Hounds Agree to Terms with All-MLR Lock

CHICAGO, Il.- The Chicago Hounds announced today the club agreed to terms with 2025 First-Team All-MLR lock Nathan Den Hoedt. The 28-year-old comes to Chicago on a one-year deal and brings over 70 caps of Major League Rugby experience to the Hounds’ clubhouse.

Den Hoedt spent the first two years of his MLR career with the Los Angeles Giltinis, winning an MLR Championship as a rookie in 2021. He then signed with the Houston Sabercats prior to the 2023 season and spent the last three years with the team, captaining the side in 2025. The 6-foot-6, 255 pound lock has played in 74 MLR games with 70 starts and has totaled 654 tackles, 25 dominant tackles, 220 lineout takes, 42 lineout steals, and scored seven tries for 35 points.

Since first joining the league five years ago, Den Hoedt earned All-MLR accolades three times. The lock was named to the All-MLR honorable mention team in 2021 after registering 173 tackles, four dominant tackles, 44 clean lineout catches, 12 lineout steals, and 58 carries for 300 meters. He followed that up with another Honorable Mention nod in 2023, his first season in Houston. Den Hoedt started all 14 of his appearances and totaled 95 tackles, including five dominant tackles. In the set piece, he recorded seven lineout steals while cleanly catching 36 balls.

The Brisbane native enjoyed his best MLR season to date just last year, captaining the Sabercats to a Western Conference title and his second MLR championship game appearance. Den Hoedt played a career-high 18 games with 17 starts and just under 1,300 minutes of playing time. The lock was his usual self in the set piece, recording 70 cleanly contested lineout catches while stealing eight opposition throws.

However, his game was taken to another level this past season with his scoring output on offense. Den Hoedt came into the season with only two tries for ten points across his previous four seasons in the league. He then exploded for five tries and 25 points last year, culminating in a First-Team All-MLR nod.

Den Hoedt’s leadership and experience should prove vital to a Chicago Hounds team that was known for their forward-oriented attack that centered around a strong set piece just a season ago. Expect the MLR veteran to make an immediate impact to the Chicago forward pack early on in the 2026 campaign.

The Hounds originally drafted the lock in the 2023 Player Expansion Draft before trading him to the Houston Sabercats for Salary Cap Considerations prior to 2023 training camp.