MLR 2026 Final: Chicago Hounds vs California Legion – ARN Guide

The 9th season of Major League Rugby comes to a close on Sunday evening when the Chicago Hounds host the California Legion at SeatGeek Stadium. It’s the second time the Championship Final has been played in Bridgeview, the first seeing more than 10 thousand fans take the first of what would be three successive Free Jacks title runs.

On this occasion the locals can cheer on their own, after the Hounds cruised past Old Glory in the Semi Final to build on their perfect showing during the regular season. The Legion were part of that 2023 Final but it was their former iteration in San Diego. This time they’ll represent the entire state of California, earning their spot with a decisive road win over the Seawolves last weekend.

Regular season: 1st, 10-0-0
06/15 – Hounds 59 vs 22 Old Glory (Bridgeview) *Semi Final*
06/07 – Free Jacks 19 vs 35 Hounds (Quincy)
05/30 – Old Glory 32 vs 33 Hounds (Fairfax)
05/24 – Hounds 57 vs 17 Seawolves (Bridgeview)
05/16 – Legion 26 vs 36 Hounds (Moraga)

Regular season: 3rd, 5-5-0
06/14 – Seawolves 34 vs 43 Legion (Tukwila) *Semi Final*
06/07 – Seawolves 33 vs 19 Legion (Tukwila)
05/31 – Anthem 26 vs 55 Legion (Charlotte)
05/24 – Legion 42 vs 10 Old Glory (Sacramento)
05/16 – Legion 26 vs 36 Hounds (Moraga)

	IN	OUT
4	Brandon Harvey	Tomás Casares

	IN	OUT
	none	none

• Injured / unavailable – (Hounds) Malcolm May, Maclean Jones, Matthew Oworu, Mark O’Keeffe; (Legion) Christian Poidevin, Ryan James
• the Hounds will be again without without injured loose forwards Mac Jones and Matt Oworu, and winger Mark O’Keeffe… the trio also missed out on the Semi Final
• the only change to Chris Latham’s lineup sees Brandon Harvey trading jerseys with fellow USA cap Tomás Casares… with the larger Harvey preferred in what is forecast to be wet conditions
• ex-England center Ollie Devoto will lace up the boots for the final time as a professional… the 32-year-old has announced his retirement at the end of the campaign
• Chicago’s match day squad includes internationals from Canada (3), England (1), Brazil (1), Chile (1), and the USA (8)… flyhalf Chris Hilsenback played for Germany before switching allegiance to the Eagles
• both Head Coaches are former Wallabies… with Steve Hoiles in charge of the Legion… he has named an unchanged match day 23 following last week’s win at Starfire Stadium
• flanker Christian Poidevin and winger Ryan James suffered season-ending injuries part-way through the Legion’s campaign… both have won caps for the USA
• Argentina scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou is supported by four USA Eagles in the California lineup… star midfielder Billy Meakes has represented Australia at u20 level in XVs and on the World Sevens circuit… Meakes spent two seasons in Chicago, captaining the Hounds during the 2024 campaign
• Hounds lock Nathan Den Hoedt captained Houston in last year’s final, played in Rhode Island… Emmanuel Albert started on the flank for the SaberCats on the day, with prop Wilton Rebolo and Legion lock Keni Nasoqeqe coming in off the bench
• Chicago’s Canadian fullback Brock Webster, who has been among the league’s best players in 2026, is the only member of last year’s winning New England side taking part in the match
• referee Robin Kaluzniak is the first Canadian to take charge of the league’s Championship Final

The forecast conditions are not at all what the Legion were hoping to see. While SeatGeek offers a wider pitch that Starfire Stadium, rain will slow their pace and that certainly plays into the hands of the formidable Chicago pack. The head-to-head clashes this season both went the way of the Hounds, and convincingly so. While the visitors feature arguably the league’s best halfback combination in Bertranou and Miln, the scales are otherwise tipped strongly in favor of the home side. Chicago are clear favorites at home in Bridgeview.

CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Theo Fourie, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 Brandon Harvey, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Lucas Rumball (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 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Jake Turnbull, 18 Wilton Rebolo, 19 Tomás Casares, 20 Emmanuel Albert, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Reece Botha, 23 Santiago Videla

CALIFORNIA LEGION
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Keni Nasoqeqe, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Coby Miln, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Cassh Maluia, 14 Oscar Treacy, 15 Rory van Vugt

Replacements: 16 Ale Lopeti, 17 Declan Leaney, 18 Justus Tavai, 19 Ronan Murphy, 20 Cyrille Cama, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Corbin Smith, 23 Cole Semu

Date: Sunday, June 21
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 18:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: rain, 61°F (16°C), wind E 12-18 mph (20-30 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN 2 / ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International)

Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Luke Rogan (USA)
TMO: n/a

HEAD-TO-HEAD (2) – Hounds 2, Legion 0
2026-05-16 – California Legion 26, Chicago Hounds 36 (Saint Mary’s Stadium)
2026-04-12 – Chicago Hounds 48, California Legion 24 (SeatGeek Stadium)