Ontario Arrows vs. New England Free Jacks

The Ontario Arrows defeated the New England Free Jacks 40-14 in an exhibition match at the Halifax’s Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. It was the debut for the Free Jacks, based out of Boston, who were recently accepted into Major League Rugby for the 2020 season. The Ontario Arrows played an exhibition season during 2018 and will be one of nine teams in the 2019 MLR season.

Ontario Arrows vs. New England Free Jacks Match Recap

The Ontario Arrows built a 33-0 lead at the break. During the second half, the Free Jacks answered back with two tries by Anthony Parry to narrow the score to 33-14 before the Arrows added a late try to claim the match 40-14.

The Arrows opened the scoring with a try in the left corner in the 10th minute by Canada 15s and 7s player, Andrew Coe. Halifax native Cooper Coats then slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead. Four minutes later Coe added a second try and Coats converted for a 14-0 lead.

In the 21st minute, Tom Van Horne scored from short range and Coats slotted his third kick. The Arrows continued their offensive assault with a debutant, Mo Abdelmonem going over the line. Coats then slotted his 4th conversion for a 28-0 lead.

Prior to the break, the Arrows added a fifth try as Morra found a gap and offloaded to Cooper Coats for a try and a 33-0 lead.

The Free Jacks appeared to have their first try off a Ben Cima cross-kick to Christian Adams, but after consulting with the Assistant Referee, the try was nullified due to a forward pass.

Second Half

The New England Free Jacks had to wait until the 58th minute for Anthony Parry to score the team’s first try. Cima slotted the kick to cut the lead to 33-7. Parry then added a second try and Cima added the conversion and it was 33-14.

The Arrows added a final try as Matt Mullen went blind from a breakdown for a try. Coats slotted his 5th of 6 kicks for a final score of 40-14.

Squads & Match Preview

Ontario Arrows: 1. Rob Brouwer 2. Andrew Quattrin 3. Tom Dolezel 4. Mike Sheppard (C) 5. Tom Van Horne 6. Mo Abdelmonem 7. Peter Milazzo 8. Matt Mullins 9. Riley DiNardo 10. Shawn Windsor 11. Lucas Hammond 12. Mitch Richardson 13. Andrew Coe 14. Josiah Morra 15. Cooper Coats 16. Jack McRogers 17. Alex Forrest 18. Mike Smith 19. Liam Carter 20. Grant Crowell 21. Owen Schimpl 22. Lee Keegal 23. Kieron Martin

New England Free Jacks: 1. Luke Schlotman 2. Diego Maquieira 3. Anthony Parry 4. Ronan McCusker 5. Jackson Thiebes 6. Owen Hundt 7. Matt Hughston (C) 8. Chris Frazier 9. Erik Thompson 10. Ben Cima 11. Christian Adams 12. Tadhg Leader 13. Peter Lupton (VC) 14. Steve Dazzo 15. Danny Collins 16. Stephen Hinshaw 17. David McKenna 18. Sean Moran 19. Myles McQuone 20. Thor Lafromboise 21. Jon Kokinda 22. Ian Luciano 23. Jihad Khabir