HIGHLIGHTS | 2023 MLR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL | San Diego Legion vs. New England Free Jacks 

damn the avg guy here is getting paid 20k a season guess they make much more off the field than on

The growing crowds reflect that too. Hopefully, crowd sizes of 4,000 plus spectators will be more common next season. Some teams are still struggling to regularly get more than 1,500 spectators to a game. Hope Major League Rugby continues to grow it's fanbase.

As a Free Jacks season ticket holder, the attendance on good weather days for the Free Jacks can be amazing, and I hope it continues to trend upward (the last regular season game at “Fort Quincy” was actually a seating area sell out, with only standing room tickets being left). However, we do tend to get hit in February, March, and early April with some God-awful conditions (the Dallas game still makes my fingers wince in cold pain despite the gloves). And on those days, attendance goes well down. It was particularly infuriation this year because it seemed like the conditions for 2-3 days before game day would be good, and then on game day it all went to hell with either snow, freezing rain, cold gales, etc. just so maddening at times.

Also of topic in MLS the New England Revolution is killing it ...might win the cup this year too

@@ripsaa2693 *Remembers all the near misses* I’ll believe it when I see it.

@@stevendebettencourt7651 Thanks for the response. MRL fans are amazing turning up in those really cold conditions, especially when there is snow around. I know I tend not to go to matches at Eden Park (Auckland) when the weather is not great. It is great to watch MLR games back here in New Zealand (TheRugbyNetwork) when there are people at the grounds with the associated atmosphere. MRL is growing and may it continue to do so. There have been some good crowds this year.

Well said

Ma'a Nonu is 41 years old. It's an absolute miracle that he's still playing professional rugby. He was a champion player in his prime, but he wouldn't last 5 mins in Super Rugby or any NH competition.

@@St_AngusYoung .. that’s true, but he doesn’t have to. He’s done it all. He deserves to see out his retirement on his terms. Nothing but mad respect for Nonu.

Very well said. Couldn't have said it better myself.

In an initial TV shot you can see the New England Freejack have 4 players on 2 players advantage on Ma'a Nonu's side of the field. With a Freejack's player out of shot, it is actually a 5 on 2 overlap. On the play before the last, two New England Freejack Player's attack two San Diego Legion players man - on - man. This still leaves an overlap of 5 NE players on the 2 San Diego defenders. On the try scoring play, realising that the New England Freejacks have a three player overlap Ma'a Nonu goes for an intercept or attempts to disrupt the direction of the pass from the Freejacks. This would either cause San Diego to break down field and score counter attacking trying of their own or cause loose ball from the pass to go to ground. This would give the San Diego Legion defense a chance to regroup and maybe turnover the ball, so they control the last play of the game. Ultimately, the lead up this this situation and the execution of New England's last play is too slick for San Diego Legion. The New England Freejacks did a great job putting this play together. This is a try the All Blacks wouldn't have stopped. I'm saying this from New Zealand!

Shocking pass to him, they should’ve set up for the drop goal

In an initial TV shot you can see the New England Freejack have 4 players on 2 players advantage on Ma'a Nonu's side of the field. With a Freejack's player out of shot, it is actually a 5 on 2 overlap. On the play before the last, two New England Freejack Player's attack two San Diego Legion players man - on - man. This still leaves an overlap of 5 NE players on the 2 San Diego defenders. On the try scoring play, realising that the New England Freejacks have a three player overlap Ma'a Nonu goes for an intercept or attempts to disrupt the direction of the pass from the Freejacks. This would either cause San Diego to break down field and score counter attacking trying of their own or cause loose ball from the pass to go to ground. This would give the San Diego Legion defense a chance to regroup and maybe turnover the ball, so they control the last play of the game. Ultimately, the lead up this this situation and the execution of New England's last play is too slick for San Diego Legion. The New England Freejacks did a great job putting this play together. This is a try the All Blacks wouldn't have stopped. I'm saying this from New Zealand!

@@michaelbrady5142 do us all a favour and uppercut yourself with that dribble

@@michaelbrady5142He’s doing pretty goods for a 40yrs olds, B2B RWC11, RWC15 + 100caps amazing to see Ma’a and few ex international boys in MLR helping to grow their leagues. Unlucky for Legions

@@michaelbrady5142lol i just saw a post on the pats (NFL patriots) sub encouraging people to check out the free jacks all i know about rugby is its like football with more lateral passes and im sitting here understanding 10% of your well thought out analysis

Shame the US isn't in the World Cup could have kept y'all going

@@gh_pics So true. I watched all the qualifiers. Such heartbreak for US Rugby fans. It’s terrible.

@@gh_pics The US are a big loss at the RWC - the game needs to grow beyond the 6N and Rugby Championship countries.

@@usarugbyleagueunionfan yeah I really think it would have helped catapult some popularity in the same way the Football world cup seemed to do this year as well. International is so much easier to get behind

@@gh_pics The women are likely playing in WXV2 in October/November.

