Thriller in Houston as SaberCats stun Legion

Major League Rugby fans were treated to a thrilling contest in Houston on Saturday evening. The back and forth battle went straight to the wire with the hometown Houston SaberCats edging the San Diego Legion by a final score of 34-32.

An early shot at three points eluded Sam Windsor and it was instead the Legion who were first on the board. From an attacking scrum Dylan Audsley took a flat pass from Carlo de Nysschen and charged straight at the line. Windsor tried desperately to hold on but Audsley was too strong, touching down for the opening try.

Within moments the SaberCats had a reply. Nick Boyer, who had a fine day on debut for his new team, started the move with a break down the left side. The ball was recycled and Veramu Dikidikilati on full charge barreled through for Houston’s first points in 180 minutes of rugby.

The scoring spree was far from over. Pietersen found Cecil Afrika in space and the fullback’s grubber kick ahead popped up perfectly for Bjorn Basson to take in mid-stride and finish in the corner.

At the other end Robbie Povey spotted space in behind San Diego’s defense and put in a raking kick that held up perfectly in the field of play. Afrika raced back to recover but slid past the ball and when Matías Freyre went to ground the ball the South African snatched it from Freyre’s hands while still on the deck. The referee correctly awarded a penalty try and dispatched Afrika to the sin bin.

Despite the one-man disadvantage, it was San Diego who scored next. Some individual brilliance and a bit of luck did the trick, as Pietersen’s chip over the line bounced awkwardly and when Freyre collided with Boyer it was clear skies to the tryline. Pietersen deftly avoided grounding the ball between the posts to allow a conversion to be kicked and an extra 60 seconds to burn off the clock.

Windsor missed his second penalty attempt but would land a conversion soon after. It would come at the end of a Paula Balekana try. Quick hands down the line found the Fijian in space and he stepped back inside to wrong-foot the cover. A successful Windsor three-pointer ended a breathless half of rugby with the score 24-19 in favor of the home side.

A Pietersen penalty kick opened the second half but Houston went one better with their fourth try of the game. Povey’s cross-kick found its target in Zach Pangelinan on the right side, and the winger offloaded from the tackle to a streaking Freyre who would not be caught. The conversion from Windsor pushed the Cats nine points ahead.

One could have forgiven San Diego if they lost focus after seeing Chris Robshaw leave the field with what looked a bad shoulder injury. To their credit they kept their composure and soon after were in for a try as Peter Malcolm went over on the back of a driving maul. Pietersen’s kick rang off the upright but the gap was down to four.

Houston fired back with a period of dominance though there were slim rewards. Windsor’s radar was wobbly with only one of three attempts off the tee finding its target. Drop goal attempts from the No12 and replacement flyhalf Taylor Howden also missed their mark.

With time winding down San Diego launched a furious assault and at last they found space but it was out wide where Cameron Clark won the race to the try line. The SaberCats could only watch as Pietersen lined up the conversion with the clock dead, but he pulled it to the left and the stadium roared as the final whistle blew.

Both teams will be at home next Saturday. The SaberCats face the undefeated LA Giltinis, while the Legion celebrate their return to San Diego with a clash against the Utah Warriors.

SCORING

HOUSTON 34
Tries – V. Dikidikilati (15’), Penalty try (21’), P. Balekana (33’), M. Freyre (44’)
Cons – S. Windsor 3/3 (16’, 34’, 45’)
Pens – S. Windsor 2/6 (40’, 69’)
Drop goals – T. Howden 0/1, S. Windsor 0/1

SAN DIEGO 32
Tries – D. Audsley (13’), B. Basson (17’), J. Pietersen (23’), P. Malcolm (59’), C. Clark (80’+2’)
Cons – J. Pietersen 2/5 (14’, 24)
Pens – J. Pietersen 1/1 (42’)
Yellow cards – C. Afrika (21’)

TEAMS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 2 Diego Fortuny (16 Tiaan Erasmus 12’), 3 Charlie Connolly (17 Nicolás Solveyra 56’), 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Lucas Albornoz (19 Van Stewart 60′), 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Cecil Garber (20 Adriaan Booysen 67’), 8 Diego Magno, 9 Nick Boyer (22 Jinho Mun 73’), 10 Robbie Povey (21 Taylor Howden 70’), 11 Zach Pangelinan (23 Zack Godfrey 65’), 12 Sam Windsor, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Matías Freyre

Not used: 18 Nik Hildebrand

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Nathan Sylvia (17 Cronan Gleeson 67’), 2 Dean Muir (16 Peter Malcolm 46’), 3 Aaron Mitchell (18 Chris Baumann HT), 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Keni Nasoqeqe (19 Siaosi Mahoni 64’), 6 Psalm Wooching, 7 Chris Robshaw (20 Jasa Veremalua 57’), 8 Tevita Tameilau (21 Travis Larsen 46’), 9 Carlo de Nysschen, 10 Joe Pietersen (capt.), 11 Bjorn Basson, 12 Dylan Audsley, 13 Cameron Clark, 14 Save Totovosau (23 Ryan Matyas 49’), 15 Cecil Afrika

Not used: 22 Patrick Madden

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Moe Chaudhry (Canada)
Assistants: Joey Swatzell (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)