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The Utah Warriors recovered from an 8-point deficit late in the game to seal a 31-27 victory over the Houston SaberCats on Saturday, in doing so securing their spot in the Major League Rugby Semi Finals. It was a physical match with Houston intent on playing the spoiler role while Utah were desperate to earn their place in the Final Four.
After a tense opening Tonata Lauti broke through the line and raced around under the posts for an early Warriors score. The SaberCats replied in similar fashion. Zach Pangelinan popped up to take a short ball from Sam Windsor and the fullback fed a perfectly-placed pass to Cecil Garber on the charge for the try. Unfortunately for Garber that would be his last act of the game as he appeared to damage a shoulder while sliding in.
Windsor nudged Houston ahead with a penalty goal before a frantic end to the first half. From an attacking lineout Utah’s big men went to work with Saia Uhila eventually blasting over. That lead would not hold either as Windsor himself had the final say before the break. The Warriors defense bought the decoy runners on a set move from a scrum and Windsor stepped straight through the middle to touch down under the sticks.
The monstrous figure of Maka Tameilau created Utah’s third try. Adam Macklin was sent tumbling backwards by his opposite and then another charge from Tameilau pinned Houston’s heels on their own goal line. Ara Elkington picked the shortest line between two points and dove over top of the ruck to score with Jonny Linehan’s conversion grabbing the lead for the home side.
Houston got two scores in quick succession to regain the lead and create an ominous gap with only 15 minutes left to play. Windsor struck first with his second penalty goal and then Osea Kolinisau showed his class with a scything run through the middle that caught the defense off guard.
Utah would not go down without a fight, however, and a brilliant individual effort from Alex Tucci got them back in the game. The replacement prop ran a hard line and spun out of two tackles on the gainline before sprinting 30 meters, fending off the cover and reaching out with one arm to score one of the tries of the season.
The match winner was every bit as impressive. Fetu’u Vainikolo, now lining up in the midfield, showed his pace to swerve outside and explode through the gap. After making nearly 50 meters himself he fired a backhanded offload to Lauti on his outside to score a sensational try and give Utah the lead. They would nearly score again in a tense finale but the end came before either team could get back on the board.
With that Utah have qualified for the Semi Finals, with their opponent still to be determined pending the result of San Diego’s home game against Glendale. Should the Legion upset the league-leaders they would face the Seawolves next weekend, with the Warriors squaring off against the Raptors. The opposite will be true if San Diego falls short against Glendale.
Houston’s season has come to a close with the time of great reflection now upon them. Having played 19 games in all since January, a couple months of rest are in order before reconvening to prepare for a new season with new opponents and new ideas.
SCORING
UTAH 31
Tries – T. Lauti 2 (10’, 72’), S. Uhila (31’), A. Elkington (49’), A. Tucci (68’)
Cons – J. Linehan 2/3 (11’, 50’), B. Nicholls 1/2 (69’)
HOUSTON 27
Tries – C. Garber (16’), S. Windsor (40’), O. Kolinisau (64’)
Cons – S. Windsor 3/3 (17’, 40’, 65’)
Pens – S. Windsor 2/4 (25’, 60’)
TEAMS
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Maka Tameilau (17 Alex Tucci 53’), 2 Lote Tu’ipulotu (16 Ray Forrester 63’), 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 John Cullen (19 Matt Jensen 60’), 5 Saia Uhila (capt.) (18 Les Soloai 63’ {20 Tino Mafi 77’}), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ara Elkington, 8 David Tameilau, 9 Joseph Nicholls, 10 Jonny Linehan (23 Ben Nicholls 63’), 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 12 AJ Tu’ineau (21 Josh Anderson 71’), 13 Iniki Fa’amausili (22 Vernon Ale 77’), 14 Tonata Lauti, 15 Don Pati
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Jamie Dever, 2 Lindsey Stevens, 3 Adam Macklin (17 Jake Turnbull 50’), 4 Charlie Hewitt (20 Chris Parker 69’), 5 Matt Trouville, 6 Chris Coyle (16 Gabe Romero 77’), 7 Cecil Garber (19 Robert Meeson 17’), 8 Kyle Sumsion (capt.), 9 Connor Murphy, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Malacchi Esdale, 12 Conor Mills (22 Dan Paul 77’), 13 Osea Kolinisau, 14 Alex Elkins (23 Joey Iosefa 60’), 15 Zach Pangelinan
Not used: 18 Jack Riley, 21 Chris Slater
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Adam Leal (RFU)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Kage Green (USAR)
