The New England Free Jacks are poised to win their third consecutive national championship after defeating the Chicago Hounds 21–20 in the Major League Rugby playoff quarterfinals.
The Free Jacks’ main theme throughout the season has been the potential for a third title, which would be the first in MLR.
Coach Ryan Martin stated, “Instead of running away and pretending it doesn’t exist, we’ve kind of embraced it.” The rule of three has been a part of our vocabulary, visuals, and physicals since day one, and we’re unconsciously addressing the chance for a three-peat.
The team thinks that experience will be their finest teacher in capturing the next MLR shield, and the Free Jacks are 13-5. New England defeated San Diego in the 2023 championship game and Seattle in the 2024 final.
The weight of the moment poised on the edge of history was the major focus of one of the Free Jacks’ final workouts of the season.
“A lot of what you can do in rugby is done and dusted because we’ve been together for six months,” he added, adding that it’s just the emotion and sense of being new.
At Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the Free Jacks will play the Houston SaberCats in the MLR championship on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. It will be broadcast on ESPN+ and ESPN2.
According to general manager Tom Kindley, the team has the finest opportunity to engage with the community that inspires it because all of its playoff games are played in Quincy, and the championship game is held in Pawtucket.
He said, “There’s so much more access.” It’s huge for us because we have some players from New England, and they have hundreds of fans attending the game.
Kyle Ciquera, the 2022 Most Improved Player, hails from Putnam, Connecticut, and is one of those players. New England won the semifinals thanks to his try against the Chicago Hounds.
Being a Boston sports champion and sitting among teams like the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox is a childhood fantasy, he said.
“It feels great to be growing up in the area and kind of be in those same conversations,” he said.
According to Kindley, the team should be given the same level of recognition for its contributions to the area as Boston’s most well-liked teams.
According to him, it’s getting more and more usual to establish that [famous] and keep expanding our reach and the number of people who are aware of the Free Jacks. All we have to do is continue in our linear fashion.
New England defeated Houston 36–17 in May, the Free Jacks’ most recent meeting with the SaberCats.
Martin stated that out-strategizing the SaberCats is the key to winning. According to him, they are more formidable than the Free Jacks, which will be problematic if the defense lets Houston get ahead.
