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New England Free Jacks crowned back-to-back MLR champions

New England Free Jacks. (Source/MLR)

The New England Free Jacks have completed back-to-back MLR championships after beating Seattle Seawolves by 20-11 in San Diego at Snapdragon Stadium in front of 12,085 fans.

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A huge second half defensive effort by New England shut down the game, with reserve flanker Ethan Fryer coming up with match-winning cameo.

Kiwi pair 21-year-old prop Malakai Hala-Ngatai and openside flanker Jed Melvin were standouts for the Free Jacks pack in the first half.

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New England opened the scoring with a penalty goal to Potroz before a spectacular finish in the corner by inside centre Le Roux Malan built an 8-0 lead.

Ex-Waratahs and Australian flyhalf Mack Mason opened Seattle’s account with a penalty before Potroz added his second.

The two-time MLR champions responded half an hour into the game through hooker Joe Taufete’e, USA Eagle and 2019 nominee for World Rugby Player of the Year, who scored in the corner following a trick maul play.

New England Free Jacks added a penalty on half-time after a no arms tackle by Seattle extended their lead to 14-8.

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The two teams traded penalties to start the second half before a wave of attack from the Free Jacks led to a pivotal moment in the final.

Seawolves winger Toni Pulu completed a try saving effort on right wing Toby Fricker to prevent a sure try, forcing a foot into touch.

However, in the lead up Seattle inside centre Tavite Lopeti went high on his opposite number, earning a yellow card. Potroz added his fifth penalty for a 20-11 lead.

Down to 14 men the Seawolves rallied in the final quarter with a deep period of attack but a turnover by blindside flanker Piers von Dadelszen spoiled the opportunity after a big shot from Hala-Ngatai.

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Another breakdown penalty, won by Canadian international and Free Jacks flanker Ethan Fryer, killed another Seattle attack.

The Seawolves came up with nothing on multiple 22 entries, including one in the 75th minute a metre from the line where the ball carrier was stripped by Fryer again.

New Zealand openside Jed Melvin added another key breakdown penalty two minutes from time as the Free Jacks ruck dominance continued.

A final stand after 80 minutes repelled the Seawolves again on the goal line to seal back-t0-back championships.

New England became the second team to repeat after the inaugural champions Seattle completed the feat in 2018 and 2019.

 

 

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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