NEWS

Scott Mathie Named Coach of the Year

coach OF THE YEAR: scott mathie, new england free jacks

In just his first season as the head coach of the New England Free Jacks, Scott Mathie took the team to new heights.

Among his list of achievements is the side finishing at the top of the Eastern Conference, placing as the league’s top side thanks to having the best record in Major League Rugby and coached his side to 10 consecutive victories, a new record in the competition.

Arriving just prior to the start of the most recent season, Mathie came to North America with a wealth of experience thanks to time spent in England as a professional player, and extensive coaching experience at various levels in his native South Africa.

In 2021 the Free Jacks finished fourth in the Eastern Conference, some five points from Rugby New York who placed in the playoff positions, the men from Boston finishing with a 10-6 record. Nothing to be sniffed at.

Now, just 12 months later, New England have a 13-3 record and some 13 points more than their last effort. Beadein Waaka was a star under Mathie, the New Zealander unleashed at fly-half, driving his team forward at any given opportunity, as the rest of the squad improved with each opportunity they were awarded.

Mitch Wilson’s emergence under Mathie has seen him called into the USA Eagles squad, as Gary Gold’s side hope to make the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, as the likes of Kyle Ciquera, Cam Davidowicz and Le Roux Malan also flourished under the 39-year-old’s leadership.

Regardless of this list of achievements, Mathie is quick to express that it was also his colleagues who are to thank for New England’s’ achievements in 2022.

“I am pretty flattered to be honest,” Mathie said. “I think it is really great to be acknowledged for hard work. More than anything, for me, I feel it is an award that reflects the management group and not just one person.

“I am really grateful to our management staff, to Mike Rogers, Tom Kindley, Mike Bunopane, Ewan Brumwell, all of these guys that have done hard work behind the scenes. It makes my job really easy, so I am really flattered and really grateful for it, but really I think it is an acknowledgement of all the hard work from the management of the Free Jacks.”

It was a season like few others for the Free Jacks. Last year was the team’s first full season, their inaugural campaign brought to a crashing halt by Covid-19 in 2020, their second complete hit out a resounding success.

It was in the postseason where New England came unstuck. Facing Rugby New York in Massachusetts, it was the more well-seasoned New York squad that ultimately won the contest between the two 24-16.

“It was a disappointment,” Mathie said. “Even though I felt we punched above our weight, it was our first year together as a coaching staff, there were 20 new players or so, I think under those circumstances we would say it was a resounding success.

“We can be really proud of what we put out there and I think we probably just had the capacity to go all the way, but if there was one thing we were lacking, it was probably that experience and a bit of maturity there.

“In the last 20 minutes against New York, we came unstuck. That is why guys like Andy Ellis, and guys that have done it at the highest level, they can control games, and they really make things count when they have to.

“I am really excited about what is to come. I recognize that guys move on, if we retain most of our squad, and it looks promising that we are going to do that, then a lot of these guys would have banked that experience from this year.”

Much of what Mathie did so effectively went unseen. This included regular bonding sessions for the players on Monday mornings, where the squad would get together to have breakfast and hand out awards for the objectives they set heading into whichever game they had just played, the group growing closer as a result of this.

Such is the nature of professional sport, Mathie’s attentions have already turned to what 2023 may have in store. As Coach of the Year, there is much for the South African to live up to next year, as well as his own expectation to take the Free Jacks another step further.

Knee deep in both player retention and recruitment, after how his first crack at leading a side in MLR went, you can only expect more good things in the future, the ever pragmatic 39-year-old confident that even bigger things are on their way at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“Going off the end of this season, and I even felt in this season when we went on the winning streak, we have a bit of a marker on our back,” Mathie said. 

“We have already started with our recruitment, we started with making sure we got things in place with guys from this year. We are looking to replace some of the guys we are losing, and that is the big thing, just getting the right balance and the right players in the room. The right guys.

“That was evident from this year; if you get the right people, then a lot of the close games tend to go your way. Our big focus is on a lot of the things that need to improve from year one, and that is in all departments.

“This was the first year that everyone was working together, so you can expect the systems and structures and things in place on the backend to improve in year two. 

“That’s not to say the results will improve, but you like to think that because the process has improved, your performances have improved and whether that gets you more wins, you don’t know, but it should improve.”

Earlier this week Major League Rugby released the All-MLR team selections, Player of the Year, Forward of the Year, Back of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Stay tuned for additional end of season awards to be released by MLR across the week.

Written by Joe Harvey | Photos by the New England Free Jacks