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The most intriguing match of the weekend is in Houston on Saturday night, where the SaberCats lay in waiting for the Seawolves. Seattle are in second spot in the West, three points ahead of their hosts, and the result could well determine who gets home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Houston are coming off a bye week and will be stinging a little from their loss to the Legion in San Diego. Consistency in selection has been their modus operandi this season and it’s no different this week with only three personnel changes to the run-on side.
Malon Al-Jiboori rotates into the back row with Danny Barrett swapping to the bench. Nathan Den Hoedt assumes the captaincy. The forwards are otherwise unchanged.
Dillon Smit makes a return in the No9 shirt. It’s just the second appearance of the season for the injury-stricken scrumhalf, who lasted just 8 minutes of the March defeat to the Seawolves before being forced off. Gerrie Labuschagne takes over from Kian Meadon at fullback, and Robbie Povey joins Carlo de Nysschen as the only backs reserves.
Seattle also had a week off after their storming home victory over the Jackals. It came at a severe cost, however, as captain Riekert Hattingh suffered a broken foot and is now out for several weeks. Ben Landry and Charles Elton will share captaincy duties in his stead. The backline is unchanged but there are three changes up front.
There is good news with the timely return of Rhyno Herbst at lock, which sees Landry switching to the blindside flank. Elton moves to openside with Ronan Foley lining up at the back of the scrum. Samu Manoa was a late scratch against Dallas but is fit for his first start of the campaign and just his second appearance all told. Mzamo Majola is a straight swap for Jake Turnbull at loosehead prop.
It will be hot and humid come game time and fans will be hoping that any potential thunderstorms steer clear of the stadium. On the pitch those conditions likely favor the SaberCats, whose imposing pack is well suited for a battle of the set piece.
Landry’s presence in the back row is perhaps in anticipation of what will no doubt be a fearsome exchange among the forwards. Seattle were the better side in March but without their talisman and on Houston territory, the home side should be considered favorites by a slim margin.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on AT&T SportsNet Southwest in Houston and Root Sports in Seattle, with The Rugby Network to viewers located elsewhere around the globe.
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Rob Cobb, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Morgan Mitchell, 4 Siaosi Mahoni, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Wynand Grassmann, 8 Malon Al-Jiboori, 9 Dillon Smit, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Vereniki Tikoisolomone, 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Gerrie Labuschagne
Replacements: 16 Will Vakalahi, 17 Alec McDonnell, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Keni Nasoqeqe, 20 Danny Barrett, 21 Carlo de Nysschen, 22 Robbie Povey, 23 Emmanuel Albert
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Mzamo Majola, 2 Peter Malcolm, 3 Sam Matenga, 4 Samu Manoa, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Ben Landry (co-capt.), 7 Charles Elton (co-capt.), 8 Ronan Foley, 9 JP Smith, 10 Jordan Chait, 11 Martin Iosefo, 12 AJ Alatimu, 13 Dan Kriel, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Adriaan Carelse
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Jake Turnbull, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Taylor Krumrei, 20 Andrew Durutalo, 21 Nakai Penny, 22 Karl Keane, 23 Tavite Lopeti
Date: Saturday, May 13
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Root Sports, The Rugby Network
Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Jono Cooper (USA) & Brian Dusablon (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2023-03-11 – Seattle Seawolves 24, Houston SaberCats 12 (Starfire Stadium)
2022-06-18 – Houston SaberCats 27, Seattle Seawolves 46 (SaberCats Stadium)
2022-05-27 – Seattle Seawolves 43, Houston SaberCats 36 (Starfire Stadium)
2022-03-12 – Houston SaberCats 21, Seattle Seawolves 19 (SaberCats Stadium)
2021-07-15 – Seattle Seawolves 40, Houston SaberCats 21 (Starfire Stadium)
2021-03-20 – Houston SaberCats 30, Seattle Seawolves 24 (SaberCats Stadium)
2019-04-13 – Houston SaberCats 10, Seattle Seawolves 52 (SaberCats Stadium)
2019-03-10 – Seattle Seawolves 27, Houston SaberCats 14 (Starfire Stadium)
2018-06-02 – Houston SaberCats 7, Seattle Seawolves 20 (Dyer Stadium)
