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 signed South African Janus Venter for the 2024 Major League Rugby season. The 24-year-old hooker (25 in June) is 6’1” and 231 lbs. Janus is from Boksburg, Gauteng, South Africa, and attended Dr E.G. Jansen High School. He joined the Free State Cheetahs ahead of the 2018-2019 season and made his first appearance in 2021 in Round 2 of the Currie Cup Premier Division match against the Griquas, his only match that season. He appeared in another match for the Free State Cheetahs in 2022, as well as playing for the Griffons. During the 2023 season, Janus…