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The New England Free Jacks will look to maintain their unbeaten home record as they host the Austin Gilgronis in just the second ever Major League Rugby match at Union Point Stadium. It’s the first ever meeting between the two sides with the new date coming almost a year to the day from the intended date of their cancelled clash last season.
A one-point win over Utah officially welcomed professional rugby to New England last month. Back-to-back defeats followed but the Free Jacks rebounded with a dominant road win over San Diego in LA last weekend. They are now equal on points with Toronto and ATL, and just three back of East Conference leaders New York and NOLA.
Ryan Martin has stuck to the same formula with only two changes to the run-on side. Pieter Jansen is restored at hooker with Vili Toluta’u dropping to the bench, and Peceli Rinakama fills in for Poasa Waqanibau on the right wing. It’s the first MLR start for Rinakama since the 2018 season when he was still on NOLA’s books.
Second round collegiate draft pick Spencer Krueger is set to make his pro debut as a replacement, taking over from Kensuke Hatakeyama as backup tighthead prop. Once again it’s a 6-2 split among the reserves with both Tera Mtembu and Evan Geist covering the back row. Danny Collins fills the vacancy left by Rinakama’s promotion.
Austin are second only to cocktail cousins LA in the overall standings and enjoyed a bye week prior to their arrival in Boston. After losing their first two matches of the campaign, the AG’s have fired off a club record four wins in a row and they will be desperate to keep the ball rolling.
There are four changes to the starting lineup split evenly between forwards and backs. Jake Turnbull gets a chance in the No1 shirt with Jamie Mackintosh drawing bench duty. Sebastian de Chaves is clear to return at lock where he partners Isaac Ross for the first time.
Pele Cowley is recalled at scrumhalf at the expense of Marcelo Torrealba, with former skipper Zinzan Elan-Puttick named on the wing in place of the injured Frank Halai. Otherwise the backline is unchanged with Ned Hodson retained his spot at inside center.
On the bench there are notable returns to the lineup for hooker Hugh Roach and tighthead Paddy Ryan. Cam Dodson covers lock with no sign of Christian Ostberg. Sidney Shoop is the backup scrumhalf and former Raptors winger Nick Johnson is set to make his Austin debut and first MLR appearance since 2019.
The Gilgronis leave the Texas sun behind for cool and cloudy conditions, but are unlikely to be perturbed. They will look to pressure their hosts at the lineout with twin towers de Chaves and Ross looming large, while their suffocating defense is also a formidable challenge. Those obstacles combined with Austin’s strong form makes the Free Jacks underdogs despite playing at home.
Kickoff is set for 4pm local time, 1pm Pacific, 3pm Central. Local broadcasts will be available on KBVO in Austin and NESN in New England, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Sef Fa’agase, 2 Pieter Jansen, 3 Erich de Jager, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Jackson Thiebes, 6 Justin Johnson, 7 Joe Johnston, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Harrison Boyle, 11 Harry Barlow, 12 Aleki Morris-Lome, 13 Dougie Fife, 14 Peceli Rinakama, 15 Beaudein Waaka
Replacements: 16 Vili Toluta’u, 17 Spencer Krueger, 18 Quentin Newcomer, 19 Matt Wirken, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Sean Yacoubian, 22 Evan Geist, 23 Danny Collins
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Sebastian de Chaves, 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Dom Bailey, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Michael de Waal, 9 Pele Cowley, 10 Mack Mason, 11 Conner Mooneyham, 12 Ned Hodson, 13 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 14 Zinzan Elan-Puttick, 15 Will Magie
Replacements: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Cam Dodson, 20 Dominic Akina, 21 Sidney Shoop, 22 Kurt Morath, 23 Nick Johnson
Date: Saturday, May 8
Venue: Union Point Stadium, Weymouth
Kickoff: 16:00 local (13:00 Pacific, 15:00 Central)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Nick Tricarico (USA)
Broadcasts: KBVO, NESN, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
n/a
