Yes, it rained a little.
Then it rained a lot.
But Major League Rugby was back at SeatGeek Stadium on April 12 after an offseason of question marks for the league and the Chicago Hounds ripped the California Legion 48-24.
Coupled with a 33-19 road win over Carolina Anthem on April 4, the Hounds (2-0) are in first place in the six-team league. It’s the first time in the franchise’s four-year history the Hounds started a season 2-0.
Hounds captain Lucas Rumball rumbled in for two tries and Theo Fourie added a pair.
This comes off an offseason which teams were pulling out of the league and leaving some to wonder if there would be a 2026 season.
“There were plenty of times we thought it wasn’t going to happen,” Hounds coach Chris Latham said. “So each week we touch on how lucky we are to do what we do. There are a lot of things we are grateful for and we don’t take it for granted.”
Even if it means playing in a driving rainstorm during most of the second half.
Rumball, a native of Canada, was happy to be playing and scoffed when a reporter suggested it was “crummy weather.”
“This isn’t crummy — I love this weather,” Rumball said. “You should come up to Canada.
“I live for weather like this. I’m gritty and I work hard and I’m not the fastest guy. I thrive in this stuff.”
Rumball is also confident the MLR will thrive again and expand even though right now things are on a downturn.
The league’s problems started in August when San Diego and Los Angeles merged to form the California Legion. Soon after, NOLA Gold and the Miami Sharks dropped out.
In all, 11 teams in two conferences shrank to six teams in one conference.
There were a nervous couple of months.
But during the purge, league commissioner Nic Benson tried to keep up a strong front.
“This is hard,” he told the Guardian in August. “It’s a labor of love and belief for a lot of people that we can build exceptional value in this sport.
“I still believe that and I think a lot of the owners still believe that if we get this right, this is viable and will be good for the sport.”
In December, MLR announced a schedule for the six-team league, which consists of the Hounds, California Legion, Carolina, New England, Old Glory D.C. and Seattle.
The league picked up a little steam with its visibility this year. The Hounds/Legion game was the inaugural Sunday Night Rugby broadcast on ESPN2.
There will be just three more regular-season MLR games in Bridgeview. On May 3, the Hounds host Old Glory. On May 10, they host Carolina Anthem and on May 24, they host Seattle.
The team could host a semifinal playoff game in June and SeatGeek Stadium will host the MLR championship June 21.
For now, the Hounds are concentrating on building at team that can contend for a championship. They face two-time defending champion New England at 3 p.m. April 19 in Nashville as a part of the Music City Rugby Showdown at GEODIS Park.