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The Texas Cup is staying in Austin for now, and on Saturday’s showing it might be staying for a while. It wasn’t the most exciting game of rugby ever played but the Gilgronis did enough to claim a 26-0 victory over the SaberCats at Bold Stadium, handing Houston their second shutout in as many games.
In fact there was only a single attempt at points for the SaberCats, and it came early. The Gilgronis got their timing wrong and instead of a line break for Will Magie, an obstruction call handed a 51-meter penalty attempt to Sam Windsor. It had the distance but went well wide and the flags stayed down.
Discipline soon proved to be Houston’s undoing. Mack Mason found the corner with a touch-finder and a successful lineout drive gave Mason Koch his first try as a professional. He wouldn’t wait long for a second, with a near-identical score coming after Diego Magno was binned for a cynical foul.
Another foray into SaberCats territory yielded a try to Jamie Mackintosh, the big man muscling over from close range to make it 19-0 heading towards halftime. A second yellow to the visitors would come before the break. This time it was handed to Nicolás Solveyra for a late tackle.
There was little worth remembering of the second half as both sides struggled with continuity. Yellow cards to Will Magie and Zachary Short reduced both teams to 14 men and the extra space was enough for Rodrick Waters to find the corner and secure a winning bonus point for Austin.
Both teams will return to action next Saturday. The AG’s play their first road game against the NOLA Gold. Houston will hope to find some inspiration at home against the visiting San Diego Legion.
SCORING
AUSTIN 26
Tries – M. Koch 2 (12’, 27’), J. Mackintosh (31’), R. Waters (77’)
Cons – M. Mason 3/4 (28’, 31’, 78’)
Pens – M. Mason 0/1
Yellow cards – W. Magie (71’)
HOUSTON 0
Pens – S. Windsor 0/1
Yellow cards – D. Magno (26’), N. Solveyra (38’), Z. Short (76’)
TEAMS
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 Jamie Mackintosh (17 Jake Turnbull 66’), 2 Mason Koch, 3 Paddy Ryan (18 Mason Pedersen 32′ {16 LaRome White 66’}), 4 Sebastian de Chaves (capt.), 5 Christian Ostberg (19 Reegan O’Gorman 58′), 6 Dom Bailey, 7 Maclean Jones (20 Kyle Breytenbach 78’), 8 Michael de Waal, 9 Pele Cowley (21 Sidney Shoop 78’), 10 Mack Mason, 11 Conner Mooneyham, 12 Ned Hodson (22 Kurt Morath 34′), 13 Frank Halai (23 Cole Davis 56′), 14 Rodrick Waters, 15 Will Magie
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Valdemar Lee-Lo (17 Nicolás Solveyra 34’), 2 Diego Fortuny (16 Tiaan Erasmus 68’), 3 Charlie Connolly (18 Nikoloz Khatiashvili 50’), 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Van Stewart (19 Lucas Albornoz 68’), 6 Bronson Teles (22 Adriaan Booysen 18’ {18 Nikoloz Khatiashvili 44’-48’}), 7 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 8 Diego Magno, 9 Zachary Short, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Veramu Dikidikilati (20 Taylor Howden 68’), 12 Sam Windsor, 13 Gabe Farley (23 Zach Pangelinan 50′), 14 Paula Balekana (21 Jinho Mun 77’), 15 Matías Freyre
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Butch Neuenschwander (USA)
