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A match that didn’t quite make it in 2020 will finally happen on Saturday evening. The New England Free Jacks were due to host the Houston SaberCats on March 14 of last year only for the season to be suspended and ultimately cancelled before the historic meeting could take place.
It’s Houston who will play host this time at the AVEVA Stadium. The SaberCats are on the hunt for a second win after stopping the Seawolves in their home opener. Returning from injury to captain the side is Luke Beauchamp which is a further boost of confidence.
Paul Healy has opted to freshen up his squad with four further changes to the forward pack. The front row swaps places with Nicolás Solveyra, Tiaan Erasmus, and Nikoloz Khatiashvili rotated into the starting spot. Diego Magno switches to openside flanker with Adriaan Booysen coming in at No8.
In the backs there is a club debut for Gabe Farley at inside center with left wing Zack Godfrey handed his first regular season start. Canadian internationals Lucas Albornoz and Robbie Povey, both new signings, cover lock and flyhalf respectively from the bench.
The Free Jacks drew the first shot at the high-rolling LA Giltinis and came away second best. Discipline was a letdown with two yellow cards and one red, but there were moments of clarity such as the well-executed set move tries for Joe Johnston and Beaudein Waaka.
There is no place for Waaka who misses out with injury. Dougie Fife moves to fullback with Harry Barlow starting on the wing. The only other change to the starting lineup sees Wian Conradie lining up opposite Namibia teammate Booysen at No8 with Justin Johnson moving to the flank.
John Poland continues at scrumhalf despite being sent off last weekend. The club successfully appealed his suspension during the week. Danny Collins and Conor Kindregan make their first appearances of the season among the reserves.
There should be an interesting contest at the scrum where New England had the better of LA times, while Houston had Seattle’s number. The Cats pounced on errors by their visitors and produced their own try by design for Paula Balekana.
Of the two it’s Houston who tick the most boxes. They have home field advantage, momentum, plus the return of key personnel to the lineup. There is also a significant experience gap between SaberCats flyhalf Sam Windsor and opposite number Harrison Boyle. Take Houston to get it done at home again.
Kickoff is set for 3pm local time, 3pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on NESN in New England and The Rugby Network worldwide. A delayed broadcast will air on AT&T SportsNet Southwest on Sunday.
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Van Stewart, 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Diego Magno, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Jinho Mun, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Zack Godfrey, 12 Gabe Farley, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Matías Freyre
Replacements: 16 Diego Fortuny, 17 Valdemar Lee-Lo, 18 Charlie Connolly, 19 Lucas Albornoz, 20 Bronson Teles, 21 Zachary Short, 22 Robbie Povey, 23 Max Tacket
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Sef Fa’agase, 2 Pieter Jansen, 3 Erich de Jager, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Jackson Thiebes, 6 Justin Johnson, 7 Joe Johnston, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Harrison Boyle, 11 Mitch Wilson, 12 Aleki Morris-Lome, 13 Poasa Waqanibau, 14 Harry Barlow, 15 Dougie Fife
Replacements: 16 Vili Toluta’u, 17 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 18 Kyle Ciquera, 19 Ronan McCusker, 20 Conor Kindregan, 21 Ollie Engelhart, 22 Evan Geist, 23 Danny Collins
Date: Saturday, March 27
Venue: AVEVA Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Broadcast: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, NESN, The Rugby Network
Historical Results:
n/a
