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A pair of old rivals will go toe-to-toe in Texas on Saturday evening. The Houston SaberCats host the San Diego Legion at AVEVA Stadium in what will be the sixth clash between the two. It was an even split in terms of results last season but San Diego’s victory was the more convincing of the two.
After a bright start to the campaign, Houston became somewhat unstuck against Dallas – for an hour anyway. The SaberCats sprung to life in the dying minutes to salvage their second win of the season, which has remarkably already equaled their win total of the entire 2021 campaign.
Pote Human has stuck with a nearly identical lineup to face the Legion. Wynand Grassmann is recalled at lock to partner Keni Nasoqeqe. With Gerrie Labuschagne suspended, Marcos Moroni moves to fullback and Jax Hidalgo is rewarded for his two-try performance in Dallas with a start on the wing.
It’s a 6-2 split on the bench with Malon Al-Jiboori and Gideon van Wyk each offering back row support. Nick Boyer returns as an option at scrumhalf or wing, with Robbie Povey covering flyhalf or fullback.
San Diego also boast a 2-1 record though we have not yet seen an 80-minute performance from the Legion. Injuries have disrupted their plans. The good news is the return of three players from the disabled list, while a new signing is set to make his club debut.
Hencus van Wyk moves across the front row to loosehead prop, with Paddy Ryan becoming the second player with that name to wear San Diego’s No3 shirt. Chris Robshaw is back in the lineup on the blindside flank but Dan Pryor continues to miss out.
Will Hooley returns to the fold at flyhalf with Joe Pietersen shifting to fullback. Ryan Matyas is out this week so Matías Freyre moves to the wing. Canadian international Josh Thiel has recovered from a long-term knee injury to take up a spot on the bench alongside former Arrows winger Kainoa Lloyd, the latter set for his first MLR appearance since the 2019 season.
It will be a brisk evening in Houston with rain on the forecast over the course of the day. That does not favor San Diego’s attacking style, and may play into the hands of the SaberCats. On form the two teams look equal. The Legion welcome back Robshaw and Hooley but Houston have consistency on their side. Take the home side as favorites by the slimmest of margins.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. Fox Sports 2 will broadcast across the USA with The Rugby Network streaming to those located elsewhere.
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Dean Muir (capt.), 3 Aaron Mitchell, 4 Keni Nasoqeqe, 5 Wynand Grassmann, 6 Danny Barrett, 7 Willie Britz, 8 Jaco Bezuidenhout, 9 Dillon Smit, 10 David Coetzer, 11 Jax Hidalgo, 12 Matai Leuta, 13 Christian Dyer, 14 Kisi Unufe, 15 Marcos Moroni
Replacements: 16 Patrick Donovan, 17 Frikkie de Beer, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Will Crawford, 20 Gideon van Wyk, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Robbie Povey, 23 Malon Al-Jiboori
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Matt Moulds, 3 Paddy Ryan, 4 Ben Mitchell, 5 Ben Grant, 6 Chris Robshaw, 7 Michael Smith, 8 Tevita Tameilau, 9 Nate Augspurger, 10 Will Hooley, 11 Bjorn Basson, 12 Ma’a Nonu (capt.), 13 Thomas Morani, 14 Matías Freyre, 15 Joe Pietersen
Replacements: 16 Chris Schade, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Jonah Dietenberger, 20 Chris Turori, 21 Nico Gilli, 22 Josh Thiel, 23 Kainoa Lloyd
Date: Saturday, February 26
Venue: AVEVA Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 20:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Mitch Damm (USA) & De Wet Roos (USA)
TMO: Luke Rogan (USA)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 2, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-05-29 – San Diego Legion 39, Houston SaberCats 11 (Elite Athlete Training Center)
2021-04-10 – Houston SaberCats 34, San Diego Legion 32 (AVEVA Stadium)
2019-04-28 – Houston SaberCats 19, San Diego Legion 40 (Dyer Stadium)
2019-02-09 – San Diego Legion 17, Houston SaberCats 13 (Torero Stadium)
2018-05-04 – San Diego Legion 35, Houston SaberCats 32 (Torero Stadium)
