NEWS

The Future Is Bright – Hounds’ Maclean Jones

WRITTEN BY JOE HARVEY |  PHOTOs BY ABEL ARCHINEGA

Having recovered from a difficult start to the 2024 Major League Rugby season, the Chicago Hounds are now sitting pretty in the Eastern Conference.

In Week 10, Sam Harris’ team stunned reigning champions, the New England Free Jacks, 26-20 to solidify second place in their division.

The statement win means that the Midwesterners can now count themselves as title challengers, a tag that would not have been attributed to them some weeks ago.

After registering a Week One win over the Miami Sharks, the Hounds endured four winless games in March, with one of those matches ending in a 22-all draw with this weekend’s opponents, Old Glory DC.

“We are in a really good spot at the moment,” Maclean Jones said. 

“We started the season a bit slower than we expected, which was a bit frustrating because we knew some of the potential the group had. 

“We never really lost faith because we knew how good we could be. It has finally clicked in the past few weeks. 

“It is definitely a good feeling in the group. Especially to beat the Free Jacks in Boston. 

“We always said that to be the best, you have to beat the best, and in our conference, they are definitely the best. 

“There is definitely a good feeling in the group at the minute.”

GETTING THINGS RIGHT

It was Chicago’s self-belief that kept the second-year team on the straight and narrow throughout a challenging March.

Getting a second win on the board with a handsome 38-21 victory against the NOLA Gold in Louisiana, it has been a constant string of success from that point onwards.

Bonus point victories over Anthem RC and RFC Los Angeles came before their first bye week of the season.

Charging into Round 10 refreshed and stunning the Shield holders, Jones and his teammates’ confidence in one another has paid off significantly. 

“We have got some of the best players in the league that have been here from the very beginning,” Jones said. 

“We brought in a very good forwards coach in Rob Webber. We just had a confidence from the outset. 

“We had everything there to be successful, so we knew right away we’d definitely be competitive in the league, and we could win the league with everything that we had in the room. 

“We had that mindset at the start that we can win the league with what we had in the room. 

“At one of our first meetings, that was one of our goals, and it still is.”

BACK AT FULL FITNESS

Jones has been an integral part of this stretch of good form for the Hounds.

Mac Jones dots down his second try to extend the Chicago lead!

📺 FS2 | #NEvCHI | #MLR2024 pic.twitter.com/HqRGSDgml9

— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) May 5, 2024

Recording a fantastic solo score against New England and being named in the RTIC First XV for Week 10 has put six years of constant injury struggle in the rearview mirror.

After breaking his arm twice and his ankle and undergoing a full knee reconstruction in 2021, Jones has had a long road to the stage where he is playing at the peak of his abilities.

“Now I have started to play consistent rugby, I am really fit at the moment,” Jones said.

“In a good spot mentally and physically, and that always reflects on the field. 

“If you are confident in your body, the coaches give you confidence, that always reflects on the field. 

That is what is happening at the moment. 

“It is just so enjoyable to be part of this group at the moment and to play the brand of rugby we are playing.”

The former Australia U20 international credits his loved ones and Hounds head coach Harris with supporting him through a period of uncertainty as he battled to get back on the rugby field.

“I always knew I still had it in me to play professional rugby,” he said. 

“Regardless of the injuries, I knew that once I finally got fit, I was good enough to play professional rugby at a good standard. 

“There were tough times. My partner, Bridgette, was there for me through the knee injury. Mum and Dad have always been awesome. 

“They have always backed me to keep on trucking along, which has been good. 

“Sam Harris has always backed me through those injuries. 

“He was there when I did my knee; he backed me to get back to where I am now. I am really thankful for that.”

FUTURE IS BRIGHT

Now in the shop window of the playoffs, Chicago has become a team to beat. 

This weekend, Jones and his teammates will host a DC side in the mix for a place in the postseason. A win for the men from Maryland could do their own ambitions a world of good.

But as pressure and intensity start to build internally around the Hounds, the club is taking things week by week to continue developing its hopes for 2024.

“It is not long ago that we lost all those games, so it is still in the back of our minds not to get ahead of ourselves or too complacent,” Jones said. 

“At the start of this week, we said we would take it week by week so as not to get too far ahead of ourselves. 

“We have three more games now in this four-week block until the next bye week, and the goal is to take it week by week. 

“We have got every opportunity to win all these games and be in a really good spot coming into the last block of the season. 

“We are not really getting ahead of ourselves. We are taking it week by week and not thinking about the end goal too much yet.”