The Hounds are here. And a few things you should know about pro rugby

By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer

So, about this new rugby team in town …

The Chicago Hounds will make their historic home debut at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 5 against Utah at SeatGeek Stadium in a Major League Rugby battle.

Given that rugby is not considered by most people to be a major sport around these parts, don’t expect a lot of rugby debates to take place on WSCR or WMVP. Who knows if one of the all-sports stations will even announce the scores of Hounds games?

But those who are curious about the new team and league, and might consider attending a game or two, may want to consider the following questions.

Will the Hounds be any good?

Expansion teams generally struggle early, and the Hounds opened the season with a 42-27 loss on the road to Old Glory DC on Feb. 18 before taking the second week off. But the Rugby Network had a preseason story hawking the Hounds’ chanced of winning the MLR championship in their first year.

Why would the Rugby Network say that?

In 2022, Los Angeles and Austin – two pretty good teams – were expelled from the league because MLR said they “violated league rules” regarding possible salary cap malfeasance.

Anyway, a bunch of players from those teams entered the dispersal draft pool, and the Hounds picked a few.

From what countries do Hounds players come from?

Of the 27 on the roster, 12 are from the United States and eight are from Australia. Others are from Ireland, South Africa, Malaysia, England and Scotland.

Any Chicago connections?

Not many.

Paddy Ryan was born in Chicago but moved to Ireland.

J.P. Eloff from South Africa played for the Chicago Lions rugby team.

“I can’t be more thankful that God has blessed me with another opportunity to play rugby in Chicago,” Eloff said.

Timmy Ohlwein is from Lindenhurst in the North Suburbs.

It might be a stretch to include Michael Matarazzo, who played college rugby at Notre Dame.

What about hookers and props?
The positions of rugby players have some interesting names, but there are a couple important rules

Each team features 15 players on the field. Teams advance the ball by running it downfield. They can pass the ball, but only backward.

The front row of the scrum features the “loosehead” and “tighthead” props.

The “hooker” lines up between the two props.

The “locks” are in the second row.

The “flanker” and “wing forward” usually catch short passes.

The “No. 8” is a position in the back row with the flankers.

There is also the “scrum-half,” which is a link to the forwards and backs, and a “fly-half,” which is considered one of the most important players on the field. Playing the position involves making passing and kicking decisions.

There are a couple “wings” who play wide of the action, and a couple “centers” who do a lot of running inside and outside.

Finally, there is a “fullback,” who receives kicks and is like a soccer’s sweeper on defense.

Got it? There will be a quiz on this at halftime on Sunday.

Any more terminology to know?

Yes, but since it’s like learning a new language, let’s just hit a few basic ones and a few with funny names.

The scrum is probably the rugby term best known to people who have heard about the sport but don’t know much about it. Play begins with a scrum (from which football’s line of scrimmage is derived), which is a group of eight forwards using each other’s heads, shoulders and bodies as leverage while and pushing and shoving, with the goal of establishing possession of the ball.

A “try” is similar to scoring a touchdown in football. It’s scored by pushing the ball on the ground in the goal area and is worth five points.

A “blood bin” allows a team to replace a bleeding player for 15 minutes while the wound is being treated.

A “dummy pass” is when a ball carrier pretends to pass to a teammate and opts to run.

Ready for some algebra?

A win for an MLR game is worth four points. A draw is worth two. A loss is worth nothing – unless it is by seven or fewer points. If that happens, they get a point.

Any team that scores four or more tries in a game gets an extra point.

We’re just scratching the surface here, but hopefully this helps out a little.