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The New England Free Jacks tore up the form guide with a defiant 32-0 shutout of the Houston SaberCats at AVEVA Stadium on Saturday evening. After surviving eight minutes with two men off the field in the first half the visitors scored three tries in a 15-minute second half salvo to claim the bonus point victory.
A try for Free Jacks hooker Pieter Jansen just a minute into the match was the worst possible start for Houston. They recovered somewhat and piled on the pressure but couldn’t convert points as Saw Windsor was off target on two kickable penalty attempts.
The second miss came immediately after Harrison Boyle was sent to the bin for what was deemed a dangerous tackle. Just two minutes later the referee brandished yellow again, this time to captain Josh Larsen for a breakdown offense leaving New England down to just 13 men.
Houston came close to the line on two occasions only to be turned over by outstanding Free Jacks flanker Joe Johnston. New England cleared and when the SaberCats regained possession they surprisingly kicked the ball back despite the significant overlap advantage.
Another goal line stand to end the half yielded no points for the home side, and the two teams ran into the change rooms with the score still 5-nil in favor of the visitors.
First to score in the second half was the Free Jacks. Poasa Waqanibau sent a cheeky grubber in behind the defense and Dougie Fife showed brilliant footballing skills to control the bouncing ball with his boot and touch down for a try. John Poland had missed his earlier attempt but made good to make it a 10-0 game.
There was more magic in store from New England. Harrison Boyle’s cross-kick was inch-perfect to Mitch Wilson, and the winger popped from the deck to an onrushing Justin Johnson. Poland was again on target from a difficult angle, adding a penalty soon after.
Any hopes of a comeback ended when Fife snatched a loose ball deep in his own end to sprint the length of the field for a seven-pointer. With Poland now off the pitch Wilson stepped up for a 70th minute penalty to close out the scoring.
Both teams will be in action next Saturday. The Free Jacks will celebrate their long-awaited home opener against the Utah Warriors. For Houston it’s another challenge as the Texas Cup goes up for grabs at Bold Stadium where the Austin Gilgronis await.
SCORING
HOUSTON 0
Pens – S. Windsor 0/2
Yellow cards – C. Connolly (53’)
NEW ENGLAND 32
Tries – P. Jansen (1’), D. Fife 2 (48’, 63’), J. Johnson (54’)
Cons – J. Poland 2/3 (49’, 55’), No kick (63’)
Pens – J. Poland 1/1 (58’), M. Wilson 1/1 (70’)
Yellow cards – H. Boyle (15’), J. Larsen (17’), K. Ciquera (72’)
TEAMS
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra (16 Valdemar Lee-Lo 49’), 2 Tiaan Erasmus (17 Diego Fortuny 46’), 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili (18 Charlie Connolly 49’), 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Van Stewart (19 Lucas Albornoz 66’), 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Diego Magno, 8 Adriaan Booysen (3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili 57’-63’) (20 Bronson Teles 64’), 9 Jinho Mun (21 Zachary Short 68’), 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Zack Godfrey (22 Robbie Povey 68’), 12 Gabe Farley, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Matías Freyre
Not used: 23 Max Tacket
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Sef Fa’agase (18 Kyle Ciquera 64’), 2 Pieter Jansen (16 Vili Toluta’u 64’), 3 Erich de Jager (17 Kensuke Hatakeyama 61’), 4 Josh Larsen (capt.) (20 Conor Kindregan 66’), 5 Jackson Thiebes (19 Ronan McCusker 49’), 6 Justin Johnson (22 Evan Geist 64’), 7 Joe Johnston (4 Josh Larsen 70’-71’) (1 Sef Fa’agase 72’), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland (21 Ollie Engelhart 66’), 10 Harrison Boyle, 11 Harry Barlow (23 Danny Collins 64’), 12 Aleki Morris-Lome, 13 Poasa Waqanibau, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Dougie Fife
Note: 4 Josh Larsen illegally replaced 7 Joe Johnston at 70’ and was recalled to the bench at 71’. Johnston did not return with 1 Sef Fa’agase instead taking his place at 72’ when 18 Kyle Ciquera was yellow carded.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Joey Swatzell (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
