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The penultimate week of the Major League Rugby regular season begins in Houston on Friday night, where the SaberCats play host to Old Glory DC. Only victory will do for the home side, but the visitors face little pressure with their spot in the playoffs already assured.
Josh Syms watched his men cruise past the Gold in New Orleans last weekend to clinch their first ever postseason appearance. Home field advantage for the Eastern Conference eliminator against New York is still on the line but Syms has opted to give some of his reserves a chance to get some game time.
Cali Martinez gets his first MLR start at loosehead prop, and it’s just the second start of the season for tighthead Quentin Newcomer. KoiKoi Nelligan makes his MLR debut after being an unused replacement against the Gold. With both Kyle Baillie and Lautaro Bavaro rested it’s Collin Grosse and Langilangi Haupeakui who get the call at lock and blindside flanker respectively.
For the first time in club history Danny Tusitala will not wear the No9 shirt as he drops to the bench to allow John LeFevre a first start with the senior squad. John Rizzo, Junior Sa’u, and Owen Sheehy are the new outside back trio with Tito Díaz Bonilla at flyhalf and Marcos Young switching to outside center.
The SaberCats enter the weekend four points up on Utah for the third and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. A bonus point win over DC is an absolute must given the tough road match against the East-leading New England Free Jacks on the horizon next week.
Club captain Dean Muir’s return from maternal leave in South Africa is a boost to the side, with Joe Taufete’e pushing out to tighthead prop and Morgan Mitchell given the week off. Siaosi Mahoni is back from injury to start at lock, and Gideon van Wyk returns at the back of the scrum with Danny Barrett named among the reserves.
The backline is identical with the exception of flyhalf where there is a notable return of Davy Coetzer after shaking off a bruised knee. Carlo de Nysschen and Robbie Povey are the only back replacements.
Hot and humid conditions are expected at kickoff, which will be nothing unusual for the home side. The presence of Muir, Mahoni, and Coetzer strengthens an already potent SaberCats lineup who know exactly what is expected of them. A full strength DC side would have made this interesting but it’s clear this game means much more to Houston. Take the Cats by a convincing margin.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific. Local broadcasts will be available on AT&T SportsNet Southwest in Houston and MASN in the nation’s capital, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Rob Cobb, 2 Dean Muir (capt.), 3 Joe Taufete’e, 4 Siaosi Mahoni, 5 Marno Redelinghuys, 6 Wynand Grassmann, 7 Malon Al-Jiboori, 8 Gideon van Wyk, 9 Dillon Smit, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Vereniki Tikoisolomone, 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 13 Dom Akina, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild
Replacements: 16 Axel Zapata, 17 Alec McDonnell, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Emmanuel Albert, 20 Keni Nasoqeqe, 21 Carlo de Nysschen, 22 Danny Barrett, 23 Robbie Povey
OLD GLORY DC
1 Cali Martinez, 2 KoiKoi Nelligan, 3 Quentin Newcomer, 4 Tevita Naqali, 5 Collin Grosse, 6 Langilangi Haupeakui, 7 Alejo Daireaux, 8 Niko Jones, 9 John LeFevre, 10 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 11 John Rizzo, 12 Doug Fraser, 13 Marcos Young, 14 Junior Sa’u, 15 Owen Sheehy
Replacements: 16 Nic Souchon, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Kyle Stewart, 19 Fintan Coleman, 20 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 21 Danny Tusitala, 22 Thretton Palamo, 23 Mike Weir
Date: Friday, June 9
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 20:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, MASN, The Rugby Network
Referee: Joe James (England)
Assistants: Blair McClure (USA) & Jono Cooper (USA)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
2022-05-21 – Old Glory DC 41, Houston SaberCats 59 (Segra Field)
2021-05-22 – Houston SaberCats 13, Old Glory DC 21 (SaberCats Stadium)
2020-02-22 – Houston SaberCats 13, Old Glory DC 22 (SaberCats Stadium)
