MARK O’KEEFFE IS reeling off the list of games and training camps he’s been involved in across the summer before the realisation hits him.
“This is literally my first break since 3 January,” says the former Lansdowne man, who now lines out for Major League Rugby’s Chicago Hounds and the USA Eagles.
Not that he’s complaining. O’Keeffe is fresh from a season where the Hounds stormed Major League Rugby to win their first title in emphatic fashion, recording an unbeaten campaign and finishing 19 points clear of second-placed Seattle. From there he rolled into Test camp, winning three Nations Cup games on the bounce against Portugal (in front of over 10,000 in Colorado), Zimbabwe and Spain, before signing off with a tight 25-24 win in a USA XV against Argentina XV at Inter Miami’s stadium last weekend.
Life as a rugby player in America is demanding, but full of adventure.
“There’s no bye weeks (in MLR), no weeks off,” O’Keeffe explains. “So we did 12 weeks straight, and you kind of have to ride your best 15 or best 23 every week. When you’re playing 80 minutes week-in, week-out, it’s pretty tough.
“Generally what happens is you fly on Friday, you get there Friday night, play on Saturday.
“A lot of people come over to the league and want to explore the cities. So what’s the best way of doing that? You go for a couple of beers after the game, and then you wake up pretty sore on Sunday, a sore head and a sore body, fly across the country to go back to Chicago, Monday off maybe, and you just keep doing that all over.”
It may sound gruelling to some, but the enthusiasm is clear in O’Keeffe’s voice. Turning 32 next month, the centre/winger is now an MLR veteran and very much still “loving it”.
He first touched down to begin his rugby life in America in 2018, leaving behind a strong Lansdowne squad who had just won the AIL, having played on the same St Michael’s side as the likes of James Ryan, Ross Byrne and Dan Leavy.
“I think seven or eight people in Saint Michael’s from my class went to academies; I didn’t make it that far.
“After finishing my Masters, I was going to go on a grad visa to New York, and got a random Facebook message from James English, the old CEO of New York and Chicago, saying, ‘Do you want to come over and play professional rugby for New York?’
I told him I was already coming over, and he said ‘Well, I’ll pay you to come over.’ So I thought ‘OK, that sounds good.’
In the years since, he’s experienced the highs and lows on offer in MLR. The Hounds, coached by former Wallaby Chris Latham (ex-Leinster man Noel Reid is backs coach), has been home since 2022, but before that, O’Keeffe bounced around the States, lining out for Rugby United New York, Rugby ATL and Austin Gilgronis, two of which have since been disbanded with the other (Rugby ATL) sold and relocated to LA.
His experience is part and parcel of the uncertainty that comes with the sport in America, but O’Keeffe feels rugby is finally starting to hold a greater presence in a stacked sporting landscape.
“When I first came over in 2019 you’d have to actually spell ‘rugby’, and they still wouldn’t even understand what it is, so it’s definitely getting bigger.
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“The Hounds probably have the most supporters going to games. Our coach was saying recently he’d be walking through Magnificent Mile or West Loop in Chicago, and people would actually recognise him, and when we go out in different bars, people recognise us as well now, so the game is growing.”
O'Keeffe joined Chicago in 2022. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Crucially, with the US hosting the 2031 World Cup, that greater impact is not just noticeable at street level. O’Keeffe points to improved investment in academy and college systems, the vital breeding grounds for a league crying out for more elite homegrown talent.
“A lot of high schools are now putting in programmes; a lot more high schools and college programmes are getting a lot more professional.
“There is a general want for rugby and I think also because there’s so much grey area with American football, a lot of people feel rugby is safer than American football for young kids, even though there’s no pads or helmets, but the way we play the game, a lot of younger families would be pushing their kids to play rugby.
“I was in USA camp with a 19-year-old, Spencer Huntley. He’s captain of the USA U20s, a rugby nause, plays over in Hartbury. He loves the sport so much. He could easily pick something else, but as soon as he found rugby, he was just like ‘this is my sport’.
“Other young lads like Dom Besag on the USA team, they’re all early 20s. It’s crazy, they call me uncle because I’m so old!”
Yet looking in from the outside, the top level of rugby in the States always appears to be in a somewhat delicate state, with new teams dropping in and, more often, dropping out of MLR.
