New England Free Jacks win third straight Major League Rugby championship
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Magleby compared the club, which was formed in 2018 and began MLR play in 2020, to other legendary Boston teams over the decades.
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'The fact that the league now has this story to tell — it's kind of New England versus the world,' said Magleby. 'How cool is that?'
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS 🏆
28-22
📺 ESPN2 |
— Major League Rugby (@usmlr)
The Free Jacks (14-5) never trailed Saturday, a penalty kick from fly-half Dan Hollinshead in the seventh minute putting them ahead for good. Houston (12-7) pulled even three minutes later and remained within 3 points for much of the match, but another Hollinshead penalty in the 58th minute made it 23-17.
That set the stage for the decisive try in the 69th. Wing Brock Webster caught the SaberCats defense off guard with a shuffle out wide to Paula Balekana, and the No. 2 try scorer in MLR this season turned on the jets and converted even as the Free Jacks were a man-down from a yellow card.
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'Dan Hollinshead really felt it was time to pull trigger,' said Webster, lauding his team's ability to make the risky play. 'When someone decides to pull trigger, we back them. Luckily, when I got the ball, Paula had quite a bit of space in front of him. That's a pretty easy guy to get the ball to and trust with the ball in his hands.'
As the Dropkick Murphys' 'The Boys are Back' blasted, Balekana was lifted in the air in the try zone. He extended his arms as the lyrics, 'And they're looking for glory' rang out.
'When you're playing with LeBron James, just get him the ball,' said Webster.
Hollinshead scored 13 points and Balekana two tries, but Webster was awarded Player of the Match after — in addition to setting up both tries — a flurry of productive plays and regularly putting his body on the line to advance the ball.
Not a bad finish for a player who didn't crack the starting 15 to begin the season.
'It's been the most incredible rise of a player that I've ever seen,' said first-year Free Jacks coach Ryan Martin.
Right after lifting the MLR shield, players circled the stadium, high-fiving the fans lined along the field.
'The amount of red, white, and blue — and the energy that they created for us, they get to share in something really special,' said Martin.
New England's Sam Caird (foreground) didn't shy from contact as he scored his try early in the second half on Saturday against Houston.
Davey Wilson/Major League Rugby
An announced crowd of more than 5,700 at Centreville Bank Stadium was heavily skewed toward supporting the Free Jacks.
Davey Wilson/Major League Rugby
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