Four Teams Left as Major League Rugby Heads into of Conference Championships

New England and Utah bookies' favorites to win against Chicago and Houston

Eastern Conference: Chicago Hounds vs New England Free Jacks, June 21, kickoff at 1pm EDT, live on ESPN2 and livestreamed on ESPN +

Two-time defending Major League Rugby champions the New England Free Jacks face off against the Chicago Hounds on Saturday, June 20 in the Eastern Conference championship, a rematch of last year’s championship. The Free Jacks won that one, also at home at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, Mass., 23-17.

Both teams finished this season with 11-5 records, with the Free Jacks taking the top Eastern Conference spot with 55 points to the Hounds’ 53. Statistically, the two teams are basically neck and neck. The Free Jacks have scored 457 points; the Hounds have scored 449. The Free Jacks have gained 6901 meters in 2017 carries; the Hounds have gained 6154 meters in 2186 carries. The Hounds have made 2569 tackles; the Free Jacks have made 2340. The Hounds have missed 414 tackles; the Free Jacks have missed 379. This gives the Hounds a 79.81 percent success rate and the Free Jacks a 78.58 percent rate. The Hounds have won 234 lineouts compared to the Free Jacks’ 196, giving them an 89.31 percent and 86.31 percent success rate respectively. The Hounds have stolen 221 lineouts and the Free Jacks have stolen 34. The Hounds have won 99 scrums compared to the Free Jacks’ 105. Both have lost only nine scrums.

Free Jacks’ coach Ryan Martin, a New Zealander who has coached in his home country, Australia and Japan, said in a press conference ahead of the match that the Hounds would be a tough team to beat this weekend. The teams traded wins this year in their two head-to-head matches. “They're built around a really good foundation of forward play,” Martin said on June 19. “They've got a good kicking game, so it's quite an old school style of rugby. You're really going to [have to] be disciplined. Don't give them access into your defensive half, because if they get in there, they can be very dangerous.”

“We're going have to be very good about our penalties, not giving them away.”

Martin said that two or three players, if they have an “awesome moment,” could make the difference in this match. LeRoux Malan started the conference semi-final against the Miami Sharks by catching the Free Jacks’ kickoff, and the team scored within 17 seconds. “We just pulled the trigger and scored an awesome, awesome try,” Martin said. “That set the tone.” The Free Jacks won, 32-10.

Martin said that Malan, an inside center who hails from South Africa, will be one of the players to watch, as he takes on his opposite number Oliver Devoto, an Englishman who played most of his competitive rugby in England before coming to MLR. “Both are in good form playing aggressively. They’ve both got great kicking games and can beat defenders one on one,” Martin said.

“I think whoever wins that battle will have a big sway on the outcome of the match,” Martin said, adding that Malan “is in a great space so I’ll back him over Ollie [Devoto].”

Malan’s road back to the conference championship wasn’t always guaranteed. Playing all 17 games in his first season in New England in 2022, he scored 5 tries and ran for 1,383 meters (5th in the MLR). The following year he played 11 matches and scored nine tries, helping the Free Jacks win their first MLR championship with a late try in a 25–24 victory against the San Diego Legion. But the 25-year-old then suffered a serious leg injury playing for Namibia in a 71-3 loss to the New Zealand All Blacks in the World Cup.

Malan managed to recover for the 2024 season, playing in 14 games and scoring a try in the Free Jacks’ 20-11 Championship victory over the Seattle Seawolves. “I was stoked,” Malan said before the playoffs last year. “It was awesome to play rugby again.”

Malan has played 15 matches this season and scored two tries. He’s made 96 tackles, bringing his MLR career total to 441. He has played a total of 57 MLR matches for the Free Jacks.

“We've got all the evidence that we can play these big games,” Martin said, adding that the idea of three championships in a row “has been in conversation since day one of pre-season.”

The home field advantage against the Hounds will give the Free Jacks a big boost.

