Chicago City Wire

With the conclusion of the 2025 Major League Rugby season, several players from the Chicago Hounds are now participating in training camps for their respective international teams. The Hounds have a total of 13 players involved in senior international rugby and one player with the USA Under-23 team.

Three players have been selected for the USA Eagles July Test Match Series. Additionally, four more Hounds are included among the squad’s non-traveling reserves, ready to be called upon if injuries occur during the tour.

Alongside these seven players in the Senior Men’s National team training group, rookie prop Alex Hernandez is touring with the USA Under-23 squad. Hernandez was drafted by the Hounds in the third round of the 2024 MLR Draft and spent part of 2025 on loan to Carolina Anthem. During his time there, he played seven games, starting three times and completing 43 out of 52 tackle attempts over 356 minutes.

Five Chicago Hounds players have been called up by Canada for their summer test matches. Among them is Lucas Rumball, who serves as captain for both his club and country.

The Uruguay National team has summoned Tighthead Prop Ignacio Peculo for their two-match summer series. Peculo had a productive second season with Chicago, appearing in 17 games with three starts this year alone. Over two seasons with the Hounds, he has played in 31 games and scored two tries while achieving a high tackle completion rate.