Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
A West Conference rivalry on hold for nearly two years will resume on Saturday evening. The Utah Warriors will play host to the Houston SaberCats for what promises to be a fierce contest between two sides desperate to head into their bye week on a winning note.
All four previous meetings between the two have been razor-thin with Utah’s six-point win in their first encounter back in 2018 the largest margin of victory. It’s also a perfect 2-2 split as each side sports a 1-1 record on their home turf.
Utah picked up two vital bonus points in a losing cause against San Diego last week thanks to a late score from captain Bailey Wilson. They have now recorded three defeats in a row after opening the season with back-to-back wins.
There are three personnel changes to the run-on side, two up front. Olive Kilifi starts at loosehead prop in the absence of Franco van den Berg, with Matt Jensen returning at lock. Jurie van Vuuren moves to the back of the scrum with no sign of Lance Williams in the match day squad.
Josh Whippy is the missing man in the backs. Mika Kruse moves out to the wing with Calvin Whiting recalled in the midfield to partner Tyler Fisher. Winger James Vaifale is named on a team sheet for the first time this season with Danny Christensen and Derek Ellingson both still awaiting their first Major League Rugby appearances.
Houston have sprung back to life with a defiant if incomplete performance against LA to follow the win over San Diego. A loss to Utah, despite being on the road, would derail some of that momentum and could put them at risk of dropping to the bottom of the table pending other results this weekend.
Sam Windsor will lead the side in the absence of club co-captains De Wet Roos and Luke Beauchamp. With both Zach Pangelinan and Matías Freyre also out there are two new wingers in Zack Godfrey and Jake Hidalgo, the latter making his MLR debut. Paula Balekana switches to fullback.
Nicolás Solveyra starts at loosehead prop with Nikoloz Khatiashvili named among the reserves. Apisai Tauyavuca steps in at blindside flanker to fill the void left by Beauchamp. Two new faces on the bench are academy hooker Patrick Donovan and former Wales u20 center Joe Thomas, both set to make their MLR bows as replacements.
The Warriors look to have a distinct advantage in the lineout with Jensen and Aston Fortuin prime targets though Tauyavuca’s presence helps the Cats. Out wide Houston’s inexperience could be exploited by the sharp tactical kicking of Hagen Schulte. Add in home field advantage and Utah can be considered favorites though another close finish is on the cards.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local, 8pm Central, 9pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on KSL Sports in Utah and The Rugby Network worldwide. AT&T SportsNet Southwest will offer a 24-hour delayed broadcast on Sunday.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Olive Kilifi, 2 Veremalua Vugakoto, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Aston Fortuin, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Thomas Tu’avao, 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Michael Baska, 10 Hagen Schulte, 11 Joseph Mano, 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Mike Te’o
Replacements: 16 Chad Gough, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Mike Gieselman, 20 Saia Uhila, 21 Danny Christensen, 22 Derek Ellingson, 23 James Vaifale
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Charlie Connolly, 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Lucas Albornoz, 6 Apisai Tauyavuca, 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Diego Magno, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Zack Godfrey, 12 Sam Windsor (capt.), 13 Taylor Howden, 14 Jake Hidalgo, 15 Paula Balekana
Replacements: 16 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 17 Patrick Donovan, 18 Nik Hildebrand, 19 Van Stewart, 20 Adriaan Booysen, 21 Zachary Short, 22 Max Tacket, 23 Joe Thomas
Date: Saturday, April 24
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 19:00 local (20:00 Central, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Kahlil Harrison (USA) & Niku Kruger (USA)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest (24hr delay), KSL Sports, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2019-06-01 – Utah Warriors 27, Houston SaberCats 31 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2019-03-21 – Houston SaberCats 29, Utah Warriors 27 (Constellation Field)
2018-06-23 – Utah Warriors 31, Houston SaberCats 27 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2018-05-26 – Houston SaberCats 30, Utah Warriors 36 (Dyer Stadium)
