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The New England Free Jacks have reached an agreement with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to bring a professional competition to Boston in the spring of 2019. Ireland’s four provincial sides – Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster – will send development teams from their Guinness Pro 14 squads to play six matches running from March 16 to April 14.
Having already played one match – against the Ontario (Toronto) Arrows in Halifax – the Free Jacks will continue their exhibition campaign ahead of full entry to Major League Rugby in 2020. New England will play four games in total, one against each of the Irish sides, with two matches featuring head-to-head battles between the provincial teams.
All matches will be played in the Boston area with the opening contest against Connacht ‘A’ appropriately coming on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. With a significant population of Irish ex-pats and descendants residing in the city the matches can be expected to be well attended. Specific venues are to be confirmed.
FIXTURES
Sat, Mar 16 – New England Free Jacks vs Connacht ‘A’
Wed, Mar 20 – Connacht ‘A’ vs Ulster ‘A’
Sun, Mar 24 – New England Free Jacks vs Ulster ‘A’
Sat, Apr 6 – New England Free Jacks vs Munster ‘A’
Wed, Apr 10 – Munster ‘A’ vs Leinster ‘A’
Sun, Apr 14 – New England Free Jacks vs Leinster ‘A’
