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A little bit of history will be made on Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the Ontario Arrows will play the New England Free Jacks in a Major League Rugby exhibition match. This will be the first ever match for the Free Jacks, MLR’s Boston franchise, with the Toronto-based Arrows looking to take their exciting brand on the road.
Of course neither side has played a regular season MLR match yet. The Arrows will do so early in the new year while the Free Jacks will have to wait a little longer until the start of the 2020 season. Getting their operations up and running so early will hold the Free Jacks in good stead as we have seen with the Arrows, whose own first match came in September 2017.
It’s a familiar lineup for the ‘home’ team. While they will be missing a handful of Canada team members held back for World Cup Qualifier preparations, they field three capped players with another seven graduating through national age-grade or senior ‘A’ select sides.
The old bookends are back together as Tom Dolezel hauled out of pseudo-retirement to partner Rob Brouwer at prop. Mike Sheppard returns from Canada ‘A’ duty in Montevideo and slots straight into the second row. Local favorite Moe Abdelmonem makes his Arrows debut on the flank and Matt Mullins continues his switch back to the XV-a-side game after spending recent years on the HSBC Sevens Series.
There is more sevens influence in the backs division with Lucas Hammond and Josiah Morra manning the wings and Andrew Coe, also a XVs cap, in at outside center. Morra is making his first Arrows appearance. Halifax native Cooper Coats runs out for his second Arrows start.
Five are set to debut from the bench. Nova Scotia’s own Grant Crowell will make an impact at No8 in the second half, with PEI native Liam Carter covering lock or loose forward. McCormick Cup winners Markham Irish supply halfback Owen Schimpl and Sri Lankan international Lee Keegel, with English import Kieron Martin covering flyhalf.
Three players with MLR experience have been named in the Free Jacks forward pack. SaberCats hooker Diego Maquieira and NOLA Gold pair Anthony Parry and Matt Hughston will add big game experience. Hughston wears the captain’s armband in a dynamic back row that includes Owen Hundt, a Glendale Raptors Academy graduate, and Eagles Sevens long-lister Chris Frazier.
The big surprises come in the backs, where US Eagles flyhalf Ben Cima is confirmed alongside San Diego Legion captain Tadhg Leader. Welsh Rugby League international Peter Lupton is named at outside center and there are Junior All-Americans in scrumhalf Erik Thompson and winger Christian Adams.
Another MLR addition is NOLA second row Myles McQuone who will provide cover for Irish lock Ronan McCusker and former Montana Grizzlies offensive lineman Jackson Thiebes. Australian import Ian Luciano covers scrumhalf and back row Jon Kokinda is one of seven who played for the Mystics against the Arrows in the spring.
The Arrows should have an advantage in cohesion and will certainly fare well in the scrum with Brouwer and Dolezel very imposing in the set piece. With eight Mystics in the run-on side it won’t be all new for the Free Jacks, and the additions of Hughston, Cima, and Leader adds a degree of class to the outfit.
Kickoff is set for 2pm local time, 1pm Eastern. A live stream will be available on Facebook.
ONTARIO ARROWS
1 Rob Brouwer, 2 AJ Quattrin, 3 Tom Dolezel, 4 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 5 Tom van Horne, 6 Moe Abdelmonem, 7 Peter Milazzo, 8 Matt Mullins, 9 Riley DiNardo, 10 Shawn Windsor, 11 Lucas Hammond, 12 Mitch Richardson, 13 Andrew Coe, 14 Josiah Morra, 15 Cooper Coats
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Alex Forrest, 18 Mike Smith, 19 Liam Carter, 20 Grant Crowell, 21 Owen Schimpl, 22 Lee Keegel, 23 Kieron Martin
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Luke Schlotman, 2 Diego Maquieira, 3 Anthony Parry, 4 Ronan McCusker, 5 Jackson Thiebes, 6 Owen Hundt, 7 Matt Hughston (capt.), 8 Chris Frazier, 9 Erik Thompson, 10 Ben Cima, 11 Christian Adams, 12 Tadhg Leader, 13 Peter Lupton, 14 Stephen Dazzo, 15 Danny Collins
Replacements: 16 Steven Hinshaw, 17 Dave McKenna, 18 Sean Moran, 19 Myles McQuone, 20 Thor LaFromboise, 21 Jon Kokinda, 22 Ian Luciano, 23 Jihad Khabir
Date: Saturday, October 20
Venue: Wanderers Grounds, Halifax
Kickoff: 14:00 local (13:00 Eastern, 10:00 Pacific)
Referee: Moe Chaudhry (RC)
Assistants: Ryan Alguire (RC) & Mike Dickie (DC)
Broadcasts: Facebook
