The New England Free Jacks are an American professional rugby union team based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018. They competed in their first season in MLR in the 2020 season. The team has won three consecutive MLR shields, defeating the San Diego Legion in 2023, the Seattle Seawolves in 2024, and the Houston Sabercats in 2025.
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. 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.
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, they went 1–4 before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that year, Mitch Wilson scored the first trie in team history in a game vs New York.
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.
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. Jayson Potroz was subsequently named championship game MVP along with MLR player of the year after leading the league in points. 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.
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.
In 2024 it was announced that former Free Jacks coach Ryan Martin would return as head coach for a second stint.
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 defeatedd the Miami Sharks in the first round of the playoffs, 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 to advance to their third consecutive MLR Championship Final. In the 2025 Major League Rugby final, the Free Jacks defeated the Houston SaberCats 28–22, with Brock Webster being named the MVP of the Match. The Free Jacks became the first team in MLR history, and the first pro sports team in North America, to successfully compete a threepeat since 2002. 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.
Honors
Championships MLR Championship shield Champions: 2023, 2024, 2025, Appearances: 2023, 2024, 2025 MLR Eastern Conference Championship Champions: 2023, 2024, 2025 Appearances: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Individual awards Major League Rugby Player of the Year
Beaudein Waaka: 2022 Jayson Potroz: 2023 Wayne van der Bank: 2024 Paula Balekana: 2025
Major League Rugby Forward of the Year
Wian Conradie: 2023
Major League Rugby Back of the Year
Reece MacDonald: 2024
Major League Rugby Coach of the Year
Scott Mathie (2): 2022, 2024 Ryan Martin: 2025
MLR Championship Game MVP
Jayson Potroz: 2023 Jed Melvin: 2024 Brock Webster: 2025
MLR Points Leader
Jayson Potroz (2): 2023, 2024
Sponsorship Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Other shirt sponsor(s) 2018 CanterburyNoneNone 2018–2019 Boathouse 2020–2021Paladin Sports 2022Alloy Therapeutics2023 Tufts Medical Center, DUDE Wipes, Arbella Insurance, Drayton Distributors 2024 Kappa2025 Macron Alloy Therapeutics, Koa Labs DUDE Wipes, Arbella Insurance, Drayton Distributors
Roster
The New England Free Jacks squad for the 2026 Major League Rugby season is:
Props
Hookers
Locks
Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
Centres
Wings
Fullbacks
Head coaches' tenures Josh Smith (2018–2020) Ryan Martin (2020–2021) Scott Mathie (2021–2024) Ryan Martin (2024–present)
Captains Josh Larsen (2020–present) Mitch Jacobson (2023) (vice-captain 2024) Jayson Potroz (2024) (vice-captain) Joe Johnston (2025–present)
Leadership
Staff for 2025 Major League Rugby season:
Staff position Name Head coach Ryan Martin Assistant coach Dewald Senekal Assistant coach Pom Simona General manager Tom Kindley
Owners
Position Name Co-founder, owner and executive chairman Alex Magleby Co-founder, owner and chairman Errik Anderson CEOIan Frenette Owner and board member Angad Banga Owner and board member David Barry Owner and board member Jonathan Bobbett Owner Patrick Chung Owner Nate Ebner
Records Season standings SeasonConferenceRegular seasonPostseasonPosPldWDLFA+/−BPPtsPldWLFA+/− Result2020 Eastern 6th 5 1 0 4 139 158 -19 5 9 - - - - - - Cancelled2021 Eastern4th16 10 0 6 360 332 +28 8 48 - - - - - - Did not qualify 2022 Eastern1st161303454328 +126 8 62 1 011624-8Lost conference final (RNY)2023 Eastern1st161402556273 +283 12 68 2 2 0 50 31 +19 Won Major League Rugby final (SD)2024 Eastern1st161105463344 +88 -- 55 2 2 0 43 28 +15 Won Major League Rugby final (SEA)2025 Eastern1st161105425341 +84 11 55 3 3 0 81 52 +29 Won Major League Rugby final (HOU)2026N/A5th10307215290 -75517 - - - - - -Did not qualifyTotals 95 63 0 32 2,612 2,066 +546 49 314 8 7 1 190 135 +55 4 postseason appearances
Notes
Head coaches CoachTenureYearsRecordPct.Playoff recConference champions MLR championships Josh Smith2018-202021-4 ()0-000 Ryan Martin2020-2021, 2024–present 221-12 ()3-011 Scott Mathie2021-2024338-10 ()5-122
Stadium
The Free Jacks play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy Massachusetts. With a capacity of 5,000, the stadium has also been referred to as Fort Quincy. The stadium has hosted the MLR Eastern Conference championship four times, in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The Free Jacks also hold numerous festivals there throughout the season. Renovations were made to the stadium's left side during the 2025 season, adding a new VIP seating area.
2019 season All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings; the team played to a record of 1–7, losing their first seven games and winning their final match of the season.
Date Opponent Home/away Location Result October 20, 2018 Ontario Arrows Away Wanderers Grounds Lost, 14–40 December 1, 2018 Rugby United New York Home Union Point Sports Complex Lost, 35–38 February 9, 2019 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Training Center Lost, 15–70 March 16, 2019 Connacht A Home Union Point Sports Complex Lost, 7–38 March 24, 2019 Ulster A Home Union Point Sports Complex Lost, 15–43 April 6, 2019 Munster A Home Irish Cultural Centre GAA Field Lost, 19–38 April 14, 2019 Leinster A Home Harvard Mignone Field Lost, 12–55 May 18, 2019 Toronto Arrows Home Brophy Field at Dartmouth'sCorey Ford Rugby Clubhouse Postponed June 1, 2019 Lansdowne F.C. Home Irish Cultural Centre GAA Field Won, 46–29
2020 season On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven days later, MLR announced that the season was officially cancelled. The Free Jacks finished the short season 9th in the MLR and 6th in the Eastern Conference.
Exhibition Date Opponent Home/away Location Result January 18 New England Independents Home Union Point Sports Complex Won, 39–7 January 18 New England Independents Home Union Point Sports Complex Won, 84–21
Regular season The team accrued a 1–4 record before the season was halted.
Date Opponent Home/away Location Result February 8 Rugby United New York Home Sam Boyd Stadium Won, 34–14 February 15 Utah Warriors Away Sam Boyd Stadium Lost, 33–39 February 23 San Diego Legion Away Torero Stadium Lost, 21–30 February 29 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Lost, 29–44 March 7 NOLA Gold Away The Gold Mine Lost, 22–31 March 14 Houston SaberCats Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled March 22 Rugby ATL Away Life University Running Eagles Stadium Cancelled April 5 Colorado Raptors Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled April 10 Toronto Arrows Away TBD Cancelled April 18 Old Glory DC Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled April 25 NOLA Gold Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled May 1 Rugby United New York Away MCU Park Cancelled May 9 Austin Gilgronis Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled May 16 Toronto Arrows Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled May 24 Old Glory DC Away Cardinal Stadium Cancelled May 30 Rugby ATL Home Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled
2021 season The Free Jacks' first game of the 2021 season was played on March 20, facing LA Giltinis in Los Angeles.