MLR 2024 Championship Final: New England Free Jacks vs Seattle Seawolves

The 2024 Major League Rugby season reaches its conclusion on Sunday when two former champions square off in San Diego for the Championship Final. Eastern Conference winners New England are the reigning MLR Shield holders, while Seattle will represent the Western Conference as they make their fourth Final since the league kicked off in 2018. Snapdragon Stadium is on track to host a league record attendance with Free Jacks fans making the trip west and the Seawolves faithful heading south for what is sure to be an historic afternoon.

FORM GUIDE

regular season 11-5-0, East 1st, Last 5: 3-2, Streak: Won 3

regular season 11-5-0, West 2nd, Last 5: 4-1, Streak: Won 2

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

3 Cole Keith replaces John-Roy Jenkinson (injury)

7 Devin Short replaces Pago Haini
11 Toni Pulu replaces Conner Mooneyham
15 Duncan Matthews replaces Dan Kriel (injury, No12 vs Dallas)

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(12) – Quattrin, Keith, Baillie, Keys, von Dadelszen, DeWitt, Larsen, Fryer, LeSage (Canada), Malan (Namibia), Geiger, Wilson (USA)

(7) – Taufete’e, Smith, Lopeti, Wenglewski, Rees, Mooneyham (USA), Rossouw (Namibia)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Kyle Ciquera (LH), John-Roy Jenkinson (TH), Mitch Jacobson (FL), Wian Conradie (N8), John Poland (SH)

– Peter Malcolm (HO), Charles Elton (FL), Riekert Hattingh (N8), Dan Kriel (CE), Tevita Kuridrani (CE)

NOTES

this is the first time in MLR history that two teams who have previously won titles will collide in the Championship Final… Seattle were back-to-back winners in the league’s first two seasons in 2018 and 2019… the Seawolves were also finalists in 2022 when they were defeated by New York… New England are defending champions from 2023
both the Free Jacks and Seawolves won their titles away from home… New England beat the Legion at the neutral venue of Chicago last year… both of Seattle’s wins were in San Diego… in 2018 they defeated Glendale and in 2019 the home town Legion
New England have been forced into one change to their starting lineup… a knee injury to tighthead prop John-Roy Jenkins will see Canadian international Cole Keith wearing the No3 shirt
Tevita Sole joins the bench and remarkably could make his first appearance of the year for the Free Jacks… the former Tonga u20 prop played six games on loan with Miami including three starters before returning to New England towards the end of the regular season
Seattle will be missing top center Dan Kriel, who was injured in the first half of last week’s game against Dallas… Tavite Lopeti slides in one spot with Divan Rossouw moving up from fullback to outside center… Duncan Matthews is fit to resume duties in the No15 shirt
the Seawolves have also opted for a change on the wing… Toni Pulu has recovered sufficiently from a persistent leg injury to take up a spot on the left wing, with Jade Stighling switching to the right… Conner Mooneyham settles for a reserve role the week
Devin Short will wear No7 for the Seawolves despite breaking his hand early in the Conference Semi Final against San Diego two weeks ago… he missed last week’s match against Dallas when Pago Haini stepped in to play openside flanker… Haini is on the bench this week, with Reid Davis on standby

PREDICTION

Weather conditions look to be ideal which might favor the Free Jacks somewhat. They will be keen to avoid a set piece battle in the absence of Jenkinson, with sustained possession key to tiring a larger Seattle pack. The Seawolves could favor tactical kicking though Matthews is more of a counter-attacker from the back than Rossouw. Both teams have dealt with injuries to key players this season though the Free Jacks appear to have taken less damage in recent weeks. The Seawolves won in Boston during the regular season, but the Free Jacks proved they can handle the travel by beating the Legion in San Diego. New England are slight favorites as defending champions.

LINEUPS

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Kyle Baillie, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Jed Melvin, 8 Seta Baker, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Jayson Potroz (capt.), 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Toby Fricker, 15 Reece MacDonald

Replacements: 16 Foster DeWitt, 17 Tevita Sole, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Josh Larsen, 20 Ethan Fryer, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Ben LeSage, 23 Mitch Wilson

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Sam Matenga, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Mahonri Ngakuru, 6 Jean Droste, 7 Devin Short, 8 Huw Taylor, 9 JP Smith (capt.), 10 Mack Mason, 11 Toni Pulu, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Jade Stighling, 15 Duncan Matthews

Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Chance Wenglewski, 18 Koby Baker, 19 Taylor Krumrei, 20 Pago Haini, 21 Ryan Rees, 22 Sam Windsor, 23 Conner Mooneyham

MATCH INFO

Date: Sunday, August 4
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 13:00 local (16:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 79°F (26°C), wind W 11-16mph (18-26km/h)
Broadcasts: Fox, The Rugby Network