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Australian-born USA Eagles prop secures MLR move to Chicago Hounds
By Finn Morton
Australian-born USA Eagles front-rower Jake Turnbull has signed with the Chicago Hounds for the 2026 Major League Rugby season, bringing almost 100 games of competition experience to the Windy City franchise.
Chicago has become Turnbull’s sixth destination in MLR, having been part of the league since the very beginning. Turnbull represented the Houston SaberCats for two seasons before joining Old Glory DC, Austin Gilgronis, Seattle Seawolves and Anthem Rugby Carolina.
Turnbull is on the cusp of league history, only three games away from joining the likes of Seattle Seawolves scrum-half JP Smith as an MLR centurion. The prop has made 97 appearances to date, including 50 starts during an eight-year career in the league.
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The Sydney-born talent’s MLR journey started with Houston in 2018 and 2019 before taking up a deal with Old Glory during the 2020 season which was shortened due to COVID-19. Turnbull would go on to join Austin for two seasons.
Turnbull’s next stop in MLR was Seattle in 2023 before signing with Anthem RC ahead of the 2024 campaign, remaining with the franchise for two seasons. In more than 4,200 minutes of game time, Turnbull has scored 10 tries and completed 691 of 770 tackle attempts.
The loosehead prop has competed at the international level as well, qualifying for the USA Eagles through his mother. Turnbull debuted against Romania in 2023 and was selected as a non-travelling reserve for this year’s Autumn internationals.
In 2024, Turnbull featured in international showdowns with Portugal and Tonga off the bench, before earning a spot in the starting side to take on Spain. The set-piece guru played 52 minutes during the thrilling three-point win over Spain.
Turnbull is the latest addition to a Chicago roster that continues to build and take shape for the 2026 season. The Hounds announced this week that USA prospect Brandon Harvey has put pen to paper on a two-year deal, as reported by RugbyPass.
Harvey debuted for the national side against Georgia this year, playing 30 minutes of the pine in that fixture. In MLR, the tight fight enforcer spent two seasons with San Diego Legion, who have since merged with Rugby Football Club Los Angeles to become the California Legion.
“With Todd Dammers’ excellent technical coaching and playing amongst our experienced pack, we feel Brandon will go from strength to strength over the next two years,” Hounds General Manager Will Magie said.
“At only 23 years old and recently coming off his first cap for the Eagles, we are really excited to bring Brandon to Dawg Town.”
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