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Two teams with postseason ambitions will be reacquainted in San Diego on Sunday afternoon. The New England Free Jacks make their way to the West Coast and become the second team to experience Snapdragon Stadium, where the Legion and their growing Cohort will be waiting.
Last weekend’s record-setting day at the new venue could hardly have gone any better for Danny Lee’s men. They earned a bonus-point win over a tough Utah side, and don’t appear to have suffered any notable injuries with a nearly unchanged starting lineup.
Christian Poidevin starts on the blindside flank with Dan Pryor dropping out. That allows Jale Railala to take up a spot on the bench at the expense of Chris Turori. It’s a conventional 5/3 split this week with Canadian international scrumhalf Jason Higgins filling the vacancy left by Poidevin’s promotion.
There is also minimal tinkering from Scott Mathie after his charges earned a convincing win on the road against NOLA. Mitch Jacobson has joined the injury list this week but the team has regained the services of Ben LeSage, the former LA center now poised to debut from the bench.
Jacobson’s absence means a start for Joe Johnston at openside flanker. The only other change to the run-on side is a rotation at lock with Conor Keys starting and Semisi Paea among the reserves. Kieran McClea takes over from Holden Yungert as the scrumhalf replacement.
The Free Jacks did not face the Legion in 2022, but were winners when the two sides last met in Los Angeles approaching two years ago. It’s been three years since they were in San Diego, where the Legion got the win at Torero Stadium during New England’s first Major League Rugby campaign.
California has been hit by unusually wet and cool weather, but the rain should subside in time for kickoff. Both teams looked good last weekend with no signs of rust. San Diego’s backline, led by Josh Henderson, was in lethal form though New England’s ‘JP’ combo of John Poland and Jayson Potroz also shined.
New England’s best chance is to score early and plant seeds of doubt in their start-studded opponents. Once again, however, the Free Jacks concede considerable lineout height to Ben Grant and Isaac Ross, which could put a damper on their set piece plans. Take the home side in a fascinating contest.
Kickoff is set for 1pm local time, 4pm Eastern. A local broadcast is available on NBC Sports Boston, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Sama Malolo, 3 Nathan Sylvia, 4 Ben Grant, 5 Isaac Ross, 6 Christian Poidevin, 7 Blair Cowan (capt.), 8 Tupou Afungia, 9 Richard Judd, 10 Josh Henderson, 11 Tomas Aoake, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 13 Marcel Brache, 14 Nate Augspurger, 15 Mikey Te’o
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Jale Railala, 20 Malakai Latu, 21 Jason Higgins, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Ryan Matyas
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Mills Sanerivi, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Sam Fischli, 7 Joe Johnston, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Taniela Filimone, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Foster DeWitt, 18 Tevita Sole, 19 Semisi Paea, 20 Cam Davidowicz, 21 Kieran McClea, 22 Ben LeSage, 23 Reece MacDonald
Date: Sunday, February 26
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 13:00 local (16:00 Eastern)
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Austin Reed (USA) & Alexis Alfaro (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-05-01 – San Diego Legion 17, New England Free Jacks 33 (LA Memorial Coliseum)
2020-02-23 – San Diego Legion 30, New England Free Jacks 21 (Torero Stadium)
