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The New England Free Jacks opened their Major League Rugby accounts with a stunning 34-14 victory over a deflated Rugby United New York in Las Vegas on Sunday. With ATL also triumphant in their debut, two of the three expansion sides emerge from the opening weekend with a winning record.
The windy conditions didn’t bother New England’s backline. With RUNY already on the back foot, quick hands from Liam Steel and Tadhg Leader found Mitch Wilson in space for the first MLR try in franchise history. The breeze pushed Leader’s kick wide but the Free Jacks had the perfect start.
It went from bad to worse in short order for New York. A loose kick bounced over the head of Ben Foden and rebounded off the crossbar straight into the awaiting hands of Brad Hemopo. An easier try he will never score, and Leader had no problem with the extras this time. He added a penalty soon after to make it 15-0 to New England.
New York finally got on the scoreboard just after the hydration break. Repeat infringements landed Free Jacks captain Josh Larsen in the bin and RUNY took advantage of the extra forward. The driving maul was stuffed but Kyle Sumsion was on hand to pick and drive with help from a handful of his teammates taking the ball over the line.
The score was erased almost instantly. With Larsen still off the pitch the Free Jacks earned a 5 meter attacking scrum. A simple backline move went from Sam Beard to Leader to Beaudein Waaka and the New Zealander showed good skills to hang on and spin through a tackle for his first MLR try. Leader’s kick was on target and the 22-7 score held until the break.
There was little to celebrate for New York in the second half. Ben Foden was binned for an international knock-on and soon after Waaka made it a debut double. Beard’s huge cut-out pass found Wilson on the wing, with Waaka looping around the back and curling into the corner.
Ten minutes later it was Waaka again creating something out of nothing. Starting from his own half, he dummied and broke through the line before chipping over the cover. The ball bounced perfectly for Beard in support, whose one-arm shovel pass found Liam Steel with nothing but green in front.
Sumsion grabbed a consolation score near the death but it was too little, too late. RUNY were well beaten, and adding injury to insult will need to assess knocks taken by Paddy Ryan and Trevor Cassidy. The tight five pair were both forced off before halftime leaving major concerns ahead of next weekend’s game.
RUNY will have to scrape together both bodies and confidence before facing the Austin Gilgronis on Saturday. That contest is the first of four games to be played in Vegas, with the Free Jacks also staying put to square off against the Utah Warriors in the weekend opener.
SCORING
NEW ENGLAND 34
Tries – M. Wilson (6’), B. Hemopo (11’), B. Waaka 2 (25’, 55′), L. Steel (65′)
Cons – T. Leader 2/3 (12’, 26’), B. Waaka 1/2 (66′)
Pens – T. Leader 1/1 (16’)
Yellow cards – J. Larsen (21’)
NEW YORK 14
Tries – K. Sumsion 2 (23’, 75′)
Cons – C. Marsh 2/2 (24’, 76′)
Yellow cards – B. Foden (52’)
TEAMS
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Donald Brighouse (17 Simon Courcoul 62′), 2 Sean McNulty (16 Steven Hinshaw 73′), 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama (18 Kyle Ciquera 69′), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Jackson Thiebes, 6 Naulia Dawai, 7 Zack Stryffeler (20 Owen Hundt 64′), 8 Brad Hemopo (19 Conor Kindregan 61′), 9 John Poland (21 Erik Thompson 67′), 10 Tadhg Leader (22 Timothée Guillimin 53′), 11 Mitch Wilson, 12 Sam Beard, 13 Liam Steel (23 Deion Mikesell 67′), 14 Poasa Waqanibau, 15 Beaudein Waaka
RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK
1 Anthony Parry (18 Jonas Petrakopoulos 52′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (capt.) (16 Mike Brown 67′), 3 Paddy Ryan (17 Will Burke 31’), 4 Matt Wirken, 5 Trevor Cassidy (20 Julio Giraldo 40’), 6 Nate Brakeley, 7 James Denise, 8 Kyle Sumsion (19 Rob Irimescu 76’), 9 Marcus Walsh (21 Mike Petri 52′), 10 Cathal Marsh (22 Harry Bennett 76′), 11 Connor Wallace-Sims, 12 Will Leonard, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (23 Mark O’Keeffe 60′), 14 Chris Mattina, 15 Ben Foden
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Assistants: Steve Gore (USA) & Austin Reed (USA)
