Technical problems caused viewers of Major League Rugby’s Eastern Conference Final between the New England Free Jacks and Chicago Hounds, which aired on ESPN2, to miss the final moments of the match.
With New England leading 21-20 in the final seconds of the match, Chicago’s Chris Hilsenbeck lined up a kick that would decide the match.
“You live for these moments when you’re a kicker,” analyst Mike Petri said. “This is what you live for. Chris Hilsenbeck, this is your moment.”
At that moment, the broadcast froze. For several seconds, viewers only heard occasional moments of audio, none of which revealed anything about Hilsenbeck’s kick. Eventually, the broadcast went to a commercial break.
The ESPN 2 broadcast of the Major League Rugby Eastern Conference Final had some technical issues right at the end of the match, preventing an exciting ending from being seen.
Part 1: pic.twitter.com/AL01AUhPRK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 22, 2025
When the commercial break ended, viewers learned what happened. While the screen showed only a pair of rugby balls along with a “technical difficulties” graphic, play-by-play man Ben Holden revealed that Hilsenbeck missed his kick.
“Chris Hilsenbeck’s been so good all year. And that kick no good, at the horn,” Holden said.
“I don’t know about you guys,” Petri said. “But I feel like I’m about to throw up. I mean, that was, oh, my gosh. Wow.”
More discussion about the end of the match, along with an apology for the difficulties.
Part 3: pic.twitter.com/8r1eMxMQl1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 22, 2025
After another commercial break, the audio feed returned, with the same “technical difficulties” screen as before.
“The kick went off of the upright,” Holden said. “None of us saw it. So again, we can’t apologize enough. But off the post, no good. The New England Free Jacks, guys, come back. They were down 17 points in this match. It’s the biggest comeback ever in MLR Playoff history. The Free Jacks do it again.”
“Incredible,” analyst Will Hooley said. “Incredible effort from the Free Jacks in that second half. And you’ve gotta commend all of Ryan Martin, the head coach, and his men, the belief. They talked about him being like Ted Lasso. Well, what’s in Ted Lasso? Believe. And they did that in the second half. I can’t believe it in the end. It had to come down to that kick. I feel so sorry for Hilsenbeck, because he was brilliant today. I really do believe that, the No. 10 for Chicago. It’s a cruel sport. Very cruel. Free Jacks get it, though.”
More discussion about the end of the match, along with an apology for the difficulties.
Part 3: pic.twitter.com/8r1eMxMQl1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 22, 2025
Major League Rugby also issued a statement, apologizing for the issues and congratulating both teams for their effort.
Major League Rugby also offered an apology for the technical issues. https://t.co/at55Kg3cYQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 22, 2025
Certainly, there’s never a good time for the feed of a sporting event to cut out. This, though, happened at the worst possible moment.
