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There’s no catching the SaberCats for top spot in the West – and first overall – but the Legion can make a statement and put a stop to Houston’s eight-game winning streak at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday. San Diego have had a frustrating year, exemplified with their road loss to Chicago last week, and need a result to stay within range of second seed Seattle.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
9-5-0 (L1) West 3rd
13-1-0 (W8) West 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio replaces Djustice Sears-Duru
2 Chris Mickelson replaces Hugh Roach
5 Greg Peterson replaces Isaac Ross
6 Vili Helu replaces Tevita Tameilau (No8 vs Chicago)
7 Paddy Ryan replaces Blair Cowan
14 Tomas Aoake replaces Filimoni Waqainabete
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth replaces Rob Cobb
6 Emmanuel Albert replaces Ronan Murphy
9 Jay Renton replaces André Warner
11 Jeremy Misailegalu replaces Seimou Smith
12 Sam Hill replaces Tautalatasi Tasi
15 Drew Wild replaces Davy Coetzer
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(9) – Peterson, Helu, Ryan, James, Brache, Sylvia, Tameilau (USA), Giteau (Australia), Nonu (New Zealand)
(3) – Lindenmuth, Alatimu (Samoa), Dyer (USA)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Hugh Roach (HO), Isaac Ross (LO), Blair Cowan (FL), Christian Poidevin (FL)
– Maks van Dyk (TH), Johan Momsen (LO/FL), André Warner (SH), Davy Coetzer (FH)
| NOTES |
- Chris Mickelson starts at hooker for the Legion in place of Hugh Roach who is serving a one-week suspension for yellow card accumulation
- Tiaan Loots lines up opposite his former team… the South African center began his MLR career in Houston during the 2020 campaign before moving to San Diego in 2021
- Charlie Hewitt makes a welcome return from injury to take up a spot in the Legion’s reserves… he last played on May 5 against the Dallas Jackals
- Houston have opted to rest their regular halfback pairing of André Warner and Davy Coetzer… Jay Renton gets his second start at scrumhalf with AJ Alatimu continuing in the No10 shirt
- Devereaux Ferris has returned to the SaberCats as injury cover for Carlo de Nysschen… the once-capped Eagles scrumhalf played two games for Houston last year before moving to Seattle for the last month of the season… he was on the books for the American Raptors this year
| PREDICTION |
San Diego were embarrassingly shut out by the Cats in Houston earlier this year, and will be determined to put in a vastly superior effort at home. On paper they look a competitive outfit but haven’t really produced a convincing 80-minute performance this season. The SaberCats have an imposing pack who will give the Legion all they can handle at the set piece. Houston are favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Chris Mickelson, 3 Luke Green, 4 Brandon Harvey, 5 Greg Peterson (capt.), 6 Vili Helu, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Tupou Afungia, 9 Connor Tupai, 10 Matt Giteau, 11 Ryan James, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 13 Tiaan Loots, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Marcel Brache
Replacements: 16 Cyrille Cama, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Darcy Breen, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Tevita Tameilau, 21 Danny Christensen, 22 Harris Rutherford, 23 Ethan Grayson
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue, 3 Pono Davis, 4 Justin Basson, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.), 6 Emmanuel Albert, 7 Keni Nasoqeqe, 8 Gideon van Wyk, 9 Jay Renton, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Jeremy Misailegalu, 12 Sam Hill, 13 Louritz van der Schyff, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Drew Wild
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Erasmus, 17 LaRome White, 18 Val Lee-Lo, 19 Ronan Murphy, 20 Asa Carter, 21 Devereaux Ferris, 22 Max Schumacher, 23 Seimou Smith
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, June 23
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego
Kickoff: 15:00 local (17:00 Central, 18:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 77°F (25°C), wind W 8-12mph (13-19km/h)
Broadcasts: Space City, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Will Nelson (USA) & Alexis Alfaro (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (10) – San Diego 6, Houston 4, STREAK Houston +1
2024-04-27 – Houston SaberCats 33, San Diego Legion 0 (SaberCats Stadium)
2023-04-30 – San Diego Legion 29, Houston SaberCats 16 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2023-03-05 – Houston SaberCats 31, San Diego Legion 26 (SaberCats Stadium)
2022-05-08 – San Diego Legion 24, Houston SaberCats 34 (SDSU Sports Deck)
2022-02-26 – Houston SaberCats 20, San Diego Legion 31 (SaberCats Stadium)
2021-05-29 – San Diego Legion 39, Houston SaberCats 11 (Elite Athlete Training Center)
2021-04-10 – Houston SaberCats 34, San Diego Legion 32 (SaberCats Stadium)
2019-04-28 – Houston SaberCats 19, San Diego Legion 40 (Dyer Stadium)
2019-02-09 – San Diego Legion 17, Houston SaberCats 13 (Torero Stadium)
2018-05-04 – San Diego Legion 35, Houston SaberCats 32 (Torero Stadium)
