Announced back in September 2018 as a Major League Rugby expansion side, the New England Free Jacks have wasted little time in their existence. They’ve played a trio of exhibition matches against MLR talent, well over a year ahead of their debut into the professional competition. The team continues to remain active while the league battles heavily against one another. But their biggest accomplishment has easily been their securing of an international competition featuring the Irish provincial sides’ academy teams. The Cara Cup will bring in academy rosters from Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster for a round-robin event.

Kicking off St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the Cara Cup will feature six matches, as the Free Jacks will go against all four developmental “A” sides. The competition will also feature a pair of all-Irish matches as Connacht A vs Ulster A and Munster A vs Leinster A will be featured. Originally announced in November, the dates, kickoff times, and venues have been made official, so don’t miss the premier rugby event in New England this spring.

Get your tickets here. Single match tickets are available for $30 per match, or save on all six with the $150 six-game bundle. Kids 8 and under can enter for free. A VIP ticket that will include premium seating, New England Free Jacks and event merchandise, exclusive access to VIP beer garden, two drinks included, one complimentary meal from participating vendors, an exclusive reception with the players, and guaranteed parking is also available for $95.

Update: VIP tickets are sold out for the March 16 Connacht A match. The team has announced a hope to further expand the available VIP area, but the demand for these tickets is on the rise. Get yours today and don’t miss out on the spring’s greatest rugby offering in the area.

Free Jacks v Connacht A March 16 3:00PM Union Point Sports Complex Weymouth, MA Connacht A v Ulster A March 20 7:00PM Union Point Sports Complex Weymouth, MA Free Jacks v Ulster A March 24 6:30PM Union Point Sports Complex Weymouth, MA Free Jacks v Munster A April 6 4:00PM Irish Cultural Centre Canton, MA Munster A v Leinster A April 10 7:00PM Union Point Sports Complex Weymouth, MA Free Jacks v Leinster A April 14 5:00PM Harvard Mignone Field Boston, MA

In a major announcement, the Free Jacks has declared NESN, broadcasting home of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins, the official broadcast partner of the Cara Cup. All matches except for the March 16 Free Jacks v Connacht A games will be able to be caught on NESNPlus. NESNplus is available throughout the six-state New England region (except Fairfield County, Connecticut). For a complete channel listing in your area, click here. All of NESN’s programming is also available to stream for authenticated subscribers on NESNgo.com or the NESNgo App.

“We look forward to working with a top sports television network to bring the intimacy, good vibes, and quality rugby of the Free Jacks’ home matches to new households and future fans,” said Free Jacks’ CEO Alex Magleby. “NESN has set the standard for a long time and we appreciate the opportunity to bring our great game to fans throughout New England.”

NESN has dabbled beyond the primary American sports markets previously, as they annually air the Fenway Hurling Classic. This will no doubt be a great test run before for the network to see the power of the growth of rugby. Potential certainly exists for NESN to step in as the regional broadcaster for Free Jacks games in the 2020 debut season.

The Free Jacks are also eager to announce Rhino Rugby’s, one of the leading rugby brands in the world, Rhino Vortex Elite will be used as the match ball for the upcoming transatlantic series.

“The Cara Cup motto this year, the line often credited to W.B. Yeats—‘There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t yet met’—is perfect for our budding relationship with the Irish provinces, and even more so a reflection of our great sport and the new fans that are coming into it and the type of experience we aim to have at our matches—a lot of fun, high-value entertainment, very friendly, and welcoming to all,” said Free Jacks’ co-founder Alex Magleby. “Connacht, Ulster, Munster, and Leinster are all playing an exciting brand of rugby, as is reflected in the successes of the Irish National Team. These six matches will bring entertaining sport in a fun environment to friends old and new.”

The series of games comes as the result of Magleby who, as former general manager of the USA Rugby national team & high performance, has built a steady relationship with the Irish Rugby Football Union in the recent years. The Irish have now played a home-and-away series against the Eagles, the first a resounding win back in New York in 2017 as well as handing the Eagles their lone test match loss in 2018. Ireland has also come stateside in 2016 (where their historic first win over New Zealand happened) as well as again in 2018 as part of The Rugby Weekend in Chicago, Illinois.

“Sharing our collective insight and experiences through these matches with the rapidly growing rugby population and fanbase in New England is an exciting challenge,” commented IRFU performance director David Nucifora. “We also have many Irish Rugby supporters in the greater Boston area we are excited to connect with again.”

The event looks to harmonize the New England rugby culture as well as simply grow the game in the region. While the Free Jacks might have three matches against MLR teams, they’ve fallen short in all three (L 14-33 v Toronto Arrows, L 35-38 v Rugby United New York, and an unofficial but reported L 21-98 v Utah Warriors). The success of the Cara Cup, however, will extend far beyond the results on the pitch. Without even a league-ready roster, toppling even the developmental Irish sides poses a tall order.

