Following an 11-5 regular season campaign and wins against Old Glory DC and the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the New England Free Jacks will defend their Major League Rugby (MLR) title in the finals against the two-time champion Seattle Seawolves.
The Free Jacks and the Seawolves come in with identical regular-season records. With two more bonus points, the Seawolves bested the Free Jacks in season points 57-55.
Both clubs earned their spots in the MLR Finals with two home wins during the MLR playoffs. A win by New England would tie the Free Jacks with Seattle atop the MLR titles leaderboard at two.
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Matchup details
- New England Free Jacks (11-5-0, 55 pts) vs. Seattle Seawolves (11-5-0, 57 pts)
- Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
- Sunday, August 4 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX
Quotables
“There is a sense of calm readiness beneath the high emotions. Many of us have been here before, and where last year there was anxiety, this year there is only excitement. We are going to enjoy this game, and hopefully bring home another title” -- Le Roux Malan (center)
“The key for us this weekend is enjoyment. This is the last week of playing together as a squad, and this group will never be together as a whole again. It’s about being brave, playing for each other, and treating it like a normal game, as hard as that sounds. But it’s key for getting the best out of the squad. They are a physically large team with powerful set piece, and that is another challenge we have to match.” -- Jayson Potroz, (fly-half, captain)
MORE FREE JACKS COVERAGE
2024 head-to-head
Round 8 Game Summary -- Free Jacks 21, Seawolves 29
In a potential Major League Rugby (MLR) championship match preview between the defending MLR champion New England Free Jacks (24 pts, first place in the Eastern Conference) and Seattle Seawolves (29 pts, first place in the Western Conference) the traveling Seawolves outlasted the home side, 29-21.
In a physical contest, the Free Jacks scored three tries including a first-ever try from Kaleb Geiger. Jayson Potroz kicked two conversions and Wayne van der Bank continued his early season scoring streak with a try in a second straight match.
Despite the loss, the Free Jacks remained atop the Eastern Conference with 24 points.
Round 8 Scoring
New England Free Jacks
- Wayne van der Bank (Jayson Potroz conversion) '22
- Free Jacks penalty try (automatic conversion) '67
- Kaleb Geiger (Potroz conversion) '73
Seattle Seawolves
- Mack Mason penalty kick '2
- Mason kick '24
- Mason kick '31
- Dan Kriel '38 (conversion failed)
- Kara Pryor '53 (conversion failed)
- Riekert Hattingh '55 (Mason conversion)
- Mason kick '70
Historical head-to-head
New England leads the all-time series 2-1. (Compiled by RugbyPass.com)
- April 20, 2024 -- New England 21, Seatle 29
- June 11, 2023 -- Seattle 26, New England 34
- April 9, 2022 -- New England 24, Seattle 22
Game notes
- New England's record is 51-20 (five seasons)
- New England has played four one-point matches since the 2023 MLR title game (3-1)
- New England has played 11 one-score matches since the 2023 MLR title game (8-3)
- New England has 10 or more wins in each of the last four seasons
- New England is 40-10 over the last two seasons
- New England has surrendered 46 points in the playoffs compared to 53 by Seattle
- New England has scored 58 points in the playoffs compared to 58 by Seattle
- The 2024 MLR Final is the second consecutive finals appearance for New England
- New England defeated the San Diego Legion 25-24 in the 2023 MLR Final
- A win would tie New England with Seattle for the most MLR titles (two)
- Seattle is a two-time MLR champion (2018, 2019) and is making its fourth MLR title game appearance in six seasons (excluding canceled 2020 season)
- The 2024 Eastern Conference No. 1 seed is the third consecutive No. 1 seed for New England
- New England beat Old Glory DC (33-29) and Chicago Hounds (23-17) at home in the Eastern Conference playoffs
- Seattle beat the San Diego Legion (30-28) and Dallas Jackals (28-25) at home in the Western Conference playoffs