2026 Major League Rugby final

2026 Major League Rugby final
2026 Major League Rugby Championship Final
Event2026 Major League Rugby season
Chicago Hounds California Legion
35 17
Match details
DateJune 21, 2026
VenueSeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, Illinois
Man of the MatchLucas Rumball (Hounds)
RefereeRobin Kaluzniak
(Canada)
WeatherRainy day
61 °F (16 °C)
94% humidity[1]

The 2026 Major League Rugby Championship Final was the eighth Major League Rugby (MLR) championship match, held at the conclusion of the eighth season of the rugby union club competition in North America. The match was played on June 21, 2026, at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. It was contested by the California Legion and Chicago Hounds, with Chicago defeating California 35-17 to claim their first championship and complete the first perfect season in league history.[2] It is currently the highest-scoring championship game in MLR history at 52 combined points, surpassing the previous record of 50 scored in 2025.[3]

Background

Road to the final

2026 Major League Rugby standings
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 z- Chicago Hounds 10 10 0 0 461 252 +209 69 39 10 0 50 Playoffs
2 c- Seattle Seawolves 10 6 0 4 311 308 +3 43 42 6 1 31
3 x- California Legion 10 5 0 5 330 277 +53 48 41 7 1 28
4 x- Old Glory DC 10 4 0 6 242 300 −58 33 39 4 2 22
5 e- New England Free Jacks 10 3 0 7 215 290 −75 29 42 3 2 17
6 e- Anthem RC 10 2 0 8 243 375 −132 36 55 5 0 13
Updated to match(es) played on May 31, 2026. Source:

Notes

  • z – Clinched home field advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home field advantage for the conference semi-finals
  • x – Clinched playoff spot
  • e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Semi-finals

14 June 2026
22:00 EDT
Seattle Seawolves34-43California Legion
Try: McLean 32', 70'
Rossouw 52'
Con: Coetzer (2/3) 33', 53'
Pen: Coetzer (5/5) 20', 27', 40', 45', 56'		ReportTry: Mano 15'
Damm 41'
Murphy 61'
Lopeti 66'
Con: Miln (4/4) 16', 42', 61', 67'
Pen: Miln (5/5) 9', 24', 34', 58', 74'
Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak
15 June 2026
20:00 EDT
Chicago Hounds59-22Old Glory DC
Try: Fourie 14'
Brown 18', 62'
Kinneeveauk 29'
Wall 33'
Flesch 52'
Rumball 61'
Baska 70'
Con: Hilsenbeck (6/6) 15', 19', 30', 34', 53', 61'
Videla (2/2) 62', 71'
Pen: Hilsenbeck (1/1) 6'		ReportTry: Myhill 54'
Humphreys 75'
Robinson 78'
Con: Emery (1/1) 55'
Schucmacher (1/2) 75'
Pen: Emery (1/1) 2'
SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Referee: Derek Summers

Venue selection

On February 16, 2026, MLR announced that SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois would host the Championship Final. It is the home stadium of Chicago Hounds and the second league championship to be hosted in the venue, after the 2023 Major League Rugby final.[4]

Broadcasting

The Championship Final was broadcast in the United States on ESPN2, with streaming on ESPN+.[5]

Championship Final

June 21, 2026
19:00 CDT (UTC−05)
Chicago Hounds35-17California Legion
Try: Fourie 6'
Flesch 26'
Wall 47'
Den Hoedt
Con: Hilsenbeck (3/4) 7', 27', 34'
Pen: Hilsenbeck (3/3) 4', 43', 80'		ReportTry: Miln 60'
Timpson 65'
Con: Miln (2/2) 60', 66'
Pen: Miln (1/1) 16'
SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Attendance: est. 4,400[6]
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak
Canada

Rosters

Source:[7]

