Canadians help New England Free Jacks retain Major League Rugby championship | Canada News Media
Connect with us

News

Canadians help New England Free Jacks retain Major League Rugby championship

Published

 on

 

SAN DIEGO – Jayson Potroz’s boot accounted for 15 points Sunday as the New England Free Jacks defeated the Seattle Seawolves 20-11 to win the Major League Rugby championship for the second year in a row.

New England had significant Canadian help in defending its title.

Canadians Andrew Quattrin, Cole Keith, Kyle Baillie, Conor Keys and Piers von Dadelszen started in the New England pack.

Fellow Canadians Foster Dewitt, Josh Larsen, Ethan Fryer (a U.S.-Canadian dual citizen) and Ben LeSage started on the Free Jacks bench.

Other Canadians on the New England roster are Gabe Casey, Isaac Olson and Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti (who was born in Fiji but also qualifies for Canada).

Baillie, Keith, Quattrin and LeSage all played for the Toronto Arrows, who folded last November following the death of Bill Webb, the club’s president and general partner.

Le Roux Malan scored the lone try for New England, which led 14-8 at the half. Potroz a New Zealand-born fly half who was the league’s player of the year in 2023, kicked five penalties.

Joe Taufete’e scored a try for Seattle, which played a man down for 10 minutes of the second half when Tavite Lopeti was yellow-carded in the 52nd minute for a high tackle on Malan. Mack Mason booted two penalties for the Seawolves.

It was 27 C at kickoff at Snapdragon Stadium.

New England led 8-0 after the first 15 minutes early on a Potroz penalty and an acrobatic Malan try in the corner. Malan, a Namibian international centre, suffered a horrific injury — breaking and dislocating his right ankle — at the Rugby World Cup in September 2023 in a 71-3 loss to the All Blacks.

Mason missed his first penalty attempt from distance but was on target in his second in the 28th minute, and Potroz traded penalty kicks to make it 11-3.

Taufete’e powered his way over in the corner in the 31st minute, taking an offload from a fellow forward following a lineout win, to make it 11-8. Potroz added to the lead with a penalty on the stroke of halftime after Seattle was called for a no-arms tackle.

New England added two penalties and Seattle one in the second half.

Both the Free Jacks and Seawolves have championship pedigrees.

New England edged the San Diego Legion 25-24 in last year’s final in Bridgeview, Ill. Seattle hoisted the trophy in 2018 and ’19, the pro rugby league’s first two seasons, and was runner-up to Rugby New York in 2022.

New England finished atop the Eastern Conference at 11-5-0, while conceding a league-low 344 points. Seattle (11-5-0) was runner-up to the Houston SabreCats (14-2-0) in the West.

New England, which went 14-2-0 last season, beat Old Glory DC 33-29 in the Eastern semifinal and the Chicago Hounds 23-17 in the final.

Seattle downed the San Diego Legion 30-28 in the Western semifinal and the Dallas Jackals 28-25 in the final. The Jackals had ousted Houston 34-22 in their semifinal.

Both New England and Seattle came into the final on a run of form.

The Free Jacks had won six of their last seven, with the lone loss a 27-17 decision at NOLA Gold on June 22. Seattle had won five of its last seven.

Seattle won 29-21 when the teams met April 20 in Quincy, Mass.

Five New England games this season were decided by two points or less with the Free Jacks winning three of those.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2024

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

RCMP investigating after three found dead in Lloydminster, Sask.

Published

 on

LLOYDMINSTER, SASK. – RCMP are investigating the deaths of three people in Lloydminster, Sask.

They said in a news release Thursday that there is no risk to the public.

On Wednesday evening, they said there was a heavy police presence around 50th Street and 47th Avenue as officers investigated an “unfolding incident.”

Mounties have not said how the people died, their ages or their genders.

Multiple media reports from the scene show yellow police tape blocking off a home, as well as an adjacent road and alleyway.

The city of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.

Mounties said the three people were found on the Saskatchewan side of the city, but that the Alberta RCMP are investigating.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 12, 2024.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story; An earlier version said the three deceased were found on the Alberta side of Lloydminster.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Three injured in Kingston, Ont., assault, police negotiating suspect’s surrender

Published

 on

KINGSTON, Ont. – Police in Kingston, Ont., say three people have been sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a violent daytime assault.

Kingston police say officers have surrounded a suspect and were trying to negotiate his surrender as of 1 p.m.

Spokesperson Const. Anthony Colangeli says police received reports that the suspect may have been wielding an edged or blunt weapon, possibly both.

Colangeli says officers were called to the Integrated Care Hub around 10:40 a.m. after a report of a serious assault.

He says the three victims were all assaulted “in the vicinity,” of the drop-in health centre, not inside.

Police have closed Montreal Street between Railway Street and Hickson Avenue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Government intervention in Air Canada talks a threat to competition: Transat CEO

Published

 on

Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.

“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.

“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.

Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.

Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.

Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.

The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.

As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”

“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.

The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.

Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.

The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.

“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”

Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.

“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.

“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.

“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version