New England Edge Chicago to Win Eastern Conference; Seattle Victors Over Dallas in Western Conference Final.
Seattle and New England will meet in the MLR final. Seattle won the first two years of MLR championships after the league started, 2018 and 2019. New England are defending champions, 2023. The other two title winners are no longer in the league, LA Giltinis 2021, and Rugby New York 2022. The 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid.
New England 23 – Chicago 17
New England featured Andrew Quattrin at hooker, Kyle Baillie and Conor Keys in the second row, Piers von Dadelszen at blindside flanker, in the reserves were Cole Keith, Foster Dewitt, Josh Larsen, Ethan Fryer, Ben Lesage. Chicago had Mason Flesch starting at blindside flanker, in the reserves Lucas Rumball and Jason Higgins. Andrew Quattrin scored a try for New England.
MLR Report
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
Seattle 28 – Dallas 25
Reid Davis was in the reserves for Seattle. Dallas had Liam Murray at loosehead prop, Dewald Kotze at hooker, and Nic Benn on the wing, in the reserves were Kyle Steeves, Connor Grindal, and Brock Gallagher.
MLR Report
Ryan Rees’ last-gasp try helped the Seattle Seawolves win the Western Conference with a 28-25 victory against the Dallas Jackals.
The victory means that Allen Clarke’s team will play the New England Free Jacks in the Championship Final on Sunday, August 4.
In a blow-for-blow affair at Starfire Sports Complex, Divan Rossouw’s brilliance ultimately inspired the North Westerners to a fourth Championship.
A quick start for Agustin Cavalieri’s team saw Dallas take an early lead.
Winning a scrum penalty, the side kicked a penalty through scrum-half Juan Dee Oliver to quieten the normally ferocious Starfire crowd with just three minutes played.
When Seattle’s Mack Mason missed a penalty moments afterward, it provided more confidence for the visiting team.
The pressure helped propel the Texas club back into their hosts’ 22m.
A lineout drive came to nothing, but the calm thinking of Oliver to go against the grain and send the ball to Jeronimo Gomez Vara, who fired an offload to Nic Benn to score in the corner.
Oliver’s conversion from the right touchline offered the small traveling contingent from Fort Worth greater cause from applause, although that jubilation soon turned to nervousness.
After their slow start, the Seawolves could not be subdued for much longer.
As the home side built phases of possession and trundled toward the try line,
Dallas continually gave away penalties within 10 meters of their own try line. Eventually, the referee, Scott Green, saw no option but to send Juan Pablo Zeiss to the sin bin.
Within 30 seconds, the Argentine was joined by Makeen Alikhan on the sideline. The flanker dragged down Seattle’s maul, and a penalty try was awarded.
Following the water break, the Seawolves thought they had another try in the bag when Cameron Orr crossed the try line. However, his score was wiped off for Moni Ngakuru’s forward pass.
Even with two players down, Dallas found a way to keep on top.
A Martin Elias kick forward was mishandled by Sam Windsor and went forward into the arms of Conner Mooneyham. The accidental offside provided Oliver with another three points from the kicking tee.
Before half-time, more drama unfolded.
First, Ngakuru received a yellow card for a dangerous clear-out. Benn quickly took advantage of the extra space when Tomas Malanos offloaded to the wing in contact.
Joe Taufete’e registered Seattle’s second try of the game when he bulldozed beneath the posts, putting the teams six points apart at the break.
When each side was restored to its full numbers, the game became its most open and expansive.
On the stroke of 50 minutes, Seattle landed a hammer blow on the Jackals. Carries from Tavite Lopeti and Windsor put the Seawolves two meters out, a JP Smith show-and-go enough to offset the Jackals’ defenders and help the scrum-half stretch his body to score.
After the conversion, the home side took the lead for the first time in the game. Shortly after, if Smith had not fumbled the ball over the try line, they could have had another try.
A long-range Oliver penalty missed the mark for Dallas. But, like all season, the South African was the catalyst to help his team cross the whitewash again.
Kicking a nonchalant 50:22 allowed Dallas to drive Tomas Bekerman over for his fifth try of the season, giving Dallas a four-point lead with just over 10 minutes still to play. The conversion clattered against the uprights.
Despite that late fightback, Dallas was forced to leave Washington heartbroken.
When Divan Rossouw received the ball in his own half, the Namibia international found a soft shoulder, drove into the Jackals’ 22m, and offloaded to replacement scrum-half Rees, who scored the deciding try.
After Windsor’s conversion put a little more daylight between the teams, that Starfire roar was back in full force and helped the side lock up a date with the New England Free Jacks next week in San Diego.