MLR 2026 – New England Free Jacks vs Anthem RC – ARN Guide

The only team yet to win this season will look to break out of their slump in Quincy on Sunday. But it’s not Anthem who has emerged slowly out of the gates. The defending champion Free Jacks are still searching for their identity after an off-season rebuild, and the New England faithful will hope their presence can inspire their charges to a brighter performance.

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
2	Sione Tupou	Kaleb Geiger
3	Filipe Vakasiuola	Maliu Niuafe
5	Reuben Palmer	Ollie Aylmer
6	Bailey Wilson	Tayne Hemopo
11	Killian Coghlan	Harrison Boyle
12	Kienan Higgins	Ben LeSage

	IN	OUT
2	Ramiro Gurovich	Campbell Robb
7	Makeen Alikhan	Will Sherman
10	Luke Carty	Karl Keane
12	Tom Pittman	Will Leonard
14	Malacchi Esdale	Conner Mooneyham

MLR DEBUTS

	PLAYER	PREVIOUS CLUB
5	Reuben Palmer	Dunedin RFC (NZ)

NOTES

• Injured / unavailable – (Free Jacks) Joe Johnston, Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, Ben LeSage; (Anthem) James Scott, Junior Gafa, Will Leonard, Conner Mooneyham, Jordan Trainor
• with Joe Johnston injured and Ben LeSage suspended, Wayne van der Bank will captain the Free Jacks for the first time, with Jacob Norris acting as pack leader
• Reuben Palmer makes his pro debut for New England… the giant lock was part of the Highlanders development program in Otago… fellow New Zealanders Sione Tupou and Filipe Vakasiuola get their first starts after coming off the bench in the last three matches
• Ramiro Gurovich gets his first start for Anthem after four replacement appearances… the Argentina XV select is the third player to start at hooker for the club this season along with Campbell Robb and Seth Smith
• Luke Carty is fit to resume duty at flyhalf for Anthem… he was a late withdrawal from last week’s loss to Old Glory, with Karl Keane stepping in at No10 instead of his usual scrumhalf spot
• it’s more reshuffling in the Anthem backline to cover injury and also suspension in the case of Jordan Trainor… Erich Storti and Julian Roberts will soon have starts at center, wing, and fullback this year

PREDICTION

Mild conditions are on the forecast, with a chance of some sun poking through the clouds. The Free Jacks are still finding their feet but it’s now or never with the season already inching towards its midpoint. Some added beef to the tight five will help, as will the hometown support. Anthem struggled without Carty steering the ship last week. They’ll have to win the collisions up front to release their dangerous backline. It’s a very close call, but surely the champions will show some life on Sunday. New England are slight favorites at home in Quincy.

TEAMS

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Nate Sylvia, 2 Sione Tupou, 3 Filipe Vakasiuola, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Reuben Palmer, 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Jacob Norris, 8 Alex Mackenzie, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Killian Coghlan, 12 Kienan Higgins, 13 Wayne van der Bank (capt.), 14 Nathan Salmon, 15 Mitch Wilson

Replacements: 16 Kaleb Geiger, 17 Tevita Sole, 18 Maliu Niuafe, 19 Ollie Aylmer, 20 Braemar Murray, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Tevita Mapa, 23 Harrison Boyle

ANTHEM RC
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Ramiro Gurovich, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Sam Golla (capt.), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Baden Godfrey, 9 Zion Going, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Erich Storti, 12 Tom Pittman, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Malacchi Esdale, 15 Julian Roberts

Replacements: 16 Campbell Robb, 17 Alessandro Heaney, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 20 Marques Fuala’au, 21 Karl Keane, 22 EJ Freeman, 23 Will Sherman

MATCH INFO

Date: Sunday, April 26
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 16:00 local (13:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 55°F (13°C), wind E 8-13 mph (14-21 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), NBC Sports Boston (Local), WCCB Charlotte (Local)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
TMO: n/a

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) – Free Jacks 3, Anthem 0
2025-04-18 – Anthem RC 6, New England Free Jacks 26 (American Legion Stadium)
2024-06-29 – New England Free Jacks 40, Anthem RC 7 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2024-03-03 – Anthem RC 13, New England Free Jacks 46 (American Legion Stadium)