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It’s a classic rivalry in Sunday’s Eastern Conference Final as the New England Free Jacks host Rugby New York at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The home side finished in top spot overall in the regular season and are now set to play their first ever playoff match, while the visitors overcame ATL on the road last weekend to earn their place in what is effectively their third Semi Final.
New York came within a whisker of reaching the big game in each of 2019 and 2021. Can they take the final step on Sunday? Against the Ratlers they largely stayed within their strength in the pack and only conceded a single consolation try in stoppage time. There are three personnel changes to the starting lineup in the announced team, though the tempestuous Marty Veale is prone to last-minute changes as we saw last week.
Perhaps most notable is the absence of Ed Fidow on the left wing. His No11 shirt has gone to Andrew Coe and it’s unclear if Fidow is nursing an injury or is simply the odd man out with only 12 imports allowed in the match day squad.
The return of Kara Pryor at No8 is facilitated by the chance on the wing. Dylan Fawsitt moves back up to his more traditional hooker role with Kaleb Geiger on the bench. Once again club captain Nate Brakeley finds himself as a reserve with Ben Bonasso continuing to lead the side as a lock. Nick Civetta will be his second row partner, replacing Charlie Hewitt.
With a bye in the first round of the playoffs allowing players to rest bumps and bruises, the Free Jacks return in nearly full force this week. The only exception is the continued absence of openside flanker Slade McDowall, who is serving the last of his four-game suspension. There are six changes to the mix-and-match lineup that faced New York two weeks ago.
Kyle Ciquera returns at loosehead prop, with captain Josh Larsen restored in the second row. Cam Davidowicz and Terrell Peita are both named on the bench with Jesse Parete coming back in on the blindside flank and Wian Conradie at No8. Canadian internationals Foster DeWitt and Reegan O’Gorman are also among the replacements.
The backline sees John Poland starting at scrumhalf and Le Roux Malan resuming his partnership with Wayne van der Bank in the midfield. It’s a 6/2 split on the bench with Holden Yungert and Jack Reeves the only back reserves and no place for Harrison Boyle.
New England won two of the three meetings against New York this season though oddly it was the away team that came away victorious on each occasion. The June 3 fixture was the first ever loss for the Free Jacks at ‘Fort Quincy’ while New York are an astonishing 8-1 on the road this season.
The forecast is calling for cool and cloudy weather, which will suit the Free Jacks and their faithful just fine. This is a compelling match-up that won’t be decided until late in the game, when the week off might just be enough to keep New England’s legs a step ahead of their guests.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, noon Pacific. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast nationwide with The Rugby Network streaming for viewers abroad.
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Mills Sanerivi, 3 Erich de Jager, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Jesse Parete, 7 Joe Johnston, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Beaudein Waaka, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Dougie Fife
Replacements: 16 Foster DeWitt, 17 Quentin Newcomer, 18 Tevita Sole, 19 Reegan O’Gorman, 20 Cam Davidowicz, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Jack Reeves, 23 Terrell Peita
RUGBY NEW YORK
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Wilton Rebolo, 4 Benjamín Bonasso (capt.), 5 Nick Civetta, 6 Antonio Kiri Kiri, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 8 Kara Pryor, 9 Andy Ellis, 10 Jack Heighton, 11 Andrew Coe, 12 Jason Emery, 13 Fa’asiu Fuatai, 14 Waisake Naholo, 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder
Replacements: 16 Kaleb Geiger, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Kalolo Tuiloma, 19 Nate Brakeley, 20 Joe Basser, 21 Conor McManus, 22 Sam Windsor, 23 Quinn Ngawati
Date: Sunday, June 19
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 15:00 local (12:00 Pacific)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Mike Lash (New Zealand) & Cisco Lopez (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon (USA)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 1, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-06-03 – New England Free Jacks 14, Rugby New York 21 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-04-24 – Rugby New York 26, New England Free Jacks 29 (John F. Kennedy Stadium)
2022-03-06 – Rugby New York 29, New England Free Jacks 38 (John F. Kennedy Stadium)
2021-07-03 – New England Free Jacks 22, Rugby United New York 6 (Union Point Stadium)
2021-05-23 – Rugby United New York 29, New England Free Jacks 19 (Cochrane Stadium)
2020-02-09 – New England Free Jacks 34, Rugby United New York 14 (Sam Boyd Stadium)
