Chicago Hounds Sign US Eagles’ Starting Scrumhalf

CHICAGO, Il.- The Chicago Hounds announced today they signed US Eagles’ starting scrumhalf Ruben de Haas to a one-year deal through the 2026 Major League Rugby season. The 27-year-old spent the 2025 season with the NOLA Gold on a loan deal from South Africa’s Free State Cheetahs franchise. De Haas is slated to start for the USA tomorrow in their fall test series match against Romania.

Born in South Africa but partially raised in Arkansas, de Haas first started featuring throughout the US Age Grade program in 2015, captaining the High School All American team. The scrumhalf then suited up for the Under-20 team in both 2016 and 2017, resulting in a call up to the US Selects side in fall of 2017. Just over a year later, a 19-year-old De Haas would go on to make his senior Eagles debut, coming off the bench in a US win over Chile on February 17, 2018.

De Haas signed his first professional contract with the Free State Cheetahs that following spring after matriculating from their Academy program. The two-year deal with the Cheetahs tied him to the South African based club until October 2020, the conclusion of the Currie cup season. He signed a one-year contract extension in May 2020, signing on through the 2021 season.

De Haas made his Super Rugby debut during the 2020/2021 campaign. He appeared in three contests off the bench, totalling 46 minutes, and scored five points via a try. In early 2021, the scrumhalf opted to make the move to the English Premiership, signing a two-year deal with the Saracens, a perennial powerhouse.

Before moving from South Africa to England, however, he would make a pit stop in MLR. De Haas signed a short term deal with the now-defunct Austin Gilgronis in May 2021. The scrumhalf appeared in six games with four starts in just under 300 minutes of game time. He completed 201 of his 226 pass attempts (88.9% completion percentage) and scored one try on nine carries.

De Haas returned to the Cheetahs in 2023 after a successful two-year stint with the Saracens. During his time in England, the scrumhalf appeared in 15 Premiership games with a pair of starts while appearing in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the Premiership Rugby Cup, and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

In January 2025, the Cheetahs announced they loaned de Haas to the NOLA Gold on a five-month deal, taking the scrumhalf through the completion of the 2025 MLR season. De Haas earned 13 caps with six starts in his first season back competing in Major League Rugby. He completed 96% of his passes successfully, hitting 383 of his 399 pass attempts, while scoring a try on just 23 carries.

The conclusion of the loan period coincided with the ending of de Haas’ two-year contract with the Cheetahs, essentially making him a free agent during this MLR offseason. The Hounds made the move to sign the incumbent Eagles’ starting scrumhalf, adding more domestic talent to a halfback stable that includes fellow capped-Eagles in scrumhalf Michael Baska and flyhalf Chris Hilsenbeck.