Hounds Confirm Signing of Chilean Star Santiago Videla

CHICAGO, Il.- The Chicago Hounds confirmed this afternoon that the club agreed to terms with versatile Chilean back Santiago Videla. The 27-year-old spent the previous two seasons with the Miami Sharks. Most recently, the utility back helped Chile qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, held in Australia in two year’s time. He is Chilean’s All-Time record points holder.

In 2024, his first season in MLR, Videla appeared in 12 games with 12 starts, clocking 997 minutes of playing time. The back scored 74 points in those 12 contests via nine successful conversion kicks, 13 penalty kicks, and three tries, including one seven pointer. On the season, Videla converted nine of his 16 conversion attempts and 13 of his 15 penalty attempts, for a goal kicking percentage hovering just above 70%.

With ball in hand, Videla was a consistent threat for the Sharks. He carried the ball 81 times for 605 meters (7.5 meters-per-carry) and beat 16 defenders while breaking the line cleanly twice. Defensively, the Chilean international completed 127 of his 137 tackle attempts, including four dominant tackles, or tackles made behind the gain line.

Videla returned to the Sharks in 2025 and helped them clinch their first playoff berth after finishing the regular season 8-8. He earned an additional 11 caps, all of them starts, playing flyhalf, inside center, and fullback. That versatility and positional flexibility is something that caught the eye of Hounds’ General Manager Will Magie and should prove useful throughout the 2026 campaign.

Despite limited opportunities from the kicking tee last season, Videla scored 46 points while converting his kicks at an 88% success rate. The versatile back successfully kicked nine of his 10 conversion attempts and six of his seven penalty kicks. As a ball carrier, the Chilean gained 561 meters on 120 carries while registering seven clean line breaks and 22 beaten defenders. Videla completed 70 of his 81 tackle attempts.

Videla has been a mainstay for the Chilean national team since first making his debut in November of 2017, a win over Kenya. In 2023, he helped the team beat the United States and qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Just this past September, Videla helped Chile dispatch Samoa in a two game series to qualify for their second consecutive World Cup. He scored 12 points from the kicking tee in the first game before clinching the berth with 16 points in the second leg of the series, a decisive 31-12 victory for the Chilean Condors.