The Toronto Arrows travels to New England at Veterans Memorial Stadium

Toronto Arrows player Ross Braude passes the ball on April 3, 2021

PREVIEW – The Toronto Arrows will travel to Veterans Memorial Stadium on March 12, 2022. There, they will face the New England Free Jacks on the road. The Arrows have won two straight games. Toronto Arrows play a third-straight road game, this time at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The New England Free Jacks plays home opener at Veterans Memorial Stadium

Toronto Arrows

The Toronto Arrows are on a two-game winning streak. They also have a 2-1 record on the road. If the Arrows can keep that road record above .500, it bodes well, when the Arrows start to play in Toronto in April.

The Arrows are coming off a big road win against Old Glory DC in their last game. A big play was when the Arrows were winning 12-5 in the first half. Sam Malcolm made a good interception to prevent Washington D.C. from catching up. The Arrows would score two more tries and as a result, won the game 29-5 over Old Glory DC. It also means the Arrows are a perfect three wins in three games against the Washington D.C. side.

This is what Ross Braude (seen in the main picture above) said of the game according to the Toronto Arrows:

“This game, especially because it’s Eastern Conference, too, we needed this win. Going into a bye week, it’s going to be good for our morale.”

The Toronto Arrows had a bye week last weekend after winning both games. The other win against the NOLA Gold was the very first time Toronto defeated New Orleans. The Arrows have lost all their previous games against New Orleans going back to 2019. It was a great bounce-back win after losing to the LA Giltinis at home in British Columbia.

Unfortunately, they will be without the services of Andrew Ferguson for the rest of the regular season as reported by the Toronto Arrows. It will be a tough task for the Arrows as they face a very good New England team on the road.

New England Free Jacks

The New England Free Jacks got a big win over their Eastern Conference and Cold War Cup rivals, Rugby United New York. As a result, New England is in third place in the MLR standings. However, they are only one point behind Rugby ATL and they are tied in points with New York City. The only reason New York City is above New England is because of points differential. This is what New England Free Jacks head coach Scott Mathie said about their win against Rugby United New York on the In the Sheds podcast:

“Yeah, awesome, I think uh, come away, especially with all the away games we have played, to come up with 15 points of four games away. Big away game, big rivals, you cannot ask for more.”

It is important to note that the game next Saturday will be the home opener for New England. To get three wins in four games on the road puts New England in the driver’s seat. A big part of that was their second-half performance as they trailed by one point after the end of the first half.

Veterans Memorial Stadium Overview

This is what assistant coach Mike Rogers said on In the Sheds podcast:

“It’s awesome to get home, I know the people of New England will come in and support us. We set up the season nicely in the first four games. But counts for nothing when we go up against Toronto.”

This will be the New England Free Jacks home opener. So, there will be a lot of emotion in the game. It is also a very big game in the Eastern Conference. If New England wins, they have a 4-1 record. However, if Toronto wins, they take a massive step to trying to get a playoff spot. Their road record would be 3-1 and would only need two more wins to have a road record above .500. This is especially true against a team as strong as New England.

The game will be televised nationally in Canada on TSN at Veterans Memorial Stadium. It will also be shown on NBCSB and The Rugby Network. Also, the date of the match is March 12 at 4:30 p.m. ET in Quincy, Massachusetts.

 

Main Photo Credit:
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