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New England puts their seven-game win streak on the line when they head south to Miami on Friday night. The defending champions are back on the top of the overall standings, while the Sharks have turned things around after a poor start to the season with four wins out of their last five games.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
6-6-0 (W1) East 4th
9-3-0 (W7) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Federico Gutiérrez | Mauro Rebussone |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Tevita Sole | Kyle Ciquera |
| 2 | Connal McInerney | Andrew Quattrin |
| 3 | Kyle Steeves | Jone Koroiduadua |
| 4 | Josh Larsen | Sam Caird |
| 6 | Ethan Fryer | Jed Melvin |
| 8 | Wian Conradie | Piers von Dadelszen |
| 9 | John Poland | Cam Nordli-Kelemeti |
| 12 | Isaac Olson | Le Roux Malan |
| 13 | Killian Coghlan | Wayne van der Bank |
| 14 | Simon-Peter Toleafoa | Paula Balekana |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(12) – Myhill (Wales), Casares, Bonasso, McNulty (USA), Ardao, Inciarte (Uruguay), Cubelli, Orlando (Argentina), Morra, O’Leary, du Toit (Canada), Koloamatangi (Tonga)
(11) – McInerney (Australia), Steeves, Larsen, Fryer, Olson, Webster, DeWitt, Keys (Canada), Conradie, Malan (Namibia), Geiger (USA)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Reinaldo Piussi (TH), Santiago Videla (FH/FB), Tomás Malanos (WI/FB)
– Andrew Quattrin (HO), Jayson Potroz (FH), Paula Balekana (WI)
| PREDICTION |
Hot and humid conditions are expected at kickoff, which in theory should benefit the home side but it’s the visitors who have the stronger bench. It was the second half when the Free Jacks faltered on their last trip to Fort Lauderdale and they look intent on turning that around. Miami are certainly in better form than when they were blasted at Fort Quincy in April, but are yet to turn in a truly convincing 80-minute performance. New England are slight favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
MIAMI SHARKS
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Alec McDonnell, 4 Tomás Casares, 5 Federico Gutiérrez, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Benjamín Bonasso, 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Martín Elías, 11 Josiah Morra, 12 Tomás Cubilla, 13 Matías Orlando, 14 Marcos Young, 15 Shane O’Leary
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Tau Koloamatangi, 19 Braemar Murray, 20 Marques Fuala’au, 21 Tomás Inciarte, 22 Tomás Bekerman, 23 Guiseppe du Toit
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Tevita Sole, 2 Connal McInerney, 3 Kyle Steeves, 4 Josh Larsen, 5 Jerónimo Gómez Vara, 6 Ethan Fryer, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Dan Hollinshead, 11 Jack Reeves, 12 Isaac Olson, 13 Killian Coghlan, 14 Simon-Peter Toleafoa, 15 Brock Webster
Replacements: 16 Foster DeWitt, 17 Kyle Ciquera, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Jed Melvin, 21 Oscar Lennon, 22 Le Roux Malan, 23 Harrison Boyle
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Friday, May 16
Venue: Baptist Health Community Field, Fort Lauderdale
Kickoff: 19:30 local (16:30 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 84°F (29°C), wind SE 7-11mph (11-18km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fan Duel Florida, NBC Sports Boston, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Mike Lawrenson (USA)
Assistants: Peter Martin (Ireland) & Kye Martinovic (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) – New England 2, Miami 1
2025-04-06 – New England Free Jacks 43, Miami Sharks 6 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2024-05-25 – Miami Sharks 15, New England Free Jacks 13 (AutoNation Field)
2024-04-06 – New England Free Jacks 25, Miami Sharks 3 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