The Final should have been in San Diego. I believe the Final would have attracted 20,000 fans if it were in San Diego. The location for the Final should be based in the team with the biggest capacity stadium hosting the final. Obviously, there would be some logistics problems. But in New Zealand finals are played in the stadium of the No 1 ranked team at the end of the regular season.

@@michaelbrady5142I feel like as rugby becomes more popular in America, having a set location for the Championship will make far more sense, as it means everyone knows what the logistics will look like ahead of time, the fans will know where they’re going and can plan ahead, neutral fans can make plans around the game months ahead of time, etc. Plus, as a Free Jacks fans, I wouldn’t exactly be enthused with, let’s face it, a 5,000 person stadium meant for relatively minor high school football being the host of a championship game (if the Free Jacks get the chance to host the Championship some day, I would hope they seriously consider trying to hold it in a much bigger, grander stadium; Boston College’s Alumni Stadium and Harvard’s Harvard Stadium are the first two locations that come to mind).

True, surprised they didn't take it

I was so afraid, when we scored the last try, I saw the clock and my first thought was Johnny Sexton 2018 in Paris. The thing is, in six MLR seasons, I think you can count on two hands the number of successful drop kicks, it’s just not something you see much of in the MLR for some reason. No idea why.

Nonu cost two tries - but tough to criticise a 40-something rugby legend

​@@championthewonderhorse9733 I reckon that try where he ran up out of the defensive line, was because his clueless teammates got drawn to the other side of the ruck, leaving that side open. He had no chance of covering that huge overlap advantage, so went for the hail Mary.

Skateboarding used to be a " niche" sport. Now it's a global sport. Similar to Surfing

Rugby doesn't appear in most sports media in the USA at the moment. Will probably have to wait for the 2027 RWC to do so, unless they have some wins over Tier 1 nations in the intervening years.

Obviously, either team could have won this game. It was a great spectacle. It's a shame the match wasn't played in San Diego. If that was the case, they would have drawn bigger crowds for the "Semi Final" and then the Final. A lost opportunity, I thought.

In an initial TV shot you can see the New England Freejack have 4 players on 2 players advantage on Ma'a Nonu's side of the field. With a Freejack's player out of shot, it is actually a 5 on 2 overlap. On the play before the last, two New England Freejack Player's attack two San Diego Legion players man - on - man. This still leaves an overlap of 5 NE players on the 2 San Diego defenders. On the try scoring play, realising that the New England Freejacks have a three player overlap Ma'a Nonu goes for an intercept or attempts to disrupt the direction of the pass from the Freejacks. This would either cause San Diego to break down field and score counter attacking trying of their own or cause loose ball from the pass to go to ground. This would give the San Diego Legion defense a chance to regroup and maybe turnover the ball, so they control the last play of the game. Ultimately, the lead up this this situation and the execution of New England's last play is too slick for San Diego Legion. The New England Freejacks did a great job putting this play together. This is a try the All Blacks wouldn't have stopped. I'm saying this from New Zealand!

Lol mate let’s be realistic here 😂 we’re all rugby fans but it’s not going to beat the football/soccer. MLS has got 10x the crowds and has the next FIFA World Cup, football/soccer is about to explode in the US

@@jakeclough8090 Got the RWC in 2031 which will be good

Soccer is a global game with huge followings in Asia and Africa. Rugby is played at a top level in about 10 countries and will always be a relatively niche sport, but great to see it growing in the US. Fans go nuts at NFL games when the ball gets passed around, so I have always thought rugby should have some popularity.

@@gh_pics yeah it’s something but it’s not going to have the same affect the first World Cup has. I mean the fifa World Cup could double football fans in the USA and the rugby World Cup could also double rugby fans, but the fifa World Cup is going to make soccer the third sport in America for sure, I have no doubts. The rugby World Cup will be a major major success if it’s legacy makes it near the top 10 sports in the USA

If the septic yanks promote Rugby more. Then yes

Apparently that team in Atlanta is moving to LA, rebranded as RFCLA

In an initial TV shot you can see the New England Freejack have 4 players on 2 players advantage on Ma'a Nonu's side of the field. With a Freejack's player out of shot, it is actually a 5 on 2 overlap. On the play before the last, two New England Freejack Player's attack two San Diego Legion players man - on - man. This still leaves an overlap of 5 NE players on the 2 San Diego defenders. On the try scoring play, realising that the New England Freejacks have a three player overlap Ma'a Nonu goes for an intercept or attempts to disrupt the direction of the pass from the Freejacks. This would either cause San Diego to break down field and score counter attacking trying of their own or cause loose ball from the pass to go to ground. This would give the San Diego Legion defense a chance to regroup and maybe turnover the ball, so they control the last play of the game. Ultimately, the lead up this this situation and the execution of New England's last play is too slick for San Diego Legion. The New England Freejacks did a great job putting this play together. This is a try the All Blacks wouldn't have stopped. I'm saying this from New Zealand!

First of all it a team sport. He wasn't out the by himself, like the teammates said we win together we lost together..

