Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Postseason hopes are on the line when Anthem hosts the Free Jacks in Charlotte on Saturday night. A loss would make it very difficult for either to reach the final four, a win keeps the door ajar. The home side are also chasing a first-ever win against New England.
| FORM GUIDE |
6th, 2-5-0, Lost 4
05/17 – Seawolves 57 vs 21 Anthem (Tukwila)
05/10 – Hounds 61 vs 26 Anthem (Bridgeview)
04/26 – Free Jacks 38 vs 26 Anthem (Quincy)
04/18 – Anthem 14 vs 31 Old Glory (Charlotte)
04/12 – Anthem 34 vs 25 Seawolves (Charlotte)
04/04 – Anthem 19 vs 33 Hounds (Charlotte)
03/28 – Legion 26 vs 39 Anthem (Irvine)
5th, 2-5-0, Lost 1
05/17 – Old Glory 24 vs 23 Free Jacks (Fairfax)
05/09 – Free Jacks 26 vs 21 Legion (Quincy)
05/03 – Free Jacks 11 vs 27 Seawolves (Quincy)
04/26 – Free Jacks 38 vs 26 Anthem (Quincy)
04/19 – Hounds 50 vs 26 Free Jacks (Nashville)
04/11 – Free Jacks 19 vs 21 Old Glory (Quincy)
04/04 – Legion 43 vs 5 Free Jacks (San Diego)
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Alessandro Heaney | Payton Telea-Ilalio |
| 6 | Moni Tonga’uiha | Will Sherman |
| 9 | Karl Keane | Zion Going |
| 11 | Erich Storti | Dom Akina |
|
IN | OUT |
| 3 | Filipe Vakasiuola | Maliu Niuafe |
| 4 | Ollie Aylmer | Piers von Dadelszen |
| 5 | Tayne Hemopo | Reuben Palmer |
| 14 | Nathan Salmon | Harrison Boyle |
| NOTES |
- Injured / unavailable – (Anthem) Ramiro Gurovich, James Scott, Will Leonard; (Free Jacks) Tevita Sole, Harrison Boyle
- Alessandro Heaney gets a first start in Anthem colors… the 23-year-old was a frequent starter with LA last season and played with Cornish Pirates in the months between the two MLR campaigns… Heaney is US-born but was raised abroad and represented Ireland Students against France Universities in 2022
- Karl Keane gets a first start at scrumhalf… he stepped in as an emergency flyhalf against Old Glory in Round 4… the 25-year-old was at the Eagles alignment camp earlier this year but was not named in this week’s longlist
- Julian Roberts continues his merry-go-round in the Anthem backline and will switch to outside center this week… fellow utility back Erich Storti will line up on the left wing
- Ryan Martin has opted to refresh his Free Jacks forwards with three changes to the tight five… it’s the first New England lineup of the campaign without Canadian international Piers von Dadelszen at lock
- Eagles powerhouse Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz is set to make his New England debut as a replacement… the big No8 returns from a five month stint in the French Pro D2 with Narbonne
- US-born flyhalf or fullback Cam Gerlach is set for his Free Jacks debut… the 30-year-old made two appearances with LA last season before switching to Anthem
| PREDICTION |
Cloudy and damp conditions shouldn’t have a major impact, but might lean slightly towards the visitors. Anthem’s trajectory has been downwards since their promising opening, and the absence of key forwards Ramiro Gurovich and James Scott is significant. The Free Jacks have improved but are still searching for a convincing performance. Coach Martin will be hoping the arrival of Fa’anana-Schultz can spur his charges to greater heights. New England are slight favorites on the road in Charlotte.
| TEAMS |
ANTHEM RC
1 Alessandro Heaney, 2 Campbell Robb, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Johan Momsen (co-capt.), 5 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Marques Fuala’au, 8 Makeen Alikhan, 9 Karl Keane, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Erich Storti, 12 Tom Pittman, 13 Julian Roberts, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 Elias Garza, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Will Sherman, 20 Baden Godfrey, 21 Zion Going, 22 Dom Akina, 23 Malacchi Esdale
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Nate Sylvia, 2 Sione Tupou, 3 Filipe Vakasiuola, 4 Ollie Aylmer, 5 Tayne Hemopo, 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Jacob Norris, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Wayne van der Bank, 12 Kienan Higgins, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Nathan Salmon, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Kaleb Geiger, 17 Kyle Ciquera, 18 Maliu Niuafe, 19 Alex Mackenzie, 20 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Killian Coghlan, 23 Cameron Gerlach
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, May 23
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 19:00 local (16:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: cloudy with showers, 68°F (20°C), wind E 4-6 mph (6-9 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), WCCB Charlotte (Local), NBC Sports Boston (Local)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Federico Anselmi (Argentina) & Amelia Luciano (USA)
TMO: n/a
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (4) – Free Jacks 4, Anthem 0
2026-04-26 – New England Free Jacks 38, Anthem RC 26 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
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)
