History
On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Boston would be one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season. [2] That same day, the Boston club was announced as the New England Free Jacks through social media. The club was co-founded by Alex Magleby and Errik Anderson. Their first match was on October 20, 2018, against the Ontario Arrows at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early rosters from these matches included a mixture of veteran professional players from the disbanded PRO Rugby competition and top local talent from clubs such as the Boston Irish Wolfhounds and Mystic River.
Former NFL players Nate Ebner and Patrick Chung, who were teammates on the New England Patriots, are minority owners of the Free Jacks. [3] [4]
Josh Smith was hired as the team's first head coach in 2018. In 2019 the Free Jacks played a season full of exhibitions, going 1-7 in those games. In 2020, during their first official season, [5] they went 1-4 before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] During that year, Mitch Wilson scored the first trie in team history in a game vs New York. [7]
Smith did not come back for the 2021 season and was replaced by Ryan Martin. Martin led the Free Jacks to their first winning season; they finished 10-6 but missed the playoffs. Martin left after that season, and was replaced by Scott Mathie. [8]
Mathie coached the Free Jacks for the next three years and saw nothing but success. He led the team to a 13-3 record in his first year and secured the 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. This led to the Free Jacks' first playoff appearance and first appearance in the Eastern Conference Championship. Their season came to an end here though, losing to Rugby New York 24-16. At the end of the season Mathie was named coach of the year in 2022 and Beaudein Waaka was the first Free Jacks player to be named MLR player of the year.
Threepeat
The following year, the Free Jacks set a team record, going 14-2 in the 2023 season. This again gave them home field advantage for the Eastern Conference championship. The Free Jacks won their first conference title, beating Old Glory DC 25-7 and leading to their first appearance in the MLR championship. They faced the San Diego Legion at SeatGeek Stadium for the 2023 MLR championship. The game was neck and neck throughout, but Le Roux Malan scored the game winning try in the 76th minute, giving the Free Jacks the 25-24 victory and securing the first MLR championship in team history. [9] Jayson Potroz was subsequently named championship game MVP along with MLR player of the year after leading the league in points. [10] Wian Conradie was named forward of the year, the first player in team history to receive the honor. This capped off a historic season for the Free Jacks.
During the 2023 season, John Poland became the first player in club history to reach his 50th cap. [11]
Mathie led the Free Jacks to another title the following year. As in 2024, they went 11-5 and for the third year in a row received the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the Free Jacks met Old Glory DC 33-29, and then in the Eastern Conference championship beat the Chicago Hounds 23-17 to win their second consecutive conference title. They then headed to Snapdragon Stadium to play the Seattle Seawolves for the 2024 MLR championship, where they won by a 20-11 score, making them the second team in MLR history to win back to back titles. Jed Melvin was named the championship game MVP. Potroz again led the league in points, Reece MacDonald was named back of the year and Wayne van der Bank was the third Free Jacks player in a row to be named MLR player of the year. Mathie was named coach of the year for a second time. This was his final year though, as he left after the 2024 season, taking the job as attacks and backs coach at Edinburgh Rugby. [12]
In 2024 it was announced that former Free Jacks coach Ryan Martin would return as head coach for a second stint. [13]
During the 2025 season the Free Jacks got out to a slow start, starting the year 1-3 overall. However, coach Martin and the team turned things around, and ended the year with a 11-5 record, finishing first overall in the Eastern Conference for the 4th year in a row. They faced the Miami Sharks in the first round of the playoffs, beating them 32-10. They then faced the Chicago Hounds in the conference final, coming back from a 17-0 deficit, with Kyle Ciquera scoring the go ahead try in the 77th minute to win 21-20. They claimed the Eastern Conference championship for a third straight year. They then faced the Houston SaberCats in the 2025 Major League Rugby final. The Free Jacks had the lead for a majority of the match, ultimately winning 28-22, with Brock Webster being named the MVP of the match. This was the third straight MLR championship in a row for the Free Jacks. They were the first team in MLR history, and the first pro sports team in North America, to successfully compete a threepeat since 2002. [14] At the end of the season, Paula Balekana was named the MLR player of the year, making him the fourth Free Jacks player in a row to receive the award. Coach Ryan Martin would also receive the coach of the year award.
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