Chicago forwards barrelled over the try line but it was deemed held up, and the SaberCats had one last chance to take the victory. Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, Matt Oworu won a superb turnover and the Hounds kicked the ball out to take a 15-12 victory despite 3 yellow cards throughout the match.

Chicago take the lead in the Eastern Conference and record a 11-5 record for the 2025 regular season, meaning that the Free Jacks need a victory to claim the number 1 spot for the 4th year in a row. Coming off of a bye week, the Houston SaberCats have 1 game remaining this year to fight for home advantage in the Western Conference.

The NOLA Gold travel to Illinois to face the Chicago Hounds for an Eastern Conference clash at SeatGeek Stadium! The Hounds are coming off of a road victory over Anthem RC where they clinched a playoff spot for the 2nd season in a row, and are not fighting for home field advantage. The Gold’s comeback attempt fell just short against the Utah Warriors last week, and need a victory here to keep their slim playoff chances alive. A Miami Sharks win would eliminate NOLA, but they need a victory for any chance of making it.

These teams have met 5 times in the past and split the all-time regular season series 2-2, but the Hounds hold the lead thanks to their big post-season victory last year. Chicago extended their all-time season series lead with a 38-17 bonus point victory over the Gold in this one. Although the scoreline looks comfortable, the Gold took a 7-0 lead in the first 10 minutes through a JP du Plessis try and held this until the half hour mark, when Ollie Devoto struck for the Hounds to even things up. Oti Pifeleti doubled up the Hounds score just before half time, and Chicago never looked back. With 8 points in this game, Chris Hilsenbeck’s 2025 total now sits at 84pts. This is a new Chicago Hounds single season scoring record!

The Hounds take the lead in the Eastern Conference and will be hoping that the Free Jacks slip up against Seattle tomorrow. The NOLA Gold, already eliminated, now have one last chance to play for pride this season.

The Chicago Hounds host Rugby FC LA in a cross-conference, Monday night affair at Seatgeek Stadium, sporting their 2025 city edition jerseys.

This is the first of the Hounds’ two mid-week games in 2025, and they will travel to face Anthem RC at the weekend on a 5-day turnaround. The visiting RFCLA have an even tighter schedule, as they will fly back to LA to host the Miami Sharks in just 4 days time.

The Chicago Hounds are looking to bounce back after a defeat at the hands of the New England Free Jacks in Quincy, and capitalise on the Free Jacks’ loss to Miami this week. RFCLA are still fighting for their playoff lives after a big win against Anthem RC, and look to stay ahead of the surging Seattle Seawolves. These teams have only met once before, with the Hounds taking a 54-31 victory back in Round 8 of the 2024 season.

The Miami Sharks travel to the windy city to face the Chicago Hounds at SeatGeek Stadium in an Eastern Conference clash!

The Sharks have put together a team-best 3 wins in a row after a comfortable 31-5 victory over Anthem RC in Round 11, while the Chicago Hounds are on a 2 game losing streak following a remarkable comeback by the Utah Warriors, and are looking to reassert themselves at the top of the East. These teams have met 3 times in the past with the Hounds currently undefeated by the Sharks, after they took the last meeting in Round 4 of this season with a 18-31 road victory.

The top of the Eastern Conference faces the bottom of the East as the Chicago Hounds host Anthem RC at SeatGeek Stadium during Round 9 of MLR’s 2025 season!

The Chicago Hounds are coming off of handing the San Diego Legion their first home loss in close to a year, and look to go top of the league with a win here. Anthem RC meanwhile, are now on MLR’s longest ever losing streak, and seem to have taken a step back in the last few weeks. These teams have met twice prior to this game. The Chicago Hounds have not lost to Anthem, and won a 29-38 victory on the road in the most recent installment during Round 17 of last season.