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St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Boston is a unique experience and this year it comes complete with a rugby match. Traditional rivals New England and Toronto will collide on Saturday with vital Eastern Conference points on the line. It’s also a chance for redemption for the Arrows, who came up short in both meetings between the two last season.
The Free Jacks are pulling out all the stops with a special green strip to be worn and their strongest available lineup. It’s a team that should be brimming with confidence after their impressive victory last weekend, and a 3-1 record from their road swing to start the season.
Dougie Fife returns from suspension to return at fullback in the most significant change to the lineup. Mitch Wilson moves to the wing as Jack Reeves drops out with injury. Holden Yungert and Harrison Boyle will again be the only backs in reserve.
The only changes in the pack are in the front row. Foster DeWitt moves back to loosehead prop with Pieter Jansen and Erich de Jager recalled at hooker and tighthead prop respectively. Quentin Newcomer and Justin Johnson are set for their first appearances of the season as replacements.
Toronto haven’t quite hit the heights of New England to date but after back-to-back wins they can be satisfied with a 2-2 record on the road. Absentees continue to have a significant impact, however, with forwards Lolani Faleiva and Kyle Baillie joining the injury list and winger Matthew Hood unavailable.
Ronan Foley is restored at No8 with Tomás de la Vega shifting to the side of the scrum in place of Baillie. Otherwise the starting pack is intact. Tyler Rowland returns as backup tighthead prop with Ollie Nott set to make his first appearance of 2022 as an extra flanker replacement.
The return of Conor McCann at fullback is some good news at least, with Gastón Mieres moving over to the wing to accommodate. Chris Bell and Mitch Richardson provide backline cover on a bench that also shows a 6-2 split.
Spectators would be advised to bring their winter jackets with game time conditions expected to be cold and wet. That may play into Toronto’s hands by allowing the defense to focus on shutting down star playmaker Beaudein Waaka and letting Sam Malcolm’s kicking do the talking. The scales lean slightly towards the home side but weather remains the great equalizer.
Kickoff is set for 4:30pm local time, 1:30pm Pacific. A local broadcast will be available on NBC Sports Boston with TSN broadcasting to Canadian viewers on its digital platforms. All others can watch the live stream on The Rugby Network.
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Foster DeWitt, 2 Pieter Jansen, 3 Erich de Jager, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Joe Johnston, 7 Slade McDowall, 8 Terrell Peita, 9 John Poland, 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Harry Barlow, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Dougie Fife
Replacements: 16 Mills Sanerivi, 17 Quentin Newcomer, 18 Tevita Sole, 19 Reegan O’Gorman, 20 Cam Davidowicz, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Harrison Boyle, 23 Justin Johnson
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Cole Keith, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Brock Webster, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Ueta Tufuga, 14 Gastón Mieres, 15 Conor McCann
Replacements: 16 Jack McRogers, 17 Marc-Antoine Ouellet, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Adrian Wadden, 20 Ollie Nott, 21 James O’Neill, 22 Chris Bell, 23 Mitch Richardson
Date: Saturday, March 12
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 16:30 local (13:30 Pacific)
Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
Assistants: Jarrod Ford (USA) & Nick Tricarico (USA)
TMO: Amelia Luciano (USA)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, The Rugby Network, TSN.ca
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-05-29 – New England Free Jacks 14, Toronto Arrows 12 (Union Point Stadium)
2021-07-10 – Toronto Arrows 17, New England Free Jacks 28 (Lupo Family Field)
