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Chicago have revealed a further seven returning players from last season’s inaugural campaign. LaRome White, Charlie Abel, Maclean Jones, Luke White, and Luke Carty enter the second of multi-year deals signed in late 2022. Fred Apulu and Michael Baska have agreed one-year extensions.
White and Abel were match day regulars in 2023, the former at loosehead prop and the latter at tighthead. Apulu saw limited action as a tighthead after joining from San Diego, but has focused on the loosehead side during the offseason. They join fellow returnees Mika Felix (LH/TH) and Paddy Ryan (TH), and two newcomers in Georgian loosehead Zura Zhvania and Uruguay tighthead Ignacio Péculo.
Jones will have competition at openside flanker this season from Canada captain Lucas Rumball and Irish arrival Conall Boomer. White made his Eagles debut in the off-season after making the switch from second to the back row, and will compete against promising Tinashe Muchena for the No8 shirt.
Carty remains the only specialist flyhalf on the roster with cover from new signings Adriaan Carelse and Caolan Dooley. Baska traveled with the Eagles as a scrumhalf but can also play wing or fullback and that versatility could allow the Hounds to carry an extra forward on the bench this season. The starting role is expected to be filled by new USA cap Nick McCarthy, who has joined from Leinster.
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There are three additions to Miami’s roster for their debut season. High School All-American scrumhalf Damian Morley returns stateside after three years abroad in South Africa and more recently France. Now 21 years old, he will understudy Argentine World Cup representative Tomás Cubelli with the Sharks.
Also confirmed were second row David Beach and flanker Chase Schor-Haskin. Beach, 28, is an imposing figure at 6’7″ (2.01m) but has made only a handful of appearances across three seasons. Schor-Haskin has made just one Major League Rugby appearance, as a replacement for NOLA in 2022, having been focused on USA Sevens duty over the past couple years. He did not see game time with ATL in 2023.
