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The San Diego Legion host the Houston SaberCats at Torero Stadium on Friday evening in the second of three Major League Rugby games this weekend. San Diego earned their first win at home against the Utah Warriors on Sunday and must front up again on only four days rest against a confident SaberCats team who put 50 points on Austin Elite at Dyer Stadium on Saturday.
Despite the short turnaround only one change is made to the Legion’s starting roster. Heavyweight South African prop Dolph Botha sees his first regular season action as he starts at tighthead, with Tony Purpura bumped to the bench.
There are two notable additions to the reserves. Former Cal Poly and current SFGG tighthead Nathan Sylvia joins the team to bolster their front row stocks and back row Malon Al-Jiboori arrives fresh off Eagles Sevens duty.
Houston have opted to freshen up their pack. Jake Turnbull returns at loosehead prop, with Robert Meeson rotating in for Justin Allen at lock. Chris Coyle is retained but switches to the blindside flank with Cecil Garber in at openside and club captain Kyle Sumsion left on the bench.
Zach Pangelinan returns at fullback but there is no sign of star winger Josua Vici. Filling the void is Malacchi Esdale who slides out from the midfield, and Osea Kolinisau moves up from fullback to center.
The bench is once again a 6-2 split with powerful loose forward Pago Haini ready to make an impact along with new signing sensation Joey Iosefa. Chris Slater is called up to provide cover at scrumhalf or the wing.
This is shaping up to be a pivotal match in the season for both clubs. Each are on an upwards trajectory and will view this contest as a battle of will. Houston were upset by NOLA in their opener but looked back on track against Austin. San Diego are also feeling better after being chewed up by Seattle but triumphant over Utah.
Significant upgrades to the San Diego scrum will help their chances but they still look like a club just beginning to come together after their truncated preseason. Houston are the polar opposites in that regard, having been playing together on a weekly basis since January.
That level of cohesion was the difference in their exhibition encounter that saw the SaberCats comfortable winners and could well be again on Friday evening. There’s no question this Legion lineup is stronger, however, and it’s impossible to ignore the talent in their backline.
Expect a highly competitive match that seems too close to call. A slight edge goes to Houston based on the psychological advantage of the preseason result.
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Sione Tu’ihalamaka, 2 Pat Blair, 3 Dolph Botha, 4 Siaosi Mahoni, 5 Jay Harmon, 6 Chris Turori, 7 Devin Short, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Nate Augspurger, 10 Tadhg Leader, 11 Ryan Matyas, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Anthony Salaber, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 15 Dylan Audsley
Replacements: 16 Gil Covey, 17 Tony Purpura, 18 Nathan Sylvia, 19 Derrick Broussard, 20 Malon Al-Jiboori, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Ben Cima, 23 Naima Fuala’au
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Lindsey Stevens, 3 Adam Macklin, 4 Robert Meeson, 5 Charlie Hewitt, 6 Chris Coyle, 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Matt Trouville (capt.), 9 Connor Murphy, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Alex Elkins, 12 Conor Mills, 13 Osea Kolinisau, 14 Malacchi Esdale, 15 Zach Pangelinan
Replacements: 16 Diego Maquieira, 17 Petey Hepburn, 18 Jack Riley, 19 Justin Allen, 20 Kyle Sumsion, 21 Pago Haini, 22 Chris Slater, 23 Joey Iosefa
Date: Friday, May 4
Venue: Torero Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 17:30 local (19:30 Central, 20:30 Eastern)
Referee: Chris Assmus (RC)
Assistants: Paul-Henri Courbier (USAR) & John Neiss (USAR)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook
