MLR 2025: NOLA Gold vs New England Free Jacks

It’s the end of the road for NOLA on Saturday as they bid adieu to their 2025 campaign with a home match against the Free Jacks. Things just haven’t gone to plan for the Gold this year, and there’s nothing to play for but pride. New England however have a clear purpose with a victory needed to jump ahead of Chicago for top spot in the East and secure home field advantage in the postseason.

CURRENT STANDINGS

4-11-0 (L5) East 5th

10-5-0 (W1) East 2nd

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
1	Matt Harmon	Bart Vermeulen
4	Callum Botchar	Jay Tuivaiti
5	William Waguespack	Chase Jones
6	Moni Tonga’uiha	Cam Dolan
9	Luke Campbell	Ruben de Haas
13	Ross Depperschmidt	Reece Botha

	IN	OUT
1	Kyle Ciquera	Malakai Hala-Ngatai
2	Foster DeWitt	Andrew Quattrin
5	Conor Keys	Jed Melvin
9	Oscar Lennon	Cam Nordli-Kelemeti
11	Jack Reeves	Paula Balekana
12	Wayne van der Bank	Le Roux Malan

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(10) – Harmon, Mullen, Tonga’uiha, Carty (USA), Botchar, Coats (Canada), Mau’u, Fidow (Samoa), Pradillo (Mexico), Stevens (Namibia)

(12) – DeWitt, Keys, von Dadelszen, LeSage, Webster, Steeves, Larsen, Fryer, Morra (Canada), Koroiduadua (Fiji), Conradie (Namibia), McInerney (Australia)

CLUB DEBUTS

(1) – Pradillo*

(0) – none

* – MLR debut

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Cam Dolan (LO/FL), Ruben de Haas (SH), Xavier Mignot (WI)

– Jed Melvin (FL), Jayson Potroz (FH), Le Roux Malan (CE)

PREDICTION

Extremely humid conditions are on the forecast, which suggests early use of the substitutions bench in the second half. It should also mean more set piece if sweat affects ball carrying. Whatever happens the visitors are playing for something tangible while the home side is hoping to entertain. Expect the defending champions to show their class. New England are clear favorites on the road.

LINEUPS

NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Ale Lopeti, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 William Waguespack, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Aidan King, 8 Jonah Mau’u, 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Julian Roberts, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Ed Fidow, 15 Cooper Coats

Replacements: 16 Abe Turpen, 17 Bart Vermeulen, 18 Alejandro Pradillo, 19 Jay Tuivaiti, 20 Chase Jones, 21 Damian Stevens, 22 Cian Darling, 23 Vilimoni Koroi

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Foster DeWitt, 3 Jone Koroiduadua, 4 Sam Caird, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Harrison Boyle, 11 Jack Reeves, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Simon-Peter Toleafoa, 15 Brock Webster

Replacements: 16 Connal McInerney, 17 Tevita Sole, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Josh Larsen, 20 Ethan Fryer, 21 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 22 Killian Coghlan, 12 Josiah Morra

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, June 7
Venue: The Gold Mine, Metairie
Kickoff: 18:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 19:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 91°F (33°C), humidex 100°F (38°C), wind SW 9-14mph (14-22km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Gulf Coast Sports, NBC Sports Boston, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network