“The crowd energy… They're screaming. When we're on defense, they're so joyous when they see, you know, Paula [Balekana], for example, running down the sideline… those things have massive subconscious feels in and around their friends and family, their supporters. You can't underestimate that. It's a huge advantage.”

The Hounds’ fly-half, Chris Hilsenbeck from Germany, will be a player to watch against the Free Jacks, according to Hounds’ coach Chris Latham, an Australian who came to MLR for his first head coaching job. “He's been a very good find for us this year,” Latham said of Hilsenbeck on June 19, the day before the match. “He’s come into his own and is controlling the game.” He’ll face off against Dan Hollinshead, who came to the Free Jacks this year from RFCLA. Starting fly-half Jayson Potroz suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the regular season.

Devoto, winger Peyton Wall and hooker Dylan Fawsitt will be vital to the Hounds’ success, Latham said. “The list goes on and on… There’s enough there to get excited about.”

Latham said the Hounds’ “have to make sure we execute our roles individually, keep our cool. There will be times where we’re on top and we’ve got those opportunities… We have to make the most of them.”

Lastly, he said, the Hounds have to focus on their “discipline.”

Latham said that while the Hounds were aware of the growing historical rivalry with the Free Jacks, the team wasn’t thinking so much about last year or revenge, but more about “the journey.”

“It's more about ticking the boxes and ticking off the goals that we set from the start of the year,” Latham said. “And you know, this is definitely just one of those goals — we desperately want to finish on top.”

Latham said that while the Hounds and Free Jacks had similar stats, stats basically just “help you confirm where you are and what you believe is true.”

“Ultimately, finals [are] a whole new game. You can be a red hot team throughout the season, and then get to the finals, and you can tighten up, or, you can be that team that gets to the finals and relishes the opportunity of what could be.”

Western Conference: Houston SaberCats vs Utah Warriors, Zions Bank stadium, Herriman, Utah, June 21, kickoff at 9pm EDT, live on ESPN2 and livestreamed on ESPN+

The Houston SaberCats finished the regular season 10-6, second only to the Utah Warriors, who finished 11-5. The SaberCats won the two head-to-head games this year — 37-17 on March 8 and 40-19 on May 17 — and both teams narrowly scraped by with victories in the first round of the playoffs — the SaberCats against RFCLA 27-21 and the Warriors against Seattle Seawolves 23-21.

“It’s going to be an awesome game,” said Gerard “Pote” Human, the SaberCats South African coach, who coached in his home country and Japan before heading the MLR. “They are very good side.”

Human said that the Warriors’ fly-half, Joel Hodgson from England, would be a key player. “He controls the game very well, so he's going to be great.”

Human said the altitude in Utah — 5,000 feet above sea level — would be “a factor.” But he and his coaching staff haven’t emphasized it to the players because “I don't want them to that to get in their heads.”

Drake Davis, who comes from an American football background, will be worth watching on the wing, said Human. “He’s an unbelievable guy, what a guy. I really believe with a bit more experience he can play for the Eagles (the US national team).”

Watch out for Samoa-born back A.J. Alatimu this weekend too, Human said. “He had a great game against RFCLA on Monday. We need him to step up again.”

Greg Cooper, the New Zealand-born coach of the Warriors who has coached in his home country, France and Japan, said having the home crowd supporting his team may prove crucial. “When the boys run out of the the locker room onto the field… They talk to me about that great buzz that they get, that little bit of energy that they get, and and then when we're under the pump, the crowd gets in behind them. The crowd factor is significant.”

Some key Warriors to watch: prop Tonga Kofe, flanker Lance Williams, and wing Joey Mano.

Center Paul Lasike, who is on the bench, will retire after this season, at 35. “He's a great sportsman, played football, rugby, played overseas,” said Cooper. “So you know, first and foremost, he's a talented sports person. He's a really good human being, a good team man, good family man, very dedicated, and it's in his blood, Utah. He's one of those players you love coaching.”

Cooper is sure the Warriors can avenge their regular season losses and win the one that counts most. “I’ve never gone into a game thinking my team can’t win.”

Team rosters: