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Rounding out Saturday’s action is the second half of the double-header at The Snake Pit. Rugby ATL will roll out the red carpet for the Houston SaberCats for a late-season first as the two sides have never before squared off, the 2020 campaign being cut short two months before their first match was due.
The pleasantries will end at the opening whistle as the Ratlers look for a definitive win to help advance their claim to a playoff position. Their six game winning streak came to a halt against New York last weekend but they still took two bonus points to hold their place at the top of the Eastern Conference.
There are minimal changes to the starting side. Alex Maughan comes in at loosehead prop for Chance Wenglewski, with Robbie Petzer joining the midfield. Te Rangatira Waitokia drops back to fullback and Rory van Vugt shifts to the left wing. Mark O’Keeffe is the odd man out. Sam Cowley awaits his first cap after being an unused replacement against New York.
Houston woes continued last week with a blowout loss to the first overall Giltinis, making it eight straight games on the wrong side of the scoreboard. The rugby gods refuse to smile for the SaberCats as they now face another brutal road fixture against the other conference leaders.
There is a most welcome return for Argentine international Diego Fortuny at hooker, but at the same time Georgian tighthead Nikoloz Khatiashvili drops out leaving Nik Hildebrand to make his first professional start with uncapped CJ Burke his backup. Apisai Tauyavuca comes in at lock and Cecil Garber starts on the flank with Diego Magno named on the bench.
As ever the backline shows changes with Zachary Short starting in place of Nick Boyer at scrumhalf. Max Tacket and Veramu Dikidikilati are the new midfield with Sam Windsor switched to fullback. Zack Godfrey starts on the wing as Joe Thomas is left among the replacements.
On paper this is another one-sided contest with little room to find hope for the struggling SaberCats. ATL are not an offensive powerhouse like LA, however, which suggests this will not be the same magnitude of defeat. Heavy rain is on the forecast which might also limit scoring opportunities. Take the Ratlers for a comfortable win at home whatever the circumstances.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 7pm Central. Local broadcasts will be available on 11 Alive in Atlanta and AT&T SportsNet Southwest in Houston, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
RUGBY ATL
1 Alex Maughan, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 3 Wikus Groenewald, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Connor Cook, 7 Ross Deacon, 8 Jason Damm, 9 Ryan Rees, 10 Adriaan Carelse, 11 Rory van Vugt (capt.), 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 13 Robbie Petzer, 14 Jeremy Misailegalu, 15 Te Rangatira Waitokia
Replacements: 16 Neethling Gericke, 17 Will Burke, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Marno Redelinghuys, 20 Vili Helu, 21 Rowan Gouws, 22 Sam Cowley, 23 Sean Coughlan
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Diego Fortuny, 3 Nik Hildebrand, 4 Apisai Tauyavuca, 5 Lucas Albornoz, 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Zachary Short, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Zack Godfrey, 12 Max Tacket, 13 Veramu Dikidikilati, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Sam Windsor
Replacements: 16 Liam Murray, 17 Mike Brown, 18 CJ Burke, 19 Bronson Teles, 20 Diego Magno, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Joe Thomas, 23 Jake Hidalgo
Date: Saturday, June 19
Venue: Lupo Family Field, Marietta
Kickoff: 20:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 19:00 Central)
Referee: Jack Gohl (Australia)
Assistants: Henrique Platais (Brazil) & Cisco Lopez (USA)
Broadcasts: 11 Alive, AT&T SportsNet Southwest, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
n/a
