Major League Rugby is a professional USA league that began in 2018 and has teams in the U.S. and in Canada. Current MLR teams include Austin Elite Rugby, Glendale Raptors, Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, Rugby United New York, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, Toronto Arrows, and the Utah Warriors. In 2020, teams in Atlanta, New England, and Washington, D.C. will join the league and have exhibition matches in 2019.
The Chicago Hounds added former USA international John Cullen for the 2023 Major League Rugby season after he was brought into camp last week on a trial contract. The 32-year-old lock/No 8 (33 in May) is 6’5″ and 260 lbs. John retired after the 2019 MLR season to concentrate on professional and family concerns and then played 400 minutes for the Utah Warriors in 2020. Since then, until his 2023 signing with the Chicago Hounds, he was a player-coach for Des Moines RFC. During the 2019 season, John played 900 minutes in 14 matches, starting 11, and scored 3 tries.…