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The Free Jacks shut down the Sharks on a drizzly afternoon at Fort Quincy on Saturday, denying the visitors any tries at all with the final score reading 25-3 to the home time. New England won the tactical kicking battle while their defense repeatedly took away time and space from Miami’s attack.
A methodical opening saw New England going through the phases and casually making ground until Reece MacDonald slipped through a half-gap. Andrew Quattrin was next to take it on, with Josh Larsen right behind to bash over the line for the first try just four minutes in.
Miami’s first passage with possession turned out to be a sign of things to come. They found little purchase at the gainline and with no hint of a line break Felipe Etcheverry settled for three points with a 40-meter penalty goal from straight in front of the posts.
Both sides struggled to create scoring chances for the remainder of the half. Potroz landed two penalty goals, the first from a scrum penalty and the second a long-range effort after Miami were caught offside. Sandwiched in between was a chance at posts from Etcheverry but he didn’t connect clearly and the ball skewed wide of the posts.
Before half-time there was an unusual injury replacement. Referee Derek Summers limped off with what looked to be a hamstring problem, requiring first assistant Jarrod Ford to step into the middle for his Major League Rugby full refereeing debut. The remainder of the half ticked down without incident and the Free Jacks holding a 13-3 lead.
When the second half kicked off the Sharks immediately coughed up possession and were made to pay dearly for their mistake. Piers von Dadelszen bounced through a tackle and run clean through to score. Potroz couldn’t find the uprights from the sideline but it was now a three-score game.
New England continued to get the better of the kicking exchanges and soon had an attacking lineout. The drive was stalled but Malakai Hala-Ngatai crashed ahead and then Cam Nordli-Kelemeti squeezed in on the short side for a third Free Jacks try. Neither side would score in the final quarter, with the rain and replacements taking a heavy toll on continuity.
It’s a step up in class for the Free Jacks next weekend, as they face the unbeaten SaberCats in Houston on Saturday. The Sharks will enjoy a bye week to sharpen up and prepare for their road game against the NOLA Gold on Saturday, April 20.
| SCORING |
NEW ENGLAND 25
Tries (3) – J. Larsen (4′), P. von Dadelszen (41′), C. Nordli-Kelemeti (51′)
Cons (2) – J. Potroz 2/3 (5′, 52′)
Pens (2) – J. Potroz 2/2 (12′, 24′)
MIAMI 3
Pens (1) – F. Etcheverry 1/2 (9′)
| LINEUPS |
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera (17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai 43′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Mason Koch 60′), 3 Cole Keith (18 Kaleb Geiger 60′), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Conor Keys (19 Kyle Baillie 60′), 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Seta Baker (20 Mitch Jacobson 50′), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti (21 Holden Yungert 68′), 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi, 12 Le Roux Malan (22 Killian Coghlan 68′), 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Paula Balekana (23 Mitch Wilson 60′), 15 Reece MacDonald
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Jonas Petrakopoulos (17 Rob Evans 43′), 2 Kirby Myhill (16 Sean McNulty 42′), 3 Alec McDonnell (18 Tevita Sole 52′), 4 Rick Rose (19 Michael Etete 52′), 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Tomás Casares (22 Josh McAdam 57′), 7 Dan Pryor, 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.) (21 Damian Morley 60′), 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Marcos Young, 12 Nick Grigg (20 Chase Schor-Haskin 70′), 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Avery Oitomen, 15 Matías Freyre (23 Guiseppe du Toit 44′)
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 6
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 16:30 local
Weather: light rain, 42°F (5°C), wind N 12-20mph (19-32km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)*
Assistants: Jarrod Ford (USA) & Peter Pender (Canada)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)
*Jarrod Ford took over as referee at the 30 min mark
| HIGHLIGHTS |
