MLR 2024: New England Free Jacks vs Miami Sharks – ARN Guide

The defending champion Free Jacks are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Sharks for the first time at Fort Quincy. New England carried back-to-back wins into their bye week, while Miami fell to San Diego at home after recording their first franchise win over Anthem.

CURRENT STANDINGS

3-1-0 (W2) East 1st

1-4-0 (L1) East 5th

LINEUP CHANGES

7 Seta Baker replaces Martín Sigren
12 Le Roux Malan replaces Wayne van der Bank
16 Mason Koch replaces Sean Ralph
20 Mitch Jacobson replaces Cam Davidowicz

6 Tomás Casares replaces Roelof Smit
9 Tomás Cubelli replaces Tomas Inciarte
13 Tomás Inciarte replaces Guiseppe du Toit
14 Avery Oitomen replaces Santiago Videla
19 Michael Etete replaces David Beach
21 Damian Morley replaces Nicolás Elewaut
23 Guiseppe du Toit replaces Avery Oitomen

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(11) – Quattrin, Keith, Larsen, Keys, von Dadelszen, LeSage, Baillie (Canada), Conradie, Malan (Namibia), Geiger, Wilson (USA)

(7) – Myhill, Evans (Wales), Bonasso (USA), Cubelli (Argentina), Etcheverry, Inciarte (Uruguay), Grigg (Scotland)

CLUB DEBUTS

(1) – Killian Coghlan*

(0) – n/a

* – MLR debut

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– John-Roy Jenkinson (TH), John Poland (SH)

– Reinaldo Piussi (TH), Manuel Ardao (FL/N8), Shane O’Leary (FH/FB), Santiago Videla (WI/FB)

NOTES

• the Free Jacks welcome back star midfielder Le Roux Malan for the first time this season… he has recovered from a long-term lower leg injury suffered while playing for Namibia against New Zealand during the 2023 World Cup in France
• Mitch Jacobson is also back in action for New England… his late arrival was expected and gave opportunities to newcomers Seta Baker and Piers von Dadelszen on the flank… Jacobson captained the Free Jacks to the title last year after Josh Larsen’s season-ending injury
• Killian Coghlan is still awaiting his MLR debut… the 23-year-old outside back was named on the Free Jacks bench last week but did not get on the pitch
• Miami remain without key forwards Reinaldo Piussi and Manuel Ardao but do welcome back regular captain Tomás Cubelli… Tomás Inciarte returns to the midfield after filling on at scrumhalf
• with Piussi out the Sharks again start Alec McDonnell at No3… Tevita Sole is the backup tighthead prop, notable because he is currently on loan from the Free Jacks
• Tomás Casares returns to the lineup and will start in the back row for the first time… he was on the Free Jacks roster last year but did not make a regular season appearance
• there are two further Free Jacks connections on the Sharks roster… Stan van den Hoven was a regular starter for New England during the 2022 campaign, and Sean McNulty played for the club in 2020

PREDICTION

Both teams have opted for minimal changes to their lineups, but of the two the Free Jacks are closer to full strength with only a couple names missing. Miami have been competitive but are vulnerable in the scrum without Piussi and won’t enjoy the brisk conditions in Boston. The Free Jacks are hit by the loss of John Poland with a season-ending injury but have received a boost by the timely returns of Malan and Jacobson. New England are clear favorites at home.

LINEUPS

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Seta Baker, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Reece MacDonald

Replacements: 16 Mason Koch, 17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Kyle Baillie, 20 Mitch Jacobson, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Killian Coghlan, 23 Mitch Wilson

MIAMI SHARKS
1 Jonas Petrakopoulos, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Alec McDonnell, 4 Rick Rose, 5 Stan van den Hoven, 6 Tomás Casares, 7 Dan Pryor, 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 11 Marcos Young, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Tomás Inciarte, 14 Avery Oitomen, 15 Matías Freyre

Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Tevita Sole, 19 Michael Etete, 20 Chase Schor-Haskin, 21 Damian Morley, 22 Josh McAdam, 23 Guiseppe du Toit

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 6
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 16:30 local (13:30 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: light rain, 41°F (5°C), wind N 13-21mph (21-34km/h)
Broadcasts: Bally Sports Sun, NBC Sports Boston, The Rugby Network

OFFICIALS

Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Peter Pender (Canada) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
TMO: Amanda Cox (USA)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (0) – first match