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The New England Free Jacks can all but wrap up top spot in the Eastern Conference if they can get past the NOLA Gold on Sunday. Perfect conditions are on the forecast with a packed house expected at Fort Quincy to see if their home favorites can increase their 10-point lead over second-place Old Glory.
It was DC who were on the receiving end of a convincing performance from the Free Jacks last weekend. That made it five wins in a row, and with the playoffs now a certainty the question that Scott Mathie needs to answer is what his preferred lineup will look like come the knockouts.
Three players who did not start against DC will get a shot to impress from the get-go this week. Joel Hintz rotates in for Cole Keith at tighthead prop, and Slade McDowall takes over at openside flanker with Mitch Jacobson taking a knock in Leesburg. On the bench there is a club debut pending for ex-Legion and USA Eagles hooker James Hilterbrand.
The only change to the backline comes in the midfield where Wayne van der Bank starts at outside center in place of Ben LeSage, who tweaked an ankle last weekend. With Holden Yungert also hurt Kieran McClea joins the bench along with Spencer Jones and Zach Bastres. There is no room for Beaudein Waaka who will instead set his sights on a full return against Toronto next weekend.
Of course the Gold have no intentions of being also-rans. Despite sitting in 5th spot in the East they enter the weekend just six points back of New York and have three winnable games ahead of them. Injuries have hit them hard in recent weeks but a depleted lineup gave heavyweights San Diego a real scare in New Orleans last Saturday and there are some notables back in action this weekend.
Perhaps the most encouraging return is that of Tom Florence, the outstanding loose forward back after four weeks on the shelf with an ankle injury. Pat O’Toole and Liam Hallam-Eames have recovered sufficiently from concussion to start at hooker and second row respectively. The good news is tempered by the loss of captain Cam Dolan, who is absent from the match day squad for the first time this season.
There are mixed emotions in the backline as well. Rodney Iona is back in at flyhalf and Dougie Fife returns on the wing to face his former team. On the flipside Luke Campbell is out along with playmaker Jordan Jackson-Hope. Damian Stevens starts at scrumhalf with Ross Depperschmidt moving into the midfield. Harley Wheeler is back in the squad but will wear a replacements jersey.
When the two sides met in the opening week of the season it was a one-sided victory for the Free Jacks in New Orleans. The Gold will be intent on returning the favor, but absent some of their best players may find it tough going. New England will be spurred on by the occasion and want to send a message heading towards the postseason. Take the home side in a spectacle of running rugby.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, 2pm Central, noon Pacific. Local broadcasts will be available on NBC Sports Boston and YurView Louisiana, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Mills Sanerivi, 3 Joel Hintz, 4 Conor Keys, 5 Reegan O’Gorman, 6 Sam Fischli, 7 Slade McDowall, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson (capt.), 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Foster DeWitt, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Cam Davidowicz, 20 Joe Johnston, 21 Kieran McClea, 22 Spencer Jones, 23 Zach Bastres
NOLA GOLD
1 Kevin Sullivan, 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Sean Paranihi, 4 William Waguespack, 5 Liam Hallam-Eames, 6 Malcolm May, 7 Moni Tonga’uiha, 8 Tom Florence, 9 Damian Stevens, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Aaron Matthews, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Dougie Fife, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Matt Harmon, 18 Jarred Adams, 19 Giovanni Lapp, 20 Alex Lopeti, 21 Sebastiano Villani, 22 Reece Botha, 23 Harley Wheeler
Date: Sunday, May 21
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 15:00 local (12:00 Pacific, 14:00 Central)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, The Rugby Network, YurView Louisiana
Referee: Joe James (England)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Mike Rudzinsky (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
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)
