New England Free Jacks

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New England Free Jacks

Founded	2018
Location	Quincy, Massachusetts
Ground(s)	Veterans Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 5,000)
CEO	Alex Magleby
Coach(es)	Ryan Martin
Captain(s)	Josh Larsen
Most caps	Mitch Wilson (57)
Top scorer	Jayson Potroz (327)
Most tries	Paula Balekana (25)
League(s)	Major League Rugby
2024	Champions 1st (Eastern Conference)
Team kit
Official website
www.freejacks.com

The New England Free Jacks are an American professional rugby union team based in Quincy, Massachusetts, that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018.^[1] They competed in their first season in MLR in the 2020 season. The team has won two MLR shields after defeating the San Diego Legion in 2023 and the Seattle Seawolves in 2024.

On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Boston would be one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season.^[2] That same day, the Boston club was announced as the New England Free Jacks through social media. Their first match was on October 20, 2018, against the Ontario Arrows at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early rosters from these matches included a mixture of veteran professional players from the disbanded PRO Rugby competition and top local talent from clubs such as the Boston Irish Wolfhounds and Mystic River.

NFL players Nate Ebner and Patrick Chung are minority owners of the Free Jacks.^{[3] [4]}

Season	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor	Other Shirt sponsor(s)
2018	Canterbury	None	None
2018–2019	Boathouse
2020–2021	Paladin Sports
2022		Alloy Therapeutics
2023			Tufts Medical Center, DUDE Wipes, Arbella Insurance, Drayton Distributors
2024	Kappa
2025	Macron	Alloy Therapeutics, Koa Labs	DUDE Wipes, Arbella Insurance, Drayton Distributors

The New England Free Jacks squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is:^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Foster DeWitt Hooker Canada Canada Connal McInerney Hooker Australia Australia Andrew Quattrin Hooker Canada Canada Kyle Ciquera Prop United States United States Kaleb Geiger Prop United States United States Malakai Hala-Ngatai Prop New Zealand New Zealand Cole Keith Prop Canada Canada Jone Koroiduadua Prop Fiji Fiji Ivan Pula Prop United States United States Tevita Sole Prop Tonga Tonga Kyle Steeves Prop Canada Canada Kyle Baillie Lock Canada Canada Conor Keys Lock Canada Canada Josh Larsen (c) Lock Canada Canada Jackson Thiebes Lock United States United States Piers von Dadelszen Lock Canada Canada Matthew Carrion Back row United States United States Wian Conradie Back row Namibia Namibia Cam Davidowicz Back row United States United States Ethan Fryer Back row Canada Canada Jerónimo Gómez Vara Back row Argentina Argentina Joe Johnson* Back row New Zealand New Zealand Kaipono Kayoshi Back row United States United States Jed Melvin Back row New Zealand New Zealand

Player Position Union Oscar Lennon Scrum-half United States United States Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti* Scrum-half Fiji Fiji John Poland Scrum-half Ireland Ireland Harrison Boyle Fly-half New Zealand New Zealand Jayson Potroz Fly-half New Zealand New Zealand Simon-Peter Toleafo Fly-half Samoa Samoa Ben LeSage Centre Canada Canada Le Roux Malan Centre Namibia Namibia Faletoi Peni Centre Samoa Samoa Jack Reeves* Centre England England Wayne van der Bank Centre South Africa South Africa Paula Balekana Wing Fiji Fiji Isaac Olson Wing Canada Canada Josiah Morra Wing Canada Canada Killan Coghlan Fullback United States United States Brock Webster Fullback Canada Canada

• Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
• * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
• MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

• United States Josh Smith (2018–2020)
• New Zealand Ryan Martin (2020–2021)
• South Africa Scott Mathie (2021–2024)^[6]
• New Zealand Ryan Martin (2024–present)

• Josh Larsen (2020–present)

Staff for 2025 Major League Rugby Season:^[7]

Staff Position	Name
Head Coach	Ryan Martin
Assistant Coach	Dewald Senegal
Assistant Coach	Pom Simona
General Manager	Tom Kindley

Owners^[8]

Position	Name
Co-Founder, Owner and CEO	Alex Magleby
Co-Founder, Owner and Chairman	Errik Anderson
Owner and Board Member	Angad Banga
Owner and Board Member	David Barry
Owner and Board Member	Jonathan Bobbett
Owner	Patrick Chung
Owner	Nate Ebner

Season	Conference	Regular season										Postseason
		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/−	BP	Pts	Pld	W	L	F	A	+/−	Result
2020 [a]	Eastern	9th	5	1	0	4	139	158	-19	5	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	Cancelled
2021	Eastern	6th	16	10	0	6	360	332	+28	8	48	-	-	-	-	-	-	Did not qualify
2022	Eastern	1st	16	13	0	3	454	328	+126	8	62	1	0	1	16	24	-8	Lost Conference Final (Rugby New York) 16–24
2023	Eastern	1st	16	14	0	2	556	273	+283	12	68	2	2	0	50	31	+19	Won Conference Final (Old Glory DC) 25-7 Won Major League Rugby final San Diego Legion 25-24
2024	Eastern	1st	16	11	0	5	463	344	+88	--	55	2	2	0	43	28	+15	Won Conference Final (Chicago Hounds)23-17 Won Major League Rugby final Seattle Seawolves 20-11
Totals			69	49	0	20	1972	1435	+537	33	242	5	4	1	109	83	+26	3 postseason appearances