Seven teams were part of the initial 2018 season. Numbers hit a record high of 12 in 2022, including Canadian side Toronto Arrows, who joined in 2019. The Arrows are one of many sides to since fall by the wayside, disbanding in 2023. Last season saw just six teams take part following the exit of the Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks, Utah Warriors and New Orleans Gold, while San Diego Legion and RFC Los Angeles merged to form California Legion.
Since the close of the 2026 season, Anthem Rugby Carolina have also bowed out after three years of World Rugby backing came to an end, leaving just five of last year’s clubs still standing.
Clearly, this is not enough to provide a competitive, compelling league, but there is hope new teams will be confirmed before the MLR college draft takes place at the end of the month.
“Obviously last year was a bit of a kick in the teeth to the whole league because we lost so many teams,” O’Keeffe says.
“Financially for the players it didn’t go too well, but apparently for the owners and anyone buying into the league, the financial system is a lot better now.
“So we are expecting a few more teams to buy in. I’ve heard of Indiana, I’ve heard of Miami coming back, I’ve heard of Sacramento, there was Nashville chat, there was a team in Vancouver. I think all of that will be laid out pretty quickly because of the college draft, you can’t really start that without having all the teams there.
“So I’m hoping, please God, they announce another team pretty soon, but I think it’s 100% going ahead next year. They have to for the World Cup, because 80% of the USA team plays in the MLR.”
As a USA Eagle, O’Keeffe’s situation is more secure, but the financial challenges can be stark for MLR players.
The money dropped so much from 2025 to 2026, a substantial amount, so much that a lot of people questioned why they’re playing.
“The one thing the league needs to do is make it more stable, because every single year for the last number of years in the off-season, you’re questioning do you have a job? You can’t be coming out of college as a kid, throwing yourself into rugby, and then six months later that team has folded. You’re just like, what am I doing?
“And the knock-on effect of that is the next players that come in the draft are like, well, I’m not doing that, I’m just going to go get a job.”
He recalls one young player who recently caught the eye after joining club side Chicago Griffins, where O’Keeffe was helping out with coaching.
“A pretty slight back rower, but very quick and powerful. He tore it up. I thought, savage, we need someone like that. I come in to training on Tuesday night, he’s not there. I’m told, ‘Nah, he’s gone, he realises there’s no money in rugby’. He had a degree from Cal Berkeley, so he’s just going to make $150k in his starting job in the banking sector. So it’s like, oh well, fair enough.”
The money isn’t what keeps O’Keeffe lacing up his boots. In 2024, the Dubliner won his first cap for the USA, and is determined to wear the shirt at next year’s World Cup in Australia, where the Eagles will come up against France, Japan and Samoa in Pool E.
The reason why I’m playing is not financial. It wasn’t financially beneficial for me to play last year, I’m just fully committed to my dream to play in the World Cup and my father’s dream to play in the World Cup.
“I don’t think he’d ever think I’d be playing for the USA, but playing in a World Cup would be insane.”
And O’Keeffe is confident this Hounds team is giving him the platform to achieve that dream.
“The best way I would describe it is when I was coming over, AIL players were very desirable. That’s how I got over here. Now you wouldn’t be able to come over as an AIL player. And I’d say the AIL is even better now, but because of the want to live in America, there’s a lot more high-profile players.
“In terms of the standard, if you put Chicago Hounds in the Championship, say, I think we’d be able to have a good crack against Ealing.
“Go through our team. Charlie Abel just signed for Oyonnax. Theo Fourie played for Waratahs. In the back row, Mason Flesch might be going to Japan. MacLean Jones played for Waratahs. Our nine played for Saracens. Our 10 played in France. Ollie Devoto obviously played for England. There are a lot of big names and then a lot of people you wouldn’t know, but they’ve played very high level rugby.
“The way Chicago played this year, we probably think we could take on anyone, but again, maybe the league wasn’t as strong this year.”
Still, after working his way up MLR, O’Keeffe can now enjoy being at the right end of it, and that the hard work has led him to a Test career.
What started as an intriguing opportunity has unfolded into the adventure of a lifetime, and one that doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon.
“I’m actually extending my visa now. Hopefully the plan is to do it (on tour) in Japan (next month), so I don’t have to fly home from Japan because we then play Australia A twice, once in New York and once in Nashville.