Chicago Hounds
California Legion
LP 1 United States Oti Pifeleti downward-facing red arrow 60'
HK 2 Australia Theo Fourie downward-facing red arrow 75'
TP 3 Australia Charlie Abel downward-facing red arrow 66'
LL 4 United States Brandon Harvey downward-facing red arrow 55'
RL 5 Australia Nathan Den Hoedt downward-facing red arrow 66'
BF 6 Canada Mason Flesch
OF 7 Canada Lucas Rumball (c)
N8 8 United States Jake Kinneeveauk
SH 9 United States Ruben de Haas downward-facing red arrow 75'
FH 10 United States Christopher Hilsenbeck
LW 11 United States Peyton Wall
IC 12 England Ollie Devoto
OC 13 United States Tavite Lopeti downward-facing red arrow 60'
RW 14 United States Noah Brown
FB 15 Canada Brock Webster
Replacements:
HK 16 United States Jackson Zabierek upward-facing green arrow 75'
PR 17 United States Jake Turnbull upward-facing green arrow 60'
PR 18 Brazil Wilton Rebolo upward-facing green arrow 66'
LK 19 United States Tomás Casares upward-facing green arrow 55'
FL 20 United States Emmanuel Albert upward-facing green arrow 66'
SH 21 United States Michael Baska upward-facing green arrow 75'
FH 22 South Africa Reece Botha
CE 23 Chile Santiago Videla upward-facing green arrow 60'
Coach:
Australia Chris Latham
LP 1 Tonga Ma'ale Muti downward-facing red arrow 35'
HK 2 United States Joe Taufete'e downward-facing red arrow 55'
TP 3 United States Tonga Kofe downward-facing red arrow 55'
LL 4 Fiji Keni Nasoqeqe downward-facing red arrow 48'
RL 5 United States Jason Damm (c)
BF 6 United States Lance Williams downward-facing red arrow 25' upward-facing green arrow 35'
OF 7 England Ed Timpson downward-facing red arrow 75'
N8 8 Australia Ben Houston
SH 9 Argentina Gonzalo Bertranou
FH 10 New Zealand Coby Miln
LW 11 United States Joe Mano downward-facing red arrow 75'
IC 12 Australia Bill Meakes
OC 13 United States Cassh Maluia
RW 14 Australia Oscar Treacy downward-facing red arrow 32' upward-facing green arrow 43' downward-facing red arrow 59'
FB 15 New Zealand Rory van Vugt
Replacements:
HK 16 United States Ale Lopeti upward-facing green arrow 32' downward-facing red arrow 35' upward-facing green arrow 55'
PR 17 Australia Declan Leaney upward-facing green arrow 35'
PR 18 United States Justus Tavai upward-facing green arrow 25' downward-facing red arrow 43' upward-facing green arrow 55'
LK 19 United States Ronan Murphy upward-facing green arrow 48'
FL 20 United States Cyrille Cama upward-facing green arrow 75'
SH 21 United States Tasman Smith
CE 22 United States Corbin Smith upward-facing green arrow 59'
WG 23 New Zealand Cole Semu upward-facing green arrow 75'
Coach:
Australia Stephen Hoiles

Officials

Referee: Robin Kaluzniak

Touch Judge/Assistant 1: Derek Summers

Touch Judge/Assistant 2: Luke Rogan

Robin Kaluzniak, who officiated more matches in Major League Rugby in the 2026 season than any other referee, became the first Canadian official to referee an MLR final.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Past Weather in Bridgeview, Illinois, USA — June 2026". timeanddate.com.
  2. ↑ "Chicago Hounds Crowned 2026 Major League Rugby Champions". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Major League Rugby names Chicago as host of 2026 MLR Championship Game". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  5. ↑ "How To Watch The Major League Rugby Championship Around the world". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Chicago Hounds complete unbeaten run to Major League Rugby title". Southwest Regional Publishing. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Chicago Hounds vs California Legion - Major League Rugby Week 13". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ "2026 MLR Championship Match: The Perfect Season vs. The Fastest Rise in MLR". www.majorleague.rugby. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
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