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The Houston SaberCats scored a major upset over the NOLA Gold on Saturday, taking 27-20 win over one of the top teams in Major League Rugby on their home turf. It was the first victory for the SaberCats since the recent coaching shake-up that saw Paul Emerick take over from Justin Fitzpatrick as Head Coach.
A Josua Vici break down the left sideline set up an early penalty goal for Sam Windsor. NOLA responded quickly thanks to a Zack Stryffeler turnover. Houston were caught offside on the ensuing attack and JP Eloff collected the easy three points.
The SaberCats scrum was in control early and when it wasn’t winning penalties, it set the platform for their dangerous backline to attack. Osea Kolinisau created a half-break to put the Gold on their heels. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz earned hard yards and then Windsor was left unmarked for a simple try on the short side.
Stryffeler broke clean through the line to put NOLA back into scoring position. A penalty gave them an attacking lineout and they pushed Houston to the shadow of their posts. The ball popped free but Eric Howard was on hand to scoop it up and use his low body position and a little help from Alex Maughan to drive through to the line.
New Orleans took the lead before halftime on a catastrophic error by Deion Mikesell. Houston turned the ball over on attack and Scott Gale hacked it along the ground. With Eloff hard in pursuit, Mikesell ran away from his support and proceeded to spill the ball in the tackle of Tristan Blewett. The outside center accepted the gift graciously and took it on for a seven pointer.
Before the two sides could head into the sheds, the SaberCats would even things up. This time the NOLA backline coughed up the ball and Luke Beauchamp was freed down the right side, selling a dummy to skip past Gale. The ball was recycled with Diego Magno taking it on three times before Santiago Arata found an unguarded post to sneak in for the try.
Points would be much more difficult to come by in the second half. Windsor knocked over a penalty earned at a scrum to push Houston ahead and then came the killer blow. Gale kicked out on the full to give the Cats an attacking lineout. Just a couple phases later Alejandro Nieto went through a giant gap in the middle of the NOLA defense to slide in under the posts.
The Gold were completely shut out until the dying minutes. Houston’s defense held strong until a high tackle gave NOLA a decision to make. With only a minute to play and a 10 point deficit, Howard pointed to the sticks and Eloff knocked over the kick to secure the losing bonus point. That would be the last say as the SaberCats forced the Gold into touch with time expired.
NOLA have now dropped two straight and will need to find another gear when they travel to New York next Sunday. The SaberCats head home with their heads held high and will prepare for the all-Texas derby against Austin Elite on Saturday.
SCORING
NOLA 20
Tries – E. Howard (24’), T. Blewett (34’)
Cons – J. Eloff 2/2 (25’, 35’)
Pens – J. Eloff 2/2 (6’, 79’)
Yellow cards – C. Dolan (68’)
HOUSTON 27
Tries – S. Windsor (18’), S. Arata (39’), A. Nieto (62’)
Cons – S. Windsor 3/3 (19’, 40’, 63’)
Pens – S. Windsor 2/3 (3’, 52’)
TEAMS
NOLA GOLD
1 Hubert Buydens (16 Matt Harmon 50’), 2 Eric Howard (capt.), 3 Alex Maughan (17 Cam Falcon 55’), 4 Kane Thompson (19 Billy Stewart 69’), 5 Nikola Bursic, 6 Ignacio Dotti, 7 Zack Stryffeler (20 Moni Tonga’uiha 56’), 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Holden Yungert (21 Michael Baska 63’), 10 Scott Gale, 11 Nick Feakes, 12 Con Foley, 13 Tristan Blewett (22 Taylor Howden 69’), 14 Tim Maupin (23 Joeli Tikoisuva 52’), 15 JP Eloff
Not used: 18 Ross Davies
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Jamie Dever 45’), 2 Pat O’Toole (16 Amro Gouda 78’), 3 Charlie Connolly (18 Paul Mullen 45’), 4 Diego Magno, 5 Victor Comptat (20 Cecil Garber 69’), 6 Matt Trouville (capt.) (22 Alejandro Nieto 37’), 7 Luke Beauchamp, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Santiago Arata, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Malacchi Esdale (23 Zach Pangelinan HT), 12 Thretton Palamo, 13 Josua Vici, 14 Deion Mikesell, 15 Osea Kolinisau (21 Kieran Farmer 76’)
Not used: 19 Robert Meeson
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USAR) & Butch Neuenschwander (USAR)
