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The Houston SaberCats took the bragging rights in their preseason contest against the New England Free Jacks on Wednesday evening. A dominant showing from their forward pack set the platform to the 34-21 result that saw the home side outscore their guests five tries to three.
The first try was scored by Gerrie Labuscagne just seconds after kickoff. New England turned the ball over and Davy Coetzer broke through a tackle, scything down the left side and connecting with teammate on the outside for the simple finish. Coetzer landed the conversion from wide out to make it a full seven.
New England regained possession but only temporarily. A skew lineout handed the ball back to the Cats, and the pressure from their pack was relentless. Eventually Dom Akina spotted a gap and scythed through for the second try with Coetzer’s conversion making it 14-nil to the home side after 18 minutes.
The Free Jacks got one on the board from a quick tap just a few meters out from the line, but it was countered soon after with a 25-meter sprint down the sideline by one of the forwards after Louritz van der Schyff had blasted over the gainline. Another try from short range, converted by Coetzer, gave the SaberCats a 26-7 lead at halftime.
Kieran McClea slipped through to score under the posts on some broken play to give the Free Jacks a bit of life a couple minutes after the intermission. Another tap-and-go from five meters out resulted in a third try to the visitors with the extras closing the gap to just five points.
That would be as close as they got, however. A brief delay saw a Houston forward helped off after taking a head knock. Dean Muir then scored a late try on the end of a driving maul with just a couple minutes to play to push the result beyond doubt. Robbie Povey’s penalty goal on full-time closed out the scoring.
Both teams have now concluded their preseason schedule. The Free Jacks open their regular season next Friday night in New Orleans, while the SaberCats travel to Dallas on Sunday, February 19.
SCORING
HOUSTON 34
Tries (5) – G. Labuschagne, D. Akina, A. Other, A. Other, D. Muir
Cons (3) – D. Coetzer 3
Pens (1) – R. Povey
NEW ENGLAND 21
Tries (3) – A. Other, K. McClea, A. Other
Cons (3) – R. MacDonald, No kick, A. Other
TEAMS
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Alec McDonnell, 2 Axel Zapata, 3 Morgan Mitchell, 4 Siaosi Mahoni, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Wynand Grassmann, 7 Danny Barrett (capt.), 8 Hanco Germishuys, 9 Carlo de Nysschen, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Gerrie Labuschagne, 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild
Replacements: Dean Muir, Rob Cobb, Will Vakalahi, Pono Davis, Frikkie de Beer, Marno Redelinghuys, Keni Nasoqeqe, Malon Al-Jiboori, Gideon van Wyk, Nick Boyer, Robbie Povey, Simi Moala, Zach Pangelinan, Vereniki Tikoisolomone, Kian Meadon
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Mills Sanerivi, 3 Tevita Sole, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Reegan O’Gorman, 6 Sam Fischli, 7 Mitch Jacobson, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Reece MacDonald, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Zach Bastres, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: Andrew Quattrin, Kianu Kereru-Symes, Foster DeWitt, Cole Keith, Conor Young, Conor Keys, Semisi Paea, Ethan Fryer, Joe Johnston, Cam Davidowicz, Holden Yungert, Kieran McClea, Spencer Jones, Taniela Filimone, Willis Goodwin
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