Coach	Nationality	Start	End	Games	Win	Loss	Draw	Win %
Josh Smith	United States United States	October 19, 2018	July 28, 2020	5	1	4	0	20.0
Ryan Martin	New Zealand New Zealand	July 28, 2020	July 18, 2021	16	10	6	0	62.5
Scott Mathie	South Africa South Africa	September 9, 2021	August 17, 2024	54	43	11	0	79.6
Ryan Martin	New Zealand New Zealand	November 1, 2024	present	16	10	6	0	62.5

All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings; the team played to a record of 1–7, losing their first seven games and winning their final match of the season.

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
October 20, 2018	Ontario Arrows	Away	Wanderers Grounds	Lost, 14–40
December 1, 2018	Rugby United New York	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Lost, 35–38
February 9, 2019	Utah Warriors	Away	Zions Bank Training Center	Lost, 15–70
March 16, 2019	Connacht A [9]	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Lost, 7–38
March 24, 2019	Ulster A [9]	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Lost, 15–43
April 6, 2019	Munster A [9]	Home	Irish Cultural Centre GAA Field	Lost, 19–38
April 14, 2019	Leinster A [9]	Home	Harvard Mignone Field	Lost, 12–55
May 18, 2019	Toronto Arrows	Home	Brophy Field at Dartmouth's Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse	Postponed
June 1, 2019	Lansdowne F.C.	Home	Irish Cultural Centre GAA Field	Won, 46–29

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.^[10] Seven days later, MLR announced that the season was officially cancelled.^[11] The Free Jacks finished the short season 9th in the MLR, 6th in the Eastern Conference.^[12]

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
January 18	New England Independents	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 39–7
January 18	New England Independents	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 84–21

The team accrued a 1–4 record before the season was halted.

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
February 8	Rugby United New York	Home	Sam Boyd Stadium	Won, 34–14
February 15	Utah Warriors	Away	Sam Boyd Stadium	Lost, 33–39
February 23	San Diego Legion	Away	Torero Stadium	Lost, 21–30
February 29	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Starfire Sports	Lost, 29–44
March 7	NOLA Gold	Away	The Gold Mine	Lost, 22–31
March 14	Houston SaberCats	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled
March 22	Rugby ATL	Away	Life University Running Eagles Stadium	Cancelled
April 5	Colorado Raptors	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled
April 10	Toronto Arrows	Away	TBD	Cancelled
April 18	Old Glory DC	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled
April 25	NOLA Gold	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled
May 1	Rugby United New York	Away	MCU Park	Cancelled
May 9	Austin Gilgronis	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled
May 16	Toronto Arrows	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled
May 24	Old Glory DC	Away	Cardinal Stadium	Cancelled
May 30	Rugby ATL	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Cancelled

The Free Jacks' first game of the 2021 season was played on March 20, facing LA Giltinis in Los Angeles.^[13]

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
March 20	LA Giltinis	Away	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Lost, 27–42
March 27	Houston SaberCats	Away	Aveva Stadium	Won, 32-0
April 3	Utah Warriors	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 22-21
April 17	NOLA Gold	Away	Shrine on Airline	Lost, 30-29
April 25	Old Glory DC	Away	Segra Field	Lost, 29-35
May 1	San Diego Legion	Away	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Won, 33-17
May 8	Austin Gilgronis	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 22-18
May 15	Rugby ATL	Away	Life University	Lost, 18-33
May 23	Rugby United New York	Away	Cochrane Stadium	Lost, 19-29
May 29	Toronto Arrows	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 14-12
June 6	Old Glory DC	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 38-34
June 13	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 25-21
June 27	NOLA Gold	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Lost, 9-17
July 3	Rugby United New York	Home	Union Point Sports Complex	Won, 22-6
July 11	Toronto Arrows	Away	Life University	Won, 28-17
July 18	Rugby ATL	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 22-19

Source:^[14]

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
February 5	New Orleans Gold	Away	Gold Mine on Airline	Won, 24-13
February 18	Old Glory DC	Away	Segra Field	Won, 41-25
February 27	LA Giltinis	Away	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Lost, 15-19
March 6	Rugby New York	Away	John F. Kennedy Stadium	Won, 38-29
March 12	Toronto Arrows	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 21-15
March 19	Austin Gilgronis	Away	Bold Stadium	Won, 25-17
March 26	Rugby ATL	Away	Silverbacks Park	Won, 41-27
April 2	New Orleans Gold	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 33-29
April 9	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 24-22
April 24	Rugby New York	Away	John F. Kennedy Stadium	Won, 29-26
April 30	Utah Warriors	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 33-17
May 7	Old Glory DC	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 26-20
May 13	Rugby ATL	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 15-10
May 19	Toronto Arrows	Away	York Lions Stadium	Lost, 18-33
May 29	New Orleans Gold	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 57-5
June 3	Rugby New York	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Lost, 14-21

