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The SaberCats showed their teeth in a muscular performance to start the season with a 22-15 win over the Warriors on Saturday night. Houston’s forwards proved the difference as they got the better of the set piece and dominated the contact area. Utah fought back late to salvage a bonus point.
Spectators were still taking their seats when a penalty put Houston in an advantageous position. The forwards barged ahead until Ronan Murphy picked a gap between two defenders and reached out of the tackle to score. A Dom Akina offload soon after sparked a line break, and then a driving maul had alarm bells ringing but the Warriors managed to hold the ball up over the line.
Just as soon as the Warriors got on the board via Joel Hodgson’s boot and they were under pressure again. Kalisi Moli was sent to the bin for a late challenge on Houston fullback Drew Wild, and Davy Coetzer’s touch-finder pinned Utah back on their goal-line. This time there was no stopping the lineout drive and Maks van Dyk came up with the ball to get the credit.
Coetzer sliced a penalty attempt at the posts but he would get another shot before the halftime break. Houston’s scrum had the ascendency and two penalties, one against the head, led to an easy kick from straight in front of the posts for Coetzer. Through it sailed and the score read 15-3 to the home side as the two sides jogged off the pitch.
Early in the second half the Warriors looked to have scored when Dylan Nel spun over from a quick tap, but a TMO review decided he had knocked on just before grounding the ball. Instead the match would remain scoreless until a loose pass from Hodgson found the hands of Tautalatasi Tasi, the Houston center racing 60 meters untouched to score with Coetzer’s kick making it 22-3.
To their credit the Warriors stayed in the game and scored two tries to secure a losing bonus point. The first came from Spencer Jones who sped through a gap on a flat pass from Hodgson. A yellow card was brandished to SaberCats skipper Johan Momsen after repeat team infringements, and on the ensuing sequence Bailey Wilson dove over the line with Hodgson landing the extras.
A notable moment came three minutes before the end of the match when Seth Smith came on at hooker for the SaberCats. At 18 years, 8 months, and 7 days old he becomes the youngest player in Major League Rugby history, surpassing the previous mark set by LA Giltinis winger Kahanu Koi in 2022.
Utah will look for a better result in their home opener against the Chicago Hounds next Saturday. Houston have an extra day off before taking on RFC Los Angeles at Dignity Health Stadium.
| SCORING |
HOUSTON 22
Tries (3) – R. Murphy (4′), M. van Dyk (16′), T. Tasi (61′)
Cons (2) – D. Coetzer 2/3 (17′, 62′)
Pens (1) – D. Coetzer 1/2 (40’+1′)
YC (1) – J. Momsen (78′)
UTAH 15
Tries (2) – S. Jones (67′), B. Wilson (79′)
Cons (1) – J. Hodgson 1/2 (80′)
Pens (1) – J. Hodgson 1/1 (14′)
YC (1) – K. Moli (15′)
| LINEUPS |
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth (17 Val Lee-Lo 56′), 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue (16 Seth Smith 77), 3 Maks van Dyk (18 Pono Davis 47′), 4 Justin Basson, 5 Johan Momsen (capt.), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Keni Nasoqeqe (19 Emmanuel Albert 56′), 8 Ronan Murphy (20 Asa Carter 64′), 9 Andre Warner (21 Carlo de Nysschen 70′), 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Jeremy Misailegalu (22 Max Schumacher 60′), 12 Dom Akina (23 Line Latu 60′), 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Emerson Prior (17 Franco van den Berg HT), 2 Nic Souchon (16 Phil Bradford 51′), 3 Angus MacLellan (18 Paul Mullen HT), 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Louis Conradie (19 Saia Uhila 51′), 6 Kalisi Moli (22 Bailey Wilson 51′), 7 Dylan Nel, 8 Thomas Tu’avao (20 Onehunga Havili 56′), 9 Zion Going, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Paul Lasike (21 Kieran McClea 60′), 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Michael Manson, 15 Caleb Makene (capt.)
Not used: 23 Robbie Povey
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 2
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 70°F (21°C), wind SE 12-18mph (19-29km/h)
Attendance: 2,908
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Peter Pender (Canada) & Blair McClure (USA)
TMO: Saro Turner (Canada)