Yea Nonu is da man but a team man

@@pasekateo9660 thats nice, but two of the tries where directly his fault. He is a great player one of the best ever but not on that day. The last phase also...

In an initial TV shot you can see the New England Freejack have 4 players on 2 players advantage on Ma'a Nonu's side of the field. With a Freejack's player out of shot, it is actually a 5 on 2 overlap. On the play before the last, two New England Freejack Player's attack two San Diego Legion players man - on - man. This still leaves an overlap of 5 NE players on the 2 San Diego defenders. On the try scoring play, realising that the New England Freejacks have a three player overlap Ma'a Nonu goes for an intercept or attempts to disrupt the direction of the pass from the Freejacks. This would either cause San Diego to break down field and score counter attacking trying of their own or cause loose ball from the pass to go to ground. This would give the San Diego Legion defense a chance to regroup and maybe turnover the ball, so they control the last play of the game. Ultimately, the lead up this this situation and the execution of New England's last play is too slick for San Diego Legion. The New England Freejacks did a great job putting this play together. This is a try the All Blacks wouldn't have stopped. I'm saying this from New Zealand!

They could have won with a drop goal

@@GabrielNavarro-bo7st agreed

He is old. Give him a break.

In an initial TV shot you can see the New England Freejack have 4 players on 2 players advantage on Ma'a Nonu's side of the field. With a Freejack's player out of shot, it is actually a 5 on 2 overlap. On the play before the last, two New England Freejack Player's attack two San Diego Legion players man - on - man. This still leaves an overlap of 5 NE players on the 2 San Diego defenders. On the try scoring play, realising that the New England Freejacks have a three player overlap Ma'a Nonu goes for an intercept or attempts to disrupt the direction of the pass from the Freejacks. This would either cause San Diego to break down field and score counter attacking trying of their own or cause loose ball from the pass to go to ground. This would give the San Diego Legion defense a chance to regroup and maybe turnover the ball, so they control the last play of the game. Ultimately, the lead up this this situation and the execution of New England's last play is too slick for San Diego Legion. The New England Freejacks did a great job putting this play together. This is a try the All Blacks wouldn't have stopped. I'm saying this from New Zealand!

I think at some point, a Los Angeles team and a Hawaii team would be a great fit into Super Rugby, while we could also have a New York City team and a Montreal/Boston/Philadelphia/DC team in the URC. And then the MLR would basically be the league that develops American/Canadian talent, feeding these four sides for the big games. Hey it seems to work well for Ireland. Also, and this may be a mere technicality, the US DID have a “Super Rugby” team in 2023: the American Raptors (formerly the MLR’s Colorado Raptors) playing in Super Rugby Americas.

No, 4th. The Free Jacks started playing in the MLR in 2020. They didn’t even get to play a home game before … well, you all remember what happened in March 2020, I don’t need to repeat it here. 2021 would be the Free Jacks’ first full season. And it was more than decent. They went 10-6 and only missed the playoffs because four teams in the East had 10+ wins and the Free Jacks were only able to get 8 bonus points in 16 games, worst in the East and second-worst in the whole league (2-14 Houston only got 5 BPs that season, they were dreadful). 4th in the East caused us to miss the playoffs by 5 standings points, but it did feature the end of season debut of Veterans’ Memorial Stadium, henceforth to be known as “Fort Quincy,” where opponents’ dreams come to die. And die they would … a lot. 2022 was a season that should have seen ultimate triumph for the Free Jacks, only to watch it slip through their fingers at the end due to the actions of an incompetent fool. A 13-3 campaign saw the Free Jacks become the Eastern Conference #1 seed with the best regular season record in MLR history yet: 62 points (bested a year later by both Championship game teams). And as the playoffs arrived, Eastern Supremacy became a certainty as both Austin and Los Angeles, the top two teams in the West and legit title contenders, were disqualified from post-season play (both franchises would cease operations in the aftermath of Gilchrist-Gate). This would leave a 9-7 Seattle, who would have originally failed to make the playoffs entirely, the team to represent the West in the Championship. Whoever made it out of the East would both host the Championship AND be HEAVY favorites to win the Shield. The Free Jacks started strong in the Eastern Conference Championship and probably would have won the game … except for the actions of one man: Federico Anselmi, the Argentine referee. Missing a CLEAR forward pass by NY that led to a try, he gave NY a lifeline they never should have gotten, and would win the game and go on to win the Shield. I cannot stress to you how hated Anselmi is among Free Jacks faithful, the call was that egregious. 2023 … well, you see that here. As for Fort Quincy, the Free Jacks are 17-2 overall there … both losses being to NY.

@@stevendebettencourt7651 appreciate the history lesson man

@@alabaster2211 And it’s still being written.

Good call mate - although I'm not sure if 'advantage' play had been deemed to have been over following a minute of advantage play before M'aa's knock on ?

I don't see any reason for advantage to be called over, they crossed no advantage line and were in the same position for a minute.