“I’d like to have a little break before then. Then as soon as that visa comes in, I’ll apply for the green card. Then I’m American, basically!”
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The former Lansdowne man chasing his Rugby World Cup dream in the USA
MARK O’KEEFFE IS reeling off the list of games and training camps he’s been involved in across the summer before the realisation hits him.
“This is literally my first break since 3 January,” says the former Lansdowne man, who now lines out for Major League Rugby’s Chicago Hounds and the USA Eagles.
Not that he’s complaining. O’Keeffe is fresh from a season where the Hounds stormed Major League Rugby to win their first title in emphatic fashion, recording an unbeaten campaign and finishing 19 points clear of second-placed Seattle. From there he rolled into Test camp, winning three Nations Cup games on the bounce against Portugal (in front of over 10,000 in Colorado), Zimbabwe and Spain, before signing off with a tight 25-24 win in a USA XV against Argentina XV at Inter Miami’s stadium last weekend.
Life as a rugby player in America is demanding, but full of adventure.
“There’s no bye weeks (in MLR), no weeks off,” O’Keeffe explains. “So we did 12 weeks straight, and you kind of have to ride your best 15 or best 23 every week. When you’re playing 80 minutes week-in, week-out, it’s pretty tough.
“Generally what happens is you fly on Friday, you get there Friday night, play on Saturday.
“A lot of people come over to the league and want to explore the cities. So what’s the best way of doing that? You go for a couple of beers after the game, and then you wake up pretty sore on Sunday, a sore head and a sore body, fly across the country to go back to Chicago, Monday off maybe, and you just keep doing that all over.”
It may sound gruelling to some, but the enthusiasm is clear in O’Keeffe’s voice. Turning 32 next month, the centre/winger is now an MLR veteran and very much still “loving it”.
He first touched down to begin his rugby life in America in 2018, leaving behind a strong Lansdowne squad who had just won the AIL, having played on the same St Michael’s side as the likes of James Ryan, Ross Byrne and Dan Leavy.
“I think seven or eight people in Saint Michael’s from my class went to academies; I didn’t make it that far.
“After finishing my Masters, I was going to go on a grad visa to New York, and got a random Facebook message from James English, the old CEO of New York and Chicago, saying, ‘Do you want to come over and play professional rugby for New York?’
In the years since, he’s experienced the highs and lows on offer in MLR. The Hounds, coached by former Wallaby Chris Latham (ex-Leinster man Noel Reid is backs coach), has been home since 2022, but before that, O’Keeffe bounced around the States, lining out for Rugby United New York, Rugby ATL and Austin Gilgronis, two of which have since been disbanded with the other (Rugby ATL) sold and relocated to LA.
His experience is part and parcel of the uncertainty that comes with the sport in America, but O’Keeffe feels rugby is finally starting to hold a greater presence in a stacked sporting landscape.
“When I first came over in 2019 you’d have to actually spell ‘rugby’, and they still wouldn’t even understand what it is, so it’s definitely getting bigger.
“The Hounds probably have the most supporters going to games. Our coach was saying recently he’d be walking through Magnificent Mile or West Loop in Chicago, and people would actually recognise him, and when we go out in different bars, people recognise us as well now, so the game is growing.”
Crucially, with the US hosting the 2031 World Cup, that greater impact is not just noticeable at street level. O’Keeffe points to improved investment in academy and college systems, the vital breeding grounds for a league crying out for more elite homegrown talent.
“A lot of high schools are now putting in programmes; a lot more high schools and college programmes are getting a lot more professional.
“There is a general want for rugby and I think also because there’s so much grey area with American football, a lot of people feel rugby is safer than American football for young kids, even though there’s no pads or helmets, but the way we play the game, a lot of younger families would be pushing their kids to play rugby.
“I was in USA camp with a 19-year-old, Spencer Huntley. He’s captain of the USA U20s, a rugby nause, plays over in Hartbury. He loves the sport so much. He could easily pick something else, but as soon as he found rugby, he was just like ‘this is my sport’.
“Other young lads like Dom Besag on the USA team, they’re all early 20s. It’s crazy, they call me uncle because I’m so old!”
Yet looking in from the outside, the top level of rugby in the States always appears to be in a somewhat delicate state, with new teams dropping in and, more often, dropping out of MLR.