Success will as much be about the turnout and interest they can spark ahead of their 2020 debut into Major League Rugby. Building a rousing home section has proven to be a major advantage among the highly competitive second season. Putting the local product on the same pitch as a highly established great rugby franchises like the Irish provincial sides is a spectacular achievement and should drive in plenty of spectators. It’ll be up the Free Jacks to extend that interest beyond merely the Irish games.

This will also give the team a chance to evaluate a handful of venues. Union Points Sports Complex, Harvard Mignone Field, and the Irish Cultural Centre are all under consideration for home games, among some outside choices.

I mentioned this alongside the initial announcement, but venue location could quickly become the Free Jacks’ largest obstacle in establishing a strong brand within the region. While the team wants to bank in on it being one that unifies the region’s rugby powers, the reality of the economic situation is that being as close to Boston will provide them the best chance to succeed. The New England Revolution have failed to truly get a foothold in the region despite being one of MLS’ most winning franchises thanks in large to the big pain in the ass getting to Gilette Stadium is for games. Currently, most of the Free Jacks’ venue options lack public transit options.

Union Point Sports Complex is a brand new 25-acre indoor and outdoor sports complex. Global Premier Soccer (GPS), Boston Laxachusetts, and Boston Rugby Club are among the sports organizations that call Union Point Sports Complex home. UPSC is unique to the South Shore and located within the town of Weymouth while bordered by the towns of Abington and Rockland and sitting just 12 miles south of Boston. UPSC features four fully lit synthetic turf fields equipped with permanent playing surfaces for soccer, lacrosse, rugby, and field hockey. Field 4 is a rugby specific pitch and is a certified international playing surface.

Previously budgeted to include seating meant to accommodate a professional rugby team, the venue had, up until the new year, lacked any such seating or real foresight to include space for it. With four matches poised to be there, there will surely be something erected, which will give the region the first real look at Union Point.

“The success of Irish Rugby in recent years has further elevated the sport at home and abroad,” said Union Point Sports co-owner Joe Bradley, an Irish National. “With the Six Nations currently in full swing and the Rugby World Cup this fall, we hope the strong Irish population in Massachusetts comes out to see top players perform in this great sport.”

The problem is the journey to Weymouth and the field is one of at least half an hour by car from Boston on the best of days, and much longer on the worst. Forced down the hell that can be the Mass Route 3 corridor, the journey is worsened by a long trip down MA State Road 18, which has already proven to be a slog on the pair of matches I’ve journeyed. For a single season, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but should the fan base grow how hoped, Union Point would quickly be outgrown simply by the logistics.

The Irish Cultural Centre is a non-profit cultural organization located at 200 New Boston Drive, Canton, Massachusetts. The Centre, which recently celebrated its 28th anniversary, promotes and organizes Irish cultural, educational, sporting, and social events. The venue currently plays home to the Boston Irish Wolfhounds and has a pub/restaurant on site plus the TreeTop Adventures rope course within the same grounds for the kids who won’t make it 80+ minutes when weather permits.

“We are incredibly excited about this opportunity with the Free Jacks and certainly feel that our partnership is mutually beneficial,” said Greg Jackson, executive director of the ICC. “It’s in-line with our mission of promoting and preserving Irish Culture as rugby is growing sport in Ireland and here in the United States. We are looking forward to the tremendous occasion and the beginning of a really wonderful symbiotic relationship between our two organizations.”

What again holds back Canton has been a long begrudging from the Gaelic Athletic Association in allowing rugby to be played on their premier pitch. They’ve dropped that reservation for a single match (the Free Jacks will also play the All-Ireland League champions Lansdowne FC on June 1), but it will be left to be seen whether the game against Munster can sway their minds for a longer standing deal. The ICC still lacks public means of transport to reach the game and again despite being just 20 miles from metro-Boston, can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes on the good traffic days. Without a bevy of other fields competing for more limited parking as Union Point will feature, the ICC seems the better choice up front pending the GAA’s warming to the notion. Still, getting further north will only help.

Havard likely represents the most expensive lease to fill of the current options. Mignone Field also still lacks public transit despite being technically within the city of Boston. Tucked up in Allston along the Charles River, there is no transit line other than buses that directly service the area. For weekend events, as rugby matches would prove to be, the drive is much more manageable, however, even if it boils down to visiting fans who are staying in Boston to maximize their trip in the region using ride sharing or taxis.

But these will be the decisions left to evaluate after the reception of these matches. For now, buckle up for some fantastic rugby, buy your tickets, get out there and show your support, prove this region is ready to thrive as one of the premier American rugby markets.