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Two ‘originals’ renew acquaintances at SaberCats Stadium on Saturday evening. Houston are coming off back-to-back playoff campaigns while the Utah Warriors finished just behind their hosts in the Western Conference standings last season and missed out on the postseason.
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(11) – Lindenmuth, Anae-Ah Sue, van Dyk, Basson, Momsen, Murphy, Warner, Misailegalu, Tasi, Smith, Schumacher
(9) – Souchon, Lochore, Conradie, Moli, Nel, Jones, Manson, Bradford, McClea
| MLR DEBUTS |
(6) – Lindenmuth, Anae-Ah Sue, van Dyk, Warner, Smith*, Schumacher*
(6) – Lochore, Conradie, Moli*, Nel, Manson, Bradford
* – pro debut
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(2) – Lindenmuth (Samoa), Dyer (USA)
(9) – MacLellan, Tu’avao, Kruse, Lasike, Mullen, Wilson (USA), Jones, Povey (Canada), Havili (Tonga)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Sam Hill (CE)
– Joe Mano (WI)
| NOTES |
- Houston Director of Rugby Heyneke Meyer and Head Coach Pote Human return for a third year while Utah Head Coach Greg Cooper is back for his second
- former Rugby ATL vice-captain Johan Momsen leads the SaberCats in his club debut, replacing the retired Dean Muir in the on-field leadership role
- Houston reserve hooker Seth Smith will become the youngest layer in MLR history if he takes the field at 18 years, 8 months, 7 days which would beat the standing record set by LA Giltinis winger Kahanu Koi in 2022 by 8 days
- Utah’s star winger Joe Mano was injured in the final preseason game against San Diego
- ARN has asked for clarification on the status of Utah prop Franco van den Berg, who has initially been listed as a US-eligible player despite being captured by South Africa under World Rugby Regulations at the 2016 World Rugby u20 Championship
| PREDICTION |
Both teams feature several new names but in terms of player availability are close to full strength. Utah coach Greg Cooper has surprisingly opted to leave regular captain Bailey Wilson on the bench with newcomer Kalisi Moli handed a pro debut on the flank. The SaberCats field a physically imposing forward pack that will look to bully their opposition, though Utah has included six forwards on the bench in anticipation. Houston are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue, 3 Maks van Dyk, 4 Justin Basson, 5 Johan Momsen (capt.), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Keni Nasoqeqe, 8 Ronan Murphy, 9 Andre Warner, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Jeremy Misailegalu, 12 Dom Akina, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild
Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 Val Lee-Lo, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Emmanuel Albert, 20 Asa Carter, 21 Carlo de Nysschen, 22 Max Schumacher, 23 Line Latu
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Emerson Prior, 2 Nic Souchon, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Louis Conradie, 6 Kalisi Moli, 7 Dylan Nel, 8 Thomas Tu’avao, 9 Zion Going, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Paul Lasike (capt.), 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Michael Manson, 15 Caleb Makene
Replacements: 16 Phil Bradford, 17 Franco van den Berg, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Saia Uhila, 20 Bailey Wilson, 21 Kieran McClea, 22 Onehunga Havili, 23 Robbie Povey
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 2
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 70°F (21°C), wind SE 12-18mph (19-29km/h)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 2, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Peter Pender (Canada) & Blair McClure (USA)
TMO: Saro Turner (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (10) – Utah 6, Houston 4, STREAK Utah +2
2023-05-20 – Utah Warriors 34, Houston SaberCats 28 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2023-04-08 – Houston SaberCats 24, Utah Warriors 30 (SaberCats Stadium)
2022-05-14 – Houston SaberCats 31, Utah Warriors 27 (SaberCats Stadium)
2022-03-26 – Utah Warriors 12, Houston SaberCats 28 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2021-06-26 – Houston SaberCats 5, Utah Warriors 24 (SaberCats 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)
