The Houston SaberCats have added US-eligible loose forward Mathew Faoagali to their roster for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. Originally signed in October 2018, he returned suddenly to his home in Australia prior to the start of the 2019 regular season campaign.
Faoagali played for the Penrith Emus in Sydney’s Shute Shield competition before the team was dropped from the competition in 2018. He then played for the Western Sydney Two Blues, the renamed Parramatta side that incorporated Penrith’s top players. The Emus have since been revived though its unclear if they will return to the Shute Shield in 2020.
A powerful ball-carrying No8, Faoagali looks to fill a significant gap in Houston’s roster following the departures of international trio Alejandro Nieto, Ayron Schramm, and Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz. The team is still short on forwards with only 13 publicly confirmed and a preseason match against the Tasman Mako just days away.