Seven teams were part of the initial 2018 season. Numbers hit a record high of 12 in 2022, including Canadian side Toronto Arrows, who joined in 2019. The Arrows are one of many sides to since fall by the wayside, disbanding in 2023. Last season saw just six teams take part following the exit of the Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks, Utah Warriors and New Orleans Gold, while San Diego Legion and RFC Los Angeles merged to form California Legion.
Since the close of the 2026 season, Anthem Rugby Carolina have also bowed out after three years of World Rugby backing came to an end, leaving just five of last year’s clubs still standing.
Clearly, this is not enough to provide a competitive, compelling league, but there is hope new teams will be confirmed before the MLR college draft takes place at the end of the month.
“Obviously last year was a bit of a kick in the teeth to the whole league because we lost so many teams,” O’Keeffe says.
“Financially for the players it didn’t go too well, but apparently for the owners and anyone buying into the league, the financial system is a lot better now.
“So we are expecting a few more teams to buy in. I’ve heard of Indiana, I’ve heard of Miami coming back, I’ve heard of Sacramento, there was Nashville chat, there was a team in Vancouver. I think all of that will be laid out pretty quickly because of the college draft, you can’t really start that without having all the teams there.
“So I’m hoping, please God, they announce another team pretty soon, but I think it’s 100% going ahead next year. They have to for the World Cup, because 80% of the USA team plays in the MLR.”
As a USA Eagle, O’Keeffe’s situation is more secure, but the financial challenges can be stark for MLR players.
“The one thing the league needs to do is make it more stable, because every single year for the last number of years in the off-season, you’re questioning do you have a job? You can’t be coming out of college as a kid, throwing yourself into rugby, and then six months later that team has folded. You’re just like, what am I doing?
“And the knock-on effect of that is the next players that come in the draft are like, well, I’m not doing that, I’m just going to go get a job.”
He recalls one young player who recently caught the eye after joining club side Chicago Griffins, where O’Keeffe was helping out with coaching.
“A pretty slight back rower, but very quick and powerful. He tore it up. I thought, savage, we need someone like that. I come in to training on Tuesday night, he’s not there. I’m told, ‘Nah, he’s gone, he realises there’s no money in rugby’. He had a degree from Cal Berkeley, so he’s just going to make $150k in his starting job in the banking sector. So it’s like, oh well, fair enough.”
The money isn’t what keeps O’Keeffe lacing up his boots. In 2024, the Dubliner won his first cap for the USA, and is determined to wear the shirt at next year’s World Cup in Australia, where the Eagles will come up against France, Japan and Samoa in Pool E.
“I don’t think he’d ever think I’d be playing for the USA, but playing in a World Cup would be insane.”
And O’Keeffe is confident this Hounds team is giving him the platform to achieve that dream.
“The best way I would describe it is when I was coming over, AIL players were very desirable. That’s how I got over here. Now you wouldn’t be able to come over as an AIL player. And I’d say the AIL is even better now, but because of the want to live in America, there’s a lot more high-profile players.
“In terms of the standard, if you put Chicago Hounds in the Championship, say, I think we’d be able to have a good crack against Ealing.
“Go through our team. Charlie Abel just signed for Oyonnax. Theo Fourie played for Waratahs. In the back row, Mason Flesch might be going to Japan. MacLean Jones played for Waratahs. Our nine played for Saracens. Our 10 played in France. Ollie Devoto obviously played for England. There are a lot of big names and then a lot of people you wouldn’t know, but they’ve played very high level rugby.
“The way Chicago played this year, we probably think we could take on anyone, but again, maybe the league wasn’t as strong this year.”
Still, after working his way up MLR, O’Keeffe can now enjoy being at the right end of it, and that the hard work has led him to a Test career.
What started as an intriguing opportunity has unfolded into the adventure of a lifetime, and one that doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon.
“I’m actually extending my visa now. Hopefully the plan is to do it (on tour) in Japan (next month), so I don’t have to fly home from Japan because we then play Australia A twice, once in New York and once in Nashville.
“I’d like to have a little break before then. Then as soon as that visa comes in, I’ll apply for the green card. Then I’m American, basically!”
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chicago hounds Interview Mark O'Keeffe mlr Rugby