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It’s another pivotal Western Conference clash at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday evening. Utah’s playoff hopes were dealt a blow in the loss to Toronto last weekend, and if the Warriors can’t produce a result against the SaberCats at home it could be all she wrote in terms of the postseason.
The stakes couldn’t be any higher for Utah, and while Tyler Fisher serves the second half of his two-game suspension there is a much-needed boost to morale this week. Paul Lasike has returned from a stint in the English Premiership and the Eagles powerhouse – Utah’s first captain in 2018 – is now ready to return to Warriors colors after a three-year hiatus.
Lasike is named on the bench this week with Tomasi Tonga instead wearing the No12 shirt. Calvin Whiting slides out one spot to outside center, with Mika Kruse returned to the left wing. James Vaifale is the odd man out with Connor Burns retaining his spot on the bench.
Rotation in the front row sees Olive Kilifi and Angus MacLellan starting at prop with Franco van den Berg and Paul Mullen on the bench. Thomas Tu’avao moves to the blindside flank with Puna Vuli coming in at lock and Lance Williams named on the bench. Collegiate Draft pick Joey Backe could make his professional debut as a replacement hooker in the absence of Chad Gough.
Houston are coming off a bye week with their last outing the narrow win over Seattle at home. They welcome back Gerrie Labuschagne from suspension and Willie Britz from injury, with Pote Human opting for only minor tinkering to the match day squad.
Labuschagne comes in on the left wing in place of Marcos Moroni with Kisi Unufe taking the right wing spot from Jax Hidalgo. Britz settles for a spot among the reserves with the starting forwards left intact.
Sunny skies are on the forecast which should allow for a compelling contest. Only one of their previous six meetings was decided by greater than 7 points, though the Warriors do hold the historical advantage. Utah’s more adventurous attack is contrasted by Houston’s steely set piece game. Give the favorites tag to the home side in a barn-burner.
Kickoff is set for 5pm local time, 4pm Pacific, 6pm Central, 7pm Eastern. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast nationwide with The Rugby Network streaming to viewers located abroad.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Olive Kilifi, 2 Tuvere Vugakoto, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Puna Vuli, 5 Jamie Lane, 6 Thomas Tu’avao, 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Niall Saunders, 10 Caleb Makene, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Tomasi Tonga, 13 Calvin Whiting, 14 Mike Te’o, 15 Cliven Loubser
Replacements: 16 Joey Backe, 17 Franco van den Berg, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Lance Williams, 20 Mike Gieselman, 21 Danny Christensen, 22 Paul Lasike, 23 Connor Burns
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Dean Muir (capt.), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Keni Nasoqeqe, 5 Siaosi Mahoni, 6 Danny Barrett, 7 Malon Al-Jiboori, 8 Jaco Bezuidenhout, 9 Dillon Smit, 10 David Coetzer, 11 Kisi Unufe, 12 Matai Leuta, 13 Christian Dyer, 14 Gerrie Labuschagne, 15 Robbie Povey
Replacements: 16 Diego Fortuny, 17 Frikkie de Beer, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Gideon van Wyk, 20 Willie Britz, 21 Zach Pangelinan, 22 Nick Boyer, 23 Emmanuel Albert
Date: Saturday, March 26
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 17:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 18:00 Central, 19:00 Eastern)
Referee: Marcus Playle (New Zealand)
Assistants: Brett Johnson (USA) & Kage Green (USA)
TMO: Kahlil Harrison (USA)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 1, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2021-06-26 – Houston SaberCats 5, Utah Warriors 24 (AVEVA Stadium)
2021-04-24 – Utah Warriors 50, Houston SaberCats 43 (Zions Bank Stadium)
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)
