Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
It’s all on the line for the Seattle Seawolves when they host the Houston SaberCats on Friday night. Only a convincing win will keep the home side alive in the playoff race, and even then they must prevent the visitors from scoring a single bonus point. All that only gives them a chance as a bonus-point win from San Diego over Austin on Saturday would be enough to knock out Seattle by itself.
The Seawolves were disappointed to leave the East Coast without any points two weeks ago, but have had a week off to examine their shortcomings. With two games to play they have a 7-7 record and even if the postseason is beyond them, they still have a chance to finish with more wins than losses.
Allen Clarke has named his strongest available side with only three changes to the starting lineup. James Malcolm is back in at hooker with Ben Landry returning on the blindside flank. Tighthead prop Tim Metcher and back row Travis Larsen add experience on the bench. On the right wing it’s a straight swap with Ross Neal in for Lauina Futi.
Houston on the other hand are on the brink of an historic franchise first. Two competition points in their last two games will be enough to secure their spot in the Eastern Conference Playoff. They enter on a four-game win streak having scored a club record 59 points against Old Glory on Saturday.
Wynand Grassmann and Gerrie Labuschagne each return from suspension to start at blindside flanker and left wing respectively. Danny Barrett is back in the side at openside flanker after a four-game absence and Matai Leuta jumps back in to the starting role on the right wing.
Axel Zapata makes his just second appearance of the season, replacing countryman Diego Fortuny as backup hooker. Aaron Mitchell is the reserve tighthead this week, and Keni Nasoqeqe finds himself on the bench for the first time this year to make it a 6/2 split between backs and forwards.
Seattle come into the game rested, prepared, and determined, but the odds are certainly against them. When the two sides met in March the SaberCats took a close decision in Houston. This should be another tight result and though the Seawolves might be considered slight favorites to win at home, shutting the Cats out from any points at all seems an unlikely scenario.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm local time, 9:30pm Central, 10:30pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on Root Sports in Seattle with AT&T SportsNet Southwest airing the game on delay. Those located elsewhere in the USA and abroad can watch on The Rugby Network.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola, 2 James Malcolm, 3 Sam Matenga, 4 Samu Manoa, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Martin Iosefo, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dan Kriel, 14 Ross Neal, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 Tim Metcher, 19 Brad Tucker, 20 Travis Larsen, 21 Reid Watkins, 22 Lauina Futi, 23 Lopeti Aisea
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Alec McDonnell, 2 Dean Muir (capt.), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Siaosi Mahoni, 6 Wynand Grassmann, 7 Danny Barrett, 8 Malon Al-Jiboori, 9 Dillon Smit, 10 David Coetzer, 11 Gerrie Labuschagne, 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 13 Christian Dyer, 14 Matai Leuta, 15 Robbie Povey
Replacements: 16 Axel Zapata, 17 Frikkie de Beer, 18 Aaron Mitchell, 19 Keni Nasoqeqe, 20 Emmanuel Albert, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Zach Pangelinan, 23 Gideon van Wyk
Date: Friday, May 27
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:30 local (21:30 Central, 22:30 Eastern)
Referee: Marcus Playle (New Zealand)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Brad Schwalger (Canada)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest (delayed), Root Sports, The Rugby Network
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-03-12 – Houston SaberCats 21, Seattle Seawolves 19 (AVEVA Stadium)
2021-07-15 – Seattle Seawolves 40, Houston SaberCats 21 (Starfire Stadium)
2021-03-20 – Houston SaberCats 30, Seattle Seawolves 24 (AVEVA Stadium)
2019-04-13 – Houston SaberCats 10, Seattle Seawolves 52 (AVEVA Stadium)
2019-03-10 – Seattle Seawolves 27, Houston SaberCats 14 (Starfire Stadium)
2018-06-02 – Houston SaberCats 7, Seattle Seawolves 20 (Dyer Stadium)
