Team

The Hounds signed Carelse ahead of the 2024 Major League rugby season. Prior to the Hounds, the Somerset West, South Africa native played for the Seattle Seawolves, Dallas Jackals, and Rugby Atlanta.

Carelse appeared in all 18 of the Hounds’ games in 2024, starting 16 of them from either the flyhalf or fullback position. He scored a career-high 77 points on the year. These came on 25 successful conversion kicks and 11 successful penalty kicks. Carelse averaged nine meters-per-carry, gaining 759 meters on his 84 touches.

The versatile back started the 2023 season with the Jackals but was then traded to the Seawolves in the middle of the campaign. His MLR career began with Rugby Atlanta in 2021 before he signed with Dallas prior to their inaugural season in 2022.

Carelse earned 55 caps and played 4,042 minutes during his four seasons in MLR. He converted 21 penalty attempts and 39 conversion kicks, while scoring six tries, including a seven pointer, to bring his career tally up to 205 points. Carelse carried the ball 289 times and gained 2,413 meters while registering 18 clean breaks and beating 101 defenders.

Prior to Major League Rugby, Carelse played for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in Free State, Bloemfontein. He made four appearances for the Cheetahs and earned an additional six caps with the Free State XV side. He began playing rugby at Hottentots Holland High School and earned a spot on the Western Province Under-18 and Under-19 teams. In 2014, he helped the Western Province U19 team win the Provincial Championship.