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One of the few matches that did come to fruition in the shortened 2020 season saw Old Glory grabbing a road win over the SaberCats in Houston. DC returns to AVEVA Stadium on Saturday evening with their eyes on another win, with the stakes much higher this time around.
The bonus-point win over the Seawolves in Leesburg on Sunday kept Old Glory in touch with the rest of the East Conference. Though they remain at the bottom, only six points separates them from first place. A positive result in Houston would be a major boost ahead of next week’s home game against New York.
Andrew Douglas has kept the faith with only one change to the starting lineup. Luke Campbell makes way on the flank for Cory Daniel, who makes his first start as a professional in the No7 shirt. On the bench there are notable returns for Fijian lock Tevita Naqali and Canadian midfielder Ciaran Hearn from injury.
Houston were well-beaten by the Arrows at home last weekend and realistically are out of the running for a playoff spot with only two wins in the first half of the season. They still have pride to play for with some players keen to earn new contracts for the 2022 campaign.
Tiaan Erasmus makes a welcome return in the front row with academy hooker Patrick Donovan dropping to the bench. Nikoloz Khatiashvili replaces Charlie Connolly at tighthead prop, with former Seattle lock Jérémy Lenaerts making his first start in a SaberCats shirt. The backline remains unchanged.
There is clearly more at stake for Old Glory but the spoiler role is one the Cats have played successfully in the past. Light rain is on the forecast which could make the grass pitch slippery and play into the hands of Houston’s kicking game. On form DC are the better side and take the favorites tag but this should be a closer call than their first match.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on NBC Sports Washington, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide. AT&T SportsNet Southwest will air a delayed broadcast on Sunday.
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Tiaan Erasmus, 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 4 Van Stewart, 5 Jérémy Lenaerts, 6 Cecil Garber, 7 Diego Magno, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Joe Thomas, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati, 14 Jake Hidalgo, 15 Sam Windsor (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Liam Murray, 17 Patrick Donovan, 18 Nik Hildebrand, 19 Apisai Tauyavuca, 20 Bronson Teles, 21 Zachary Short, 22 Taylor Howden, 23 Zack Godfrey
OLD GLORY DC
1 Jamie Dever, 2 Mike Sosene-Feagai, 3 Steven Longwell, 4 Api Naikatini, 5 Stan South, 6 Callum Gibbins (co-capt.), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Danny Tusitala, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Renata Roberts-Te Nana, 12 Thretton Palamo (co-capt.), 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Mike Dabulas, 15 Dylan Taikato-Simpson
Replacements: 16 Max Lum, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Dante Lopresti, 19 Casey Renaud, 20 Tevita Naqali, 21 Danny Thomas, 22 Ciaran Hearn, 23 D’Montae Noble
Date: Saturday, May 22
Venue: AVEVA Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Joey Swatzell (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest (24hr delay), NBC Sports Washington, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2020-02-22 – Houston SaberCats 13, Old Glory DC 22 (AVEVA Stadium)
