The Chicago Hounds made history Sunday night, defeating the California Legion 35-17 to win the 2026 Major League Rugby championship and complete an undefeated season.
The Hounds’ 2026 run appears to be the first perfect championship season by a U.S.-based outdoor professional team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and one of the rarest perfect pro seasons anywhere — the most recent comparable example being Rhein Fire’s 14–0 European League of Football championship season in 2023.
Playing in heavy rain at SeatGeek Stadium, the Hounds dominated throughout, with flyhalf Chris Hilsenbeck scoring 15 points and four different players crossing the try line in the decisive victory.
Fourie, who led the league with 12 tries during the regular season, scored one of the four tries. Flanker Mason Flesch, wing Peyton Wall, and lock Nathan Den Hoedt also scored tries in the win. Hilsenbeck added three penalty goals to his tally.
California’s Coby Miln scored a pair of tries and a conversion, but the Legion could not overcome Chicago’s early dominance. The Hounds led 17-3 at halftime and extended their advantage to 32-3 by the second-half water break before California mounted a late rally that fell short.
The championship marks the Hounds’ first Major League Rugby title in the franchise’s history.