35 v 47 
Free JacksRecap
The New England Free Jacks travel down to Texas to take on the undefeated Houston SaberCats in a cross-conference clash at SaberCats Stadium.
In a game that would make defence coaches wince, the visitors emerged as 35-47 victors after a combined 13-try scorefest! The SaberCats scored 2 tries within the final 10 minutes to bring the score back to 35-40, but a Free Jacks try in the final minute sealed the result. With the SaberCats recording their first loss of the season, all 12 MLR teams in 2024 have now lost and no teams remain undefeated. Houston had an off day from the tee, combining for 2/7 and only 1 of their 6 conversions.
In a game where Free Jacks’ center Wayne van der Bank received a yellow card, he also recorded his first career MLR hattrick in this game, the 37th in league history, and the 4th in club history for New England who take the bonus point victory on the road to extend their lead atop the Eastern Conference.
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 13, 2024 | 8:00 pm | Major League Rugby | MLR 2024 |
Results
| Team | Penalty Kick | Tries | Conversions | TB | LB | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaberCats | 1/1 | 6 | 1/6 | 1 | 0 | 35 |
| Free Jacks | 0/0 | 7 | 6/7 | 1 | 0 | 47 |
SaberCats
| # | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezekiel Lindenmuth 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Pita Anae-Ah Sue 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Maks van Dyk 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Johan Momsen | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Nathan Den Hoedt | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Marno Redelinghuys | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Emmanuel Albert 19 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Tomiwa Agbongbon 20 | Number 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | André Warner 21 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | AJ Alatimu | Fly-half | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 11 | 1/1 | 2 |
| 11 | Jeremy Misailegalu 23 | Wing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Dominic Akina | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Louritz van der Schyff | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Christian Dyer | Wing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 15 | Davy Coetzer | Fullback | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 1 | 1/6 | 13 |
| 16 | Tiaan Erasmus 2 | Hooker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| 17 | LaRome White 1 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Pono Davis 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Keni Nasoqeqe 7 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Ronan Murphy 8 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Carlo de Nysschen 9 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Max Schumacher | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Line Latu 11 | Fly-half | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 505 | 133 | 2/7 | 35 |
Free Jacks
| # | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malakai Hala-Ngatai 17 | Prop | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Sean Ralph 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Cole Keith 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Josh Larsen | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Conor Keys 19 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Piers von Dadelszen 20 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Mitch Jacobson | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Wian Conradie | Number 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti 21 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Jayson Potroz | Fly-half | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 3 | 6/7 | 17 |
| 11 | Paula Balekana | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Le Roux Malan 22 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Wayne van der Bank | Centre | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 13 | 0 | 15 |
| 14 | Mitch Wilson 23 | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Reece MacDonald | Fly-half | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 134 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 16 | Andrew Quattrin 2 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Foster DeWitt 1 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Kaleb Geiger 3 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Jackson Thiebes 5 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Seta Baker 6 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Holden Yungert 9 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Ben LeSage 12 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Danyon Morgan-Puterangi 14 | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 839 | 146 | 6/7 | 47 |
Officials
| Referee | Assistant 1 | Assistant 2 | TMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federico Anselmi | Scott Green | Jono Cooper | Austin Reed |
Venue
| SaberCats Stadium |
|---|
| Aveva Stadium, 12131, Kirby Drive, Houston, Harris County, Texas, 77045, United States |