Field day for LA as SaberCats crushed in the Coliseum

The LA Giltinis got back to their winning ways with a crushing 52-5 win over the Houston SaberCats at the Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. It sets a new Major League Rugby record for winning differential, overtaking the previous 45-point mark set by Toronto against Seattle in April.

There seemed to be no stopping the home side in the first half as they dominated possession and territory. JP Smith opened the scoring with a try in the 5th minute. A Ryan James break was called back for a forward pass, but DTH van der Merwe cut through the middle soon after.

Tries three and four game after the hydration break. Christian Poidevin went over from close range and then Glenn Bryce marked his return from injury with a 40-meter finish down the left touchline.

Corey Thomas left the field with a shoulder injury early in the second half, a worrying sight for the Canadian selectors. It didn’t seem to bother the Giltinis, however, as they exploded with four tries that appeared like clockwork every five minutes.

Pago Haini went over from a driving maul, then Smith showed impressive strength as he carried two defenders on a barging run for his second try. Serupepeli Vularika was next on a simple backline move off a scrum, and then Haini got his double on a carbon-copy of the first.

To their credit Houston made a late push and were rewarded with a try. It was their own lineout drive that did the trick, with Diego Magno getting the credit on the scoresheet.

It doesn’t get any easier for the SaberCats next Saturday as they face Eastern Conference leaders Rugby ATL in Marietta. The Giltinis have an extra day to prepare for their all-California Sunday showdown against the San Diego Legion at Torero Stadium.

 

SCORING

LA 52
Tries – J. Smith 2 (5′, 55′), D. van der Merwe (14′), C. Poidevin (25′), G. Bryce (35′), P. Haini 2 (51′, 70′), S. Vularika (65′)
Cons – M. Giteau 4/6 (15′, 26′, 36′, 56′), No kick (65′), L. Burton 1/1 (71′)

HOUSTON 5
Tries – D. Magno (74′)
Cons – S. Windsor 0/1

 

TEAMS

LA GILTINIS
1 Jean-Pierre Smith (17 Blake Rogers 67′), 2 Sean McNulty (16 Gelen Robinson 56′), 3 Charlie Abel (18 Ma’ake Muti 58′), 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Corey Thomas (22 Serupepeli Vularika 51′), 6 Angus Cottrell (19 Nathan Den Hoedt HT), 7 Christian Poidevin (20 Pago Haini 32′), 8 Adam Ashe, 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Matt Giteau (21 Luke Carty 66′), 11 DTH van der Merwe, 12 Luke Burton, 13 Bill Meakes, 14 Ryan James (23 John Ryberg 30′), 15 Glenn Bryce

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra (17 Liam Murray 47′), 2 Mike Brown (16 Patrick Donovan 53′), 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili (18 Nik Hildebrand 74′), 4 Kody O’Neil (20 Apisai Tauyavuca 53′), 5 Lucas Albornoz (19 Jérémy Lenaerts 47′ {21 Cecil Garber 54′-56′}), 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Adriaan Booysen (21 Cecil Garber 74′), 8 Diego Magno, 9 Nick Boyer (22 Zachary Short 60′), 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Sam Windsor, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati, 14 Joe Thomas, 15 Zach Pangelinan (23 Zack Godfrey 72′)

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Jack Gohl (Australia)