Matt Lund

Matt Lund

Experience: 3 years

What do you love about rugby? I love the sense of community that’s built into a rugby club. No matter how different each individual might be, there’s a shared joy in running around outside and working together to accomplish team goals.

What’s your favorite thing about Chicago? My favorite thing about Chicago is that I never run out of new places to drink beer or good people to drink beer with.

Jake Laux

Jake Laux

Experience: 6 years

What’s your favorite thing about rugby? That it is so open; there are so many different ways to win (be faster, be bigger, be stronger, be fitter, be more disciplined, be more clever).  It balances teamwork with individualism, where a player can take over a game but cannot win it by themselves.  The game is broad enough that given sufficient work, any individual can make a material impact for their team.

What hobbies do you have outside of rugby? Cooking (but not baking; I am a miserable baker).  Rock climbing.  Magic: the Gathering (several team members play; inquire about playing with us).  Training.  Gambling.  Backpacking.  Curing meat.  Gardening.  Skiing.

Where have you lived before moving to Chicago? Wisconsin. Boston.

Are you much of a reader? if so what’s one of your favorite books? Yes.  Dune, Heinlein’s entire corpus, Hamlet, Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Rationality: From AI to Zombies.

What’s one of your favorite sports teams? Waikato Chiefs.

Art museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, or Field Museum? Art museum strictly for Dali; else it would be Adler.

What’s your favorite bar in Chicago Currently? Clark Street Ale House.

What is your favorite exhibit at the Lincoln Park Zoo? Big cat house.

What’s your favorite memory from your LPRFC career? A tip-on pass that saw me get drilled immediately after but led to a Corey Jahner try against Green Bay in a playoff victory on April 22, 2017 (the CMS disputes this telling of events as Mr. Jahner was not credited with a try during
that game).

What neighborhood do you live in? Gold Coast.

What’s your favorite Marvel character? Thanos, obviously.

What’s a goal of yours for the upcoming rugby season? Win.

Is there a pro rugby team you really admire, and could you give a reason why you feel this way? The aforementioned Waikato Chiefs.  They play an enterprising game, managing to win (you sure?) while also playing an attractive and entertaining brand of footy.

What’s one rugby skill you’ve had the most difficulty learning in your career? My kicking is dreadful.

Do you have any pets? If so, tell us about them. Two cats: Lucy and Penny Lane.  Penny has more toes than a normal cat.  Lucy is larger than several teammates’ dogs.  

If you could pick any person from history to have dinner with, who would you choose and why? Marcus Aurelius.

What’s something about you that you’re fairly sure your teammates don’t know? I dislike cucumbers.

If you could recommend a venue in Chicago that everyone should go see a show at, whether it’s a concert or play, what is that venue and why? The CSO

Corey Jahner

Corey Jahner

Experience: 10 years

What is something you love about living in Chicago? LPRFC

Where have you lived before moving to Chicago? St Louis; Singapore; North Carolina

What’s a goal of yours for the upcoming rugby season? Avoid sustaining a career-ending injury or eating my way into the front row

Is there something you wish you could tell yourself before starting rugby? You should occasionally wander into a weight room to avoid having your shoulder explode every other season

Dayvon Long

Dayvon Long

Experience: 1 year

What do do you love about playing for Lincoln Park? I have a son who loves to watch play and cheer me on, he’s a Husky named Kobe!

Who is your favorite athlete? The Saints are my favorite sports team. Kobe Bryant is the GOAT and my favorite athlete!