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.
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 1âÂÂ7 in those games. In 2020, during their first official season, they went 1âÂÂ4 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 13âÂÂ3 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 24âÂÂ16. 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.
The following year, the Free Jacks set a team record, going 14âÂÂ2 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 25âÂÂ24 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 33âÂÂ29, and then in the Eastern Conference championship beat the Chicago Hounds 23âÂÂ17 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 20âÂÂ11 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 1âÂÂ3 overall. However, coach Martin and the team turned things around, and ended the year with a 11âÂÂ5 record, finishing first overall in the Eastern Conference for the 4th year in a row. They faced the Miami Sharks in the first round of the playoffs, beating them 32âÂÂ10. They then faced the Chicago Hounds in the conference final, coming back from a 17âÂÂ0 deficit, with Kyle Ciquera scoring the go ahead try in the 77th minute to win 21âÂÂ20. They claimed the Eastern Conference championship for a third straight year. They then faced the Houston SaberCats in the 2025 Major League Rugby final. The Free Jacks had the lead for a majority of the match, ultimately winning 28âÂÂ22, with Brock Webster being named the MVP of the match. This was the third straight MLR championship in a row for the Free Jacks. They were 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.
Major League Rugby Player of the Year
Major League Rugby Forward of the Year
Major League Rugby Back of the Year
Major League Rugby Coach of the Year
MLR Championship Game MVP
MLR Points Leader
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
Staff for 2025 Major League Rugby season:
Owners
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.
All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings; the team played to a record of 1âÂÂ7, losing their first seven games and winning their final match of the 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.
The team accrued a 1âÂÂ4 record before the season was halted.
The Free Jacks' first game of the 2021 season was played on March 20, facing LA Giltinis in Los Angeles.
Source:
Source:
On May 7, 2021, the Free Jacks announced a mascot, Woodgy, a furry blue creature with rugby headband tape who wears Free Jacks rugby kit.
Following Free Jacks games the club hosts a variety post game activities such as autographs sessions with players, beer festivals, live concerts and firework shows.
On January 8, 2020, the Free Jacks announced that they would compete in two preseason matches against the New England Independents, a new select team of local All-Star talent representing eight clubs throughout New England. Adam Zilcoski, of the Boston Irish Wolfhounds, was selected as the head coach.
The Junior Jacks are the youth academy level for the Free Jacks.