NEWS

New England Free Jacks beat Chicago Hounds 23-17 in Eastern Conference Final

Free Jacks defend Eastern Conference crown, advance to  MLR Championship for second-consecutive year

QUINCY, Mass. (July 27, 2024) – The New England Free Jacks captured a second-straight Eastern Conference Championship, defeating the Chicago Hounds, 23-17, in the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday.

With the win, the Free Jacks, the reigning Major League Rugby champions, advance to the 2024 MLR Championship at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego where they will take on the winner of Sunday’s Western Conference Final between the Dallas Jackals and Seattle Seawolves. The Free Jacks used several defensive stands and key breakaway rushes to survive and advance.

How It Happened

Both teams went scoreless in the game’s first 19 minutes, which were defined by kicks and a jostle for field position. The New England defense thwarted a multi-stage effort at the line in the 13th minute, and, a minute later, it forced a turnover two meters from the tryline after a Chicago scrum. New England’s Reece Macdonald opened up the scoring with a try set up by a Paula Balekana offload. Macdonald would score again minutes later, beating defenders as he rushed three-quarters of the pitch to double the score. The Hounds found the scoreboard late in the half, as Adriaan Carelse broke a long run and offloaded to a streaking Nate Augsperger for a try that brought Chicago within a score entering halftime, 10-7.

New England’s Jayson Potroz found the uprights early in the second half to extend the Free Jack lead after missing each of his earlier kicks. Conner Keys picked up a yellow card in the 54th minute after slapping the ball in the ruck, setting up an easy penalty kick goal for Chicago’s  Luke Carty. As Keys spent 10 minutes in the sin bin, Potroz capitalized on a Chicago penalty to extend the Free Jack lead. Following a New England penalty, the Hounds went straight to the maul, which propelled Dylan Fawsitt to reach the tryline and give Chicago its first lead after Carty converted the ensuing kick. Andrew Quattrin would score the game’s final points and deciding try, giving the Free Jacks a lead with under eight minutes remaining

What’s Next

Chicago finishes the season, 9-8-1, marking a historic campaign in the franchise’s second season. The Hounds finished third in the Eastern Conference, earning its first playoff bid before beating the NOLA Gold in the Eastern Conference Semifinal for the team’s first playoff victory.

New England improves to 13-5-0 with the victory, securing a second-straight MLR Championship appearance. The 2024 MLR Championship will be broadcast on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 4:00 p.m. (ET) on FOX, and tickets are available at Major League Rugby’s website.

Scoring Breakdown

(NE, 19’) R. Macdonald Try (J. Potroz conversion kick attempt failed), NE leads 5-0

(NE, 23’) R. Macdonald Try, (J. Potroz conversion kick attempt failed), NE leads 10-0

(CHI, 40’) N. Augspurger Try, (Carty conversion kick), NE leads 10-7

(NE, 46’) J. Potroz Penalty Kick Goal, NE leads 13-7

(CHI, 54’) L. Carty Penalty Kick Goal, NE leads 13-10

(NE, 59’) J. Potroz Penalty Kick Goal, NE leads 16-10

(CHI, 65’) D. Fawsitt Try, (Carty conversion kick), CHI leads 17-16

(NE, 72’) A. Quattrin Try, (J. Potroz conversion kick), NE leads 23-17

Post-Game Sound Bites

New England Free Jacks Fullback Reece MacDonald on the post-game emotions…

The boys are just pumped. An unbelievable effort from the full team. The support is amazing; it really gets behind us, the boys. Just stoked, just happy.

On the atmosphere…

You can hear the chants going off when you’re warming up, when you’re in the changing room. It just lifts the boys. They get behind every player; they have their own chants. So proud to play in front of them.

New England Free Jacks Head Coach Scott Mathie on the best way to describe post-match feelings…

Like we spoke about earlier before the game, being grateful. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my lord and savior Jesus Christ. We had a baby girl a couple weeks ago, my wife has sacrificed so much, and these players and staff have given so much to this experience today. We can only sit back and be grateful for all we have, and I think that’s the main thing for me – is being so grateful for these guys and these people that I’ve been on this journey with. It’s been awesome.

On the key to today’s victory…

It all goes back to the connection of this group. They are really tight; they have a lot of care for each other. I can speak about x’s and o’s and all of that stuff, but I genuinely believe it’s the love they have for each other and the willingness to trust each other when it gets a bit dark out there. I think it’s been like that the whole year. We’ve had to face a lot of adversity this year as a team, and to be able to stick in there, grind it out, it speaks volumes of what these boys do every day.

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