Source:^[15]

Round	Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Venue	Result
East Conference Finals	June 19	Rugby New York	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Lost, 16–24

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
February 8	Houston SaberCats	Away	SaberCats Stadium	L, 21-34

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
February 17	New Orleans Gold	Away	The Gold Mine	W, 36-12
February 26	San Diego Legion	Away	Snapdragon Stadium	L, 12-29
March 11	Old Glory DC	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 34-31
March 19	Rugby New York	Away	Memorial Field	W, 33-18
March 25	Dallas Jackals	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 10-9
March 31	Utah Warriors	Away	Zions Bank Stadium	L, 24-26
April 8	Chicago Hounds	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 31-19
April 15	Toronto Arrows	Away	York Lions Stadium	W, 80-5
April 22	Rugby ATL	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 23-13
April 30	Rugby New York	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 8-0
May 14	Old Glory DC	Away	Segra Field	W, 42-12
May 21	New Orleans Gold	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 50-3
May 27	Toronto Arrows	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 57-20
June 2	Rugby ATL	Away	Silverbacks Park	W, 35-14
June 11	Seattle Seawolves	Away	Starfire Stadium	W, 34-26
June 18	Houston SaberCats	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 47-24

Round	Date	Opponent	Location	Result
East Conference Finals	July 1, 2023	Old Glory DC	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 25-7
MLR Grand Final	July 8, 2023	San Diego Legion	SeatGeek Stadium	W, 25-24

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
January 22	Dallas Jackals	Neutral	SaberCats Stadium	L, 22-24

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Location	Result
March 3	Anthem RC	Away	American Legion Memorial Stadium	W, 46-13
March 9	Old Glory DC	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	L, 34-35
March 16	New Orleans Gold	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 27-21
March 24	Chicago Hounds	Away	SeatGeek Stadium	W, 22-17
April 6	Miami Sharks	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 25-3
April 13	Houston SaberCats	Away	SaberCats Stadium	W, 47-35
April 20	Seattle Seawolves	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	L, 21-29
April 28	RFC Los Angeles	Away	Dignity Health Sports Park	W, 34-12
May 5	Chicago Hounds	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	L, 20-26
May 19	San Diego Legion	Away	Snapdragon Stadium	W, 24-23
May 25	Miami Sharks	Away	Chase Stadium	L, 15-13
June 2	Dallas Jackals	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 26-24
June 8	Old Glory DC	Away	Maryland SoccerPlex	W, 31-30
June 16	Utah Warriors	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 36-27
June 22	New Orleans Gold	Away	Gold Mine on Airline	L, 17-27
June 29	Anthem RC	Home	Veterans Memorial Stadium	W, 40-7

Round	Date	Opponent	Location	Result
East Conference Semifinals	July 20, 2024	Old Glory DC	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 33-29
East Conference Final	July 27, 2024	Chicago Hounds	Veterans Memorial Stadium	Won, 23-17
Championship	August 4, 2024	Seattle Seawolves	Snapdragon Stadium	Won, 20-11

On May 7, 2021, the Free Jacks announced a mascot, Woodgy, a furry blue creature with rugby headband tape who wears Free Jacks rugby kit.^[16]

On January 8, 2020, the Free Jacks announced that they would compete in two preseason matches against the New England Independents, a brand new select team of local All-Star talent representing eight clubs throughout New England.^[17] Adam Zilcoski, of the Boston Irish Wolfhounds, was selected as the head coach.

Squad for 2020 Major League Rugby Preseason:^{[18] [19]}

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Blades Shields Hooker United States United States David McKenna Prop United States United States Kyle Ciquera Prop United States United States Sean Moran Prop United States United States Timmy O’Connor Lock United States United States Cody Davidowicz Lock United States United States Ryan Hargraves Flanker United States United States Paul Taylor Flanker United States United States Cam Davidowicz Number 8 United States United States

Player Position Union Ian Luciano Scrum-half Australia Australia Andrew Menton Fly-half United States United States Adnan Kawuma Centre United States United States Jared Collinson Centre United States United States Brad Patterson Wing United States United States Andrew Marshall Wing United States United States David Buchanan Fullback United States United States

Club	Region
the Alarm	Boston
Champs	Champlain
Cobblers	North Shore
Granite Hammers	Southern New Hampshire
Lightfoots	Western MA
Mutineers	Rhode Island
Night Watch	Upper CT
Pathfinders	Central MA
Pine Rioters	Southern Vermont & New Hampshire
River Rangers	Upper Valley
the Sea Serpents	Maine Seacoast
Silver Sharks	South Shore
Whistle Punks	New England North

^[20]

The Junior Jacks are the youth academy level for the Free Jacks.

• Official website Edit this at Wikidata

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