With championship game on tap, New England Free Jacks hoping to become part of Boston "sporting tapestry"
BOSTON -- The Bruins and Celtics came up short of their quest for a title this past spring, while the Red Sox and Patriots remain a long way away from their next titles. But the city of Boston could get to celebrate a championship as soon as this weekend, with the New England Free Jacks set to take on the San Diego Legion in the Major League Rugby Championship Final on Saturday afternoon in Chicago.
The Free Jacks earned their spot in the title game by beating Old Glory DC last weekend in front of a sold-out crowd in Quincy, by a score of 25-7. That victory marked the Free Jacks' 11th consecutive win and their first postseason victory in franchise history.
"Very excited," head coach Scott Mathie told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche this week. "I mean, everyone wants to play in a championship, and we've earned that right this year. I know the boys are, there's a real good energy in the squad this week, so we can't wait to get the chance in Chicago."
The Free Jacks are on quite the roll, having finished the season with a 14-2 record. One of those two losses, though, came against San Diego, a 29-14 defeat way back on Feb. 26. Mathie acknowledged the loss but also said his own team has developed quite a bit since that match.
"Yeah, we've grown a lot since then. We had to onboard probably 16 new players, so I think early on in the season that takes some time to get the ball rolling on your side. And I think we've come a long way since then," Mathie said. "Also, a nice little short trip to Chicago makes for a really decent away trip for the final. So I'm really confident in what we've been doing and the form we've found. We're living on the bounce now, so we definitely have a lot of confidence going into this game."
The Free Jacks have seen a steady rise in their following this season, with a record crowd showing up at Veterans Memorial Stadium -- aka Fort Quincy -- for the conference championship last weekend. Former Patriots safeties Patrick Chung and Nate Ebner are minority owners in the team, and recently retired Patriots safety Devin McCourty sent a message of support to the Free Jacks on social media.
"Oh man, it's so special," Mathie said. "A couple of years ago, you wouldn't even have known that this was gonna happen. And now we're getting on the map a little bit, we've got these major NFL guys that are invested and supporting us. And you just look at the rich history of successful sports teams in Boston and what they've done. And to get those wise words and get their support, it's so inspiring for us, you know? Because we want to be part of this makeup, we want to be part of the tapestry -- the sporting tapestry here. And this is the start for us to get out there and make a name."
The Free Jacks will take on the San Diego Legion on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Shaquille O'Neal will perform as DJ Diesel before and after the match, along with Boston band the Dropkick Murphys.
Last weekend's win was undoubtedly the biggest victory in Free Jacks history, but Mathie believes his team can use the confidence gained from that win to take home the title this weekend.
"Oh man, I think last week was the big challenge, because last year, we lost in the conference final. And it was a big hurdle for us this year to get over that. And I think there's a lot of emotion invested in last week's conference final, and winning that kind of killed some demons if you will. And I think this week, I can sense a real upliftment in the squad, and there's a lot of excitement in the room," Mathie said. "And I think we'll just go about our business the same like we do every week. We don't try and dial up anything more than we need to. It's another game. It's obviously a special game, but we don't change our real process in the week. We just want everything to feel the same, look the same, and we'll just hopefully take the same preparation and get the same result. That's the plan."
