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New England fans will get an early start to their St. Patrick’s Day festivities on Saturday afternoon with the Gold arrive at Fort Quincy. The Free Jacks are looking to bounce back from their disappointing last-second loss to Old Glory last weekend, while NOLA have started off their campaign with back-to-back wins.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
1-1-0 (L1) East 2nd
2-0-0 (W2) East 1st
| LINEUP CHANGES |
7 Seta Baker replaces Cam Davidowicz
16 Mason Koch replaces Sean Ralph
18 Kaleb Geiger replaces Cole Keith
19 Conor Keys replaces Jackson Thiebes
20 Cam Davidowicz replaces Danyon Morgan-Puterangi (wore 23 vs Old Glory)
2 Augusto Böhme replaces Pat O’Toole
4 Callum Botchar replaces Malcolm May
6 Malcolm May replaces OJ Noa (wore 8 vs Anthem)
9 Luke Campbell replaces Damian Stevens
10 Rodney Iona replaces Dorian Jones
14 Harley Wheeler replaces Ross Depperschmidt
21 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha replaces Sebastiano Villani
23 Julian Roberts replaces Jack Webster
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(12) – Quattrin, Larsen, Baillie, LeSage, DeWitt, Keys, Olson, von Dadelszen (Canada), Sigren (Chile), Conradie (Namibia), Wilson, Geiger (USA)
(6) – Böhme (Chile), Botchar (Canada), M Tonga’uiha, Harmon (USA), Iona (Samoa), Fife (Scotland)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
– Mason Koch, Seta Baker*
– Julian Roberts**
*MLR debut, ** pro debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Mitch Jacobson (FL), Le Roux Malan (CE)
– Cam Dolan (LO/N8), OJ Noa (N8), Ed Fidow (WI)
| NOTES |
- last week’s loss to DC ended New England’s record-setting 14-game win streak that dated back to March of last year… and their first home defeat since June of 2022
- the Free Jacks welcome Seta Baker to their lineup for the first time… originally from New Zealand with Tongan heritage, the 23-year-old flanker played for Tasman Mako in the NPC
- Mitch Jacobson, who captained New England after Josh Larsen’s injury last season, is expected to re-join the club in April, while midfielder Le Roux Malan is a couple weeks away from a return from injury suffered during the World Cup while playing for Namibia
- the Gold have lost their starting No8 OJ Noa to a four-week suspension for a dangerous tackle on Anthem forward Shneil Singh last week… which will necessitate a back row shuffle as Jonah Mau’u moves from flanker to the back of the scrum
- notably there is no specialist scrumhalf among NOLA’s reserves, with no sign of last week’s duo Damian Stevens and Sebastiano Villani
| PREDICTION |
The Free Jacks won’t be pleased about their performance during the final 20 minutes against Old Glory when they uncharacteristically squandered a 15-point lead. Their starting lineup is largely intact though there are multiple changes on the bench. NOLA had no trouble with Anthem but also let their standards drop in the second half. Scott Mathie’s men have won five straight against the Gold and while this should much closer than their last meeting, New England are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Kyle Baillie, 6 Martín Sigren, 7 Seta Baker, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 Mason Koch, 17 Foster DeWitt, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Cam Davidowicz, 21 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Isaac Olson, 23 Piers von Dadelszen
NOLA GOLD
1 Jarred Adams, 2 Augusto Böhme, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 William Waguespack, 6 Malcolm May, 7 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 8 Jonah Mau’u, 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Taniela Filimone, 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 JP du Plessis, 14 Harley Wheeler, 15 Dougie Fife
Replacements: 16 Ale Lopeti, 17 Matt Harmon, 18 Sam Klimkowski, 19 Fintan Coleman, 20 Maciu Koroi, 21 Osaiasi Tonga’uiha, 22 Reece Botha, 23 Julian Roberts
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 16
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 14:00 local (11:00 Pacific, 13:00 Central)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 54°F (12°C), wind SW 5-7mph (8-12km/h)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, YurView Louisiana, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Cisco Lopez (USA)
Assistants: Miles McIvor (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (8) – New England 5, NOLA 3, STREAK NE +5
2023-05-21 – New England Free Jacks 50, NOLA Gold 3 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-02-17 – NOLA Gold 12, New England Free Jacks 36 (The Gold Mine)
2022-05-29 – New England Free Jacks 57, NOLA Gold 5 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-04-02 – New England Free Jacks 33, NOLA Gold 29 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-02-05 – NOLA Gold 13, New England Free Jacks 24 (The Gold Mine)
2021-06-26 – New England Free Jacks 9, NOLA Gold 17 (Union Point Stadium)
2021-04-17 – NOLA Gold 30, New England Free Jacks 29 (The Gold Mine)
2020-03-07 – NOLA Gold 31, New England Free Jacks 22 (The Gold Mine)
