Major League Rugby has officially arrived in the Northeast with the announcement of The New England Free Jacks. While they will not formally enter the MLR until the 2020 season, they have quickly assembled a team and will travel north today to take on the Ontario Arrows at the Wanderer’s grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The historic squad will be led by Mystic Rugby Head Coach Josh Smith and assistant coach Kareem Afifi and will feature 15 former or current Mystic players in the inaugural lineup.
Tune in to watch the match LIVE at 1:00PM ET on The Free Jacks Facebook page.
New England Free Jacks Roster
1. Luke Schlotman | Life | USA
2. Diego Maquieira | Mystic River | USA
3. Anthony Parry | NYAC | USA
4. Ronan McCusker | Mystic River | USA/Ireland
5. Jackson Thiebes | Mystic River | USA
6. Owen Hundt | Mystic River | USA
7. Matt Hughston (C) | Charlotte | USA
8. Chris Frazier | Mystic River | USA
9. Erik Thompson | Mystic River | USA
10. Ben Cima | Rocky Gorge | USA
11. Christian Adams | Mystic River | USA
12. Tadhg Leader (VC) | St. Louis Royals | USA/Ireland
13. Peter Lupton | Boston Irish Wolfhounds | USA/England
14. Steve Dazzo | Mystic River | USA
15. Danny Collins | Boston Irish Wolfhounds | USA
16. Stephen Hinshaw | Mystic River | USA
17. David McKenna | Mystic River | USA
18. Sean Moran | Boston Irish Wolfhounds | USA
19. Myles McQuone | Fairfield Yankees | USA
20. Thor Lafromboise | Mystic River | USA
21. Jon Kokinda | Mystic River | USA
22. Ian Luciano | Mystic River | USA
23. Jihad Khabir | Mystic River | USA
New England Free Jacks Staff
Head Coach: Josh Smith
Technical Advisor: James Willocks
Assistant Coach: Kareem Afifi
Physical Therapist: Brian Davis
Operations: Owen Scannell
Manager: Ben Nathan
Media: Andrew Park