Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Chicago are the first team to qualify for the postseason, and barring divine intervention are certain to clinch home field advantage through to the final. The question now seems to be, can they complete a perfect campaign? The Seawolves are on a three-game win streak and have one key name back from suspension, but will it be enough on Sunday afternoon?
| FORM GUIDE |
1st, 7-0-0, Won 7
05/16 – Legion 26 vs 36 Hounds (Moraga)
05/10 – Hounds 61 vs 26 Anthem (Bridgeview)
05/03 – Hounds 49 vs 31 Old Glory (Bridgeview)
04/24 – Seawolves 22 vs 59 Hounds (Tukwila)
04/19 – Hounds 50 vs 26 Free Jacks (Nashville)
04/12 – Hounds 48 vs 24 Legion (Bridgeview)
04/04 – Anthem 19 vs 33 Hounds (Charlotte)
2nd, 4-3-0, Won 3
05/17 – Seawolves 57 vs 21 Anthem (Tukwila)
05/10 – Old Glory 25 vs 30 Seawolves (Fairfax)
05/03 – Free Jacks 11 vs 27 Seawolves (Quincy)
04/24 – Seawolves 22 vs 59 Hounds (Tukwila)
04/19 – Legion 38 vs 31 Seawolves (Los Angeles)
04/12 – Anthem 34 vs 25 Seawolves (Charlotte)
04/03 – Seawolves 33 vs 16 Old Glory (Tukwila)
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Jake Turnbull | Faka’osi Pifeleti |
| 2 | Jackson Zabierek | Theo Fourie |
| 3 | Wilton Rebolo | Charlie Abel |
| 6 | Emmanuel Albert | Tomás Casares |
| 8 | Jake Kinneeveauk | Lucas Rumball |
| 14 | Noah Brown | Mark O’Keeffe |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Ezekiel Lindenmuth | LaRome White |
| 2 | Sean McNulty | Dewald Kotze |
| NOTES |
- Injured / unavailable – (Hounds) Malcolm May, Lucas Rumball, Matthew Oworu, Tiaan Loots; (Seawolves) Ignacio Péculo, Harison Mataele, Kalisi Moli, Mark Bennett, Rufus McLean, Michael Hand
- Jake Turnbull makes his 100th MLR appearance on Sunday… the 32-year-old prop was notably Anthem’s first captain, and previously had stints with Houston, DC, Austin, and Seattle
- Jackson Zabierek gets his first start of the campaign at hooker… it’s a first start in Chicago colors for Emmanuel Albert on the flank… and a first ever pro start for Jake Kinneeveauk at No8
- Maclean Jones captains Chicago for a second time with regular skipper Lucas Rumball out this week
- the Seawolves welcome back Eagles prop Ezekiel Lindenmuth from suspension… with Ignacio Péculo working his way back to health loosehead Dewald Donald as asked to fill in as reserve tighthead
- Seattle is again short conventional second or back row cover on the bench… with a bare-bones squad they have hooker Liki Chan-Tung listed as a loose forward reserve
| PREDICTION |
Perfect conditions are on the forecast, and the biggest crowd of the season is expected at SeatGeek Stadium. That does not spell good news for the Seawolves. While the Hounds have some rotation up front, it’s still a formidable outfit and their bench is unquestionably the stronger of the two sides. Seattle’s best hope is to build a lead early and hold on in the final quarter. Chicago are clear favorites at home in Bridgeview.
| TEAMS |
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Jackson Zabierek, 3 Wilton Rebolo, 4 Mason Flesch, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Emmanuel Albert, 7 Maclean Jones (capt.), 8 Jake Kinneeveauk, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Chris Hilsenbeck, 11 Peyton Wall, 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Brock Webster
Replacements: 16 Tomás Bekerman, 17 Luke White, 18 Charlie Abel, 19 Tomás Casares, 20 Brandon Harvey, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Reece Botha, 23 Santiago Videla
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 André Warner, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 JP Smith, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 LaRome White, 18 Dewald Donald, 19 Liki Chan-Tung, 20 Tia’i Vavao, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Nolan Tuamoheloa
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 24
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 15:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 16:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 79°F (26°C), wind N 6-9 mph (10-15 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), Fox Chicago Plus (Local), Kong 6 (Local)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Emma Gallagher (Canada)
TMO: n/a
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5) – Seawolves 4, Hounds 1
2026-04-24 – Seattle Seawolves 22, Chicago Hounds 59 (Starfire Stadium)
2025-04-18 – Seattle Seawolves 28, Chicago Hounds 22 (Starfire Stadium)
2024-03-30 – Chicago Hounds 26, Seattle Seawolves 34 (SeatGeek Stadium)
2023-05-20 – Seattle Seawolves 35, Chicago Hounds 13 (Starfire Stadium)
2023-03-26 – Chicago Hounds 5, Seattle Seawolves 27 (SeatGeek Stadium)
