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MLR Championship Preview: Seattle Seawolves vs New England Free Jacks

Written by Joe Harvey

It was 22 weeks ago that the 2024 Major League Rugby season got underway.

One hundred two matches later, the Seattle Seawolves and New England Free Jacks are contending to lift the Shield in the Championship at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.

DJ Marshmello will be performing at the annual title match, which will be broadcast live on FOX.

There is ample motivation for both teams looking to secure victory in California on Sunday afternoon.

Allen Clarke’s Seattle Seawolves are hoping to secure a third MLR crown and their first since 2019, while the New England Free Jacks are looking to lock up back-to-back titles after their 25-24 win against San Diego Legion a year ago.

Photo provided by Seattle Seawolves

GETTING TO SAN DIEGO

Before a ball was even kicked in 2024, the Free Jacks were the team to beat.

The New England Free Jacks became Champions a year ago with their dramatic victory against San Diego in Chicago; Scott Mathie’s side came into a new season knowing they were being hunted.

In Week 2, they gained further proof of this when Old Glory DC came to Veterans Memorial Stadium and secured a 35-34 victory.

An early reality check for the squad, the side went on a four-game winning streak before the Seawolves rolled into town and registered a 29-21 win.

Although the Free Jacks ended the regular season with five losses and 11 wins, they continually found a way to win.

This could no more be seen than in their playoffs performances.

Photo provided by New England Free Jacks

Against Old Glory DC and the Chicago Hounds, New England was able to grind out a result and frustrated its opponents.

Reece Macdonald was a key figure in the 23-17 win over the Hounds less than a week ago.

Scoring a quickfire brace of tries in front of his home fans, the New Zealander continued his good form this year to put clear daylight between New England and their visitors.

Now, on the eve of contending for a second title in as many years, the full-back believes that his team’s one-game-at-a-time approach has paid off.

“At the start of the year, we talked about it a little bit,” Macdonald said.

“But we also said that this was a new year, a new bunch of boys, and we wanted to leave our own legacy.

“We just take it one game at a time. Every win we take, and we have got this far.

“We are very, very happy. We have put in a lot of work in over the last seven months. It was a big year.

“You will always have a target on your back after winning it the year before.

“We kind of took it one game at a time and stoked to have the chance to play in a final again.”

This week, Ryan Rees’s 79th-minute try in the dying embers of their Western Conference Final secured their place.

Divan Rossouw was the player who unlocked the Dallas Jackals’ defense in the closing stages.

With the clock ticking towards the 80-minute mark, some at Starfire Sports Complex could have been forgiven for thinking that Seattle’s efforts were insufficient.

But when the Namibia international broke through Dallas jerseys and guided a pass to Rees to score, there was a roar from all in attendance and, making way for the club’s fourth appearance in the Championship Final.

“It is a privilege and honor to play in a final,” Rossouw said.

“We talked about it in training; there are many good rugby players who go through their careers and never get the opportunity.

“That is something you need to respect, but also something you can get excited about.

“That is why you play the game. To win.

“Making the Championship Final has been our goal all season. We are just really excited about the opportunity and looking forward to the game.

“It is going to be tough. But also a really good game.”

All season, the Seawolves looked like they would be in the race for the Shield.

Finishing the same 11-5 record as the Free Jacks, early on, the Pacific Northwest team was setting the standard in the Western Conference.

Ultimately, the Houston SaberCats finished the regular season as the top seed in their division but failed to advance past the Conference Semifinals.

Safe in the knowledge that the side has beaten the Free Jacks in Massachusetts, the de facto home team will be confident in how best to take on New England.

Photo provided by Seattle Seawolves

ADDING ANOTHER STAR

For the first time, the Championship will see two MLR winners pitted against one another.

It has been five years since the Seawolves last lifted the Shield.

Then there was an almost entirely different cast of characters representing the club, with only JP Smith and the injured Riekert Hattingh the only two remaining players from that title-winning side.

A third star on their jersey would be a landmark achievement for the franchise.

Beaten at the final hurdle in 2022, victory this weekend would conclude a five-year search to return to the summit of rugby in North America.

With the self-belief in their skill and ability to break down an opposition defense almost at will, the side will back themselves underneath the SoCal sun and deliver another piece of silverware to the Emerald City.

“When I signed here, I wanted to come because I knew the history and wanted to win a Championship,” Rossouw said.

“A result would mean a great deal to us as players. There are a few boys chasing milestones and a third Championship. That is big.

“For me, possibly getting a first Championship victory of my career in MLR, that is massive.

“It would mean a great deal to the club and the players.”

Before getting on their flight to the west coast the Free Jacks were escorted to the airport by the Quincy Police Department.

Scott Mathie’s side is confident, given the full support of their community and the knowledge that they did all of this a year ago.

In many ways, there is no change for the club.

They have been harried and rushed all year by opponents looking to get one over on the 2023 champions.

So far, New England has dealt with that constant pressure well and must adopt the same approach for a final time this year.

With just two days to go until the 4 p.m. ET kick-off on FOX, Macdonald expects a scintillating encounter between the two teams.

“We are very similar in how we play,” Macdonald said.

“They like to throw the ball around a little bit, so do we, so hopefully it is an exciting game to watch. I am just looking forward to it.

“The club is like a community. The whole theme of the season is the Free Jack experience.

“The buy-in from the club itself, the people who work upstairs, the players, staff, and fans—they are all huge for the rugby community in the New England area.

“Going out there, expressing ourselves, having a bit of fun, and walking towards the pressure.

“We are going to be challenged. We have talked about that. We are just going to walk towards that pressure and take each step as it comes.”

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