MATCH PREVIEW

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS VS Toronto Arrows

New England Free Jacks (5-2) vs Toronto Arrows (1-6)

When: Saturday, Apr 15, 2023 6pm EST

Where: York Lions Stadium, Toronto, Ontario 

Watch: NBC Sports Boston (7pm tape delay), The Rugby Network (6pm)

The Free Jacks look to retain their position atop the Eastern Conference as they travel north to face the Arrows after a convincing 31-19 win at home against the Chicago Hounds last week.

The team will look to improve their 2-2 road record so far this season.

Amongst the squad, the most noticeable changes are the return of both Conor Keys and Wian Conradie back from suspension, and Jayson Potroz back in the 10 jersey after a one-week hiatus. Taniela Filimone and Spencer Jones keep their spots on the wing and at fullback respectively, while Le Roux Malan and Paula Balekana make the starting lineup after their stellar contributions from the bench last week. This will be the first start of the season for Malan, coming back from a broken thumb.

Off of the bench, two familiar faces for Free Jacks fans, Reegan O’Gorman and Slade McDowall, will be making the 23-man squad for the first time this season after returning from injury.

The Free Jacks will look to widen the gap in the Eastern Conference standings between them and the 2nd place New York Ironworkers.

Scouting

The Toronto Arrows currently sit at 1 – 6, but are coming off of one of their best performances of the season where they fell short to the Ironworkers in a 27 – 29 thriller last weekend.

Former Canada Sevens player D’Shawn Bowen, who was recently signed by the team, led the charge with 3 impressive tries that earned him a spot on the MLR team of the week. 

Look for scrum-half Ross Braude and Sam Malcolm to set the tempo for this fast-paced Arrows attack as they look to once again upset the 1st placed Free Jacks in Toronto as they did in 2022.

All time against Toronto

3-1

New England Roster 

1. Kyle Ciquera
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Cole Keith
4. Jesse Parete
5. Conor Keys
6. Joe Johnston
7. Mitch Jacobson
8. Wian Conradie
9. John Poland
10. Jayson Potroz
11. Paula Balekana
12. Le Roux Malan
13. Ben LeSage
14. Taniela Filimone
15. Spencer Jones
16. Mills Sanerivi
17. Foster Dewitt
18. Tevita Sole
19. Reegan O’Gorman
20. Cam Davidowicz
21. Holden Yungert
22. Isaac Olson
23. Slade McDowall

Free Jacks Rugby Staff: 

• Tom Kindley (General Manager) 
• Scott Mathie (Head Coach) 
• Mike Rogers (Assistant Coach) 
• Will Webster (Assistant Coach) 
• Javier Martin (Team Manager)
• George Petrakos (Head Physical Performance Coach) 
• Ricci Persico (Assistant Physical Performance Coach)
• Colton Bennett (Analyst) 
• Mike Buonopane (Head of Medical)
• Adam Thomas (Assistant AT/PT)

Toronto Roster:

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