MLR 2024: Houston SaberCats vs San Diego Legion – ARN Guide

The top two teams in Major League Rugby will go toe-to-toe on Saturday evening when the SaberCats roll out the red carpet for the Legion. Houston have won all four of their games since their narrow opening-round loss to Chicago, while San Diego are the competition’s only remaining unbeaten side and are one win away from setting a new league mark for most victories to start a campaign.

CURRENT STANDINGS

4-1-0 (W4) West 2nd

5-0-0 (W5) West 1st

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
4	Johan Momsen	Justin Basson
5	Nathan Den Hoedt	Javon Camp
7	Marno Redelinghuys	Keni Nasoqeqe
8	Sam Tuifua	Ronan Murphy
9	André Warner	Juan-Dee Oliver
10	Davy Coetzer	AJ Alatimu
12	Dom Akina	Sam Hill
13	Tautalatasi Tasi	Louritz van der Schyff
14	Rufus McLean	Jeremy Misailegalu
15	Drew Wild	Seimou Smith

	IN	OUT
1	Djustice Sears-Duru	Payton Telea-Ilalio
2	Shilo Klein	Hugh Roach
3	Darcy Breen	Brook To’omalatai
5	Brandon Harvey	Vili Helu
6	Paddy Ryan	Christian Poidevin
9	Richard Judd	Connor Tupai

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(4) – Lindenmuth, Alatimu (Samoa), Davis (USA), McLean (Scotland)

(9) – Sears-Duru (Canada), Klein, Ryan, James, Lopeti, Sylvia, Brache (USA), Holloway (Australia), To’omalatai (Samoa)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Wilton Rebolo (HO/PR)

– Payton Telea-Ilalio (LH), Hugh Roach (HO), Vili Helu (FL)

PREDICTION

Both sides have refreshed their lineups and are back at virtually full strength. The SaberCats field a larger pack and have opted for a 6/2 split on the bench, which could pay dividends in the final quarter. San Diego will want to move the ball around to take advantage of their speed out wide. The head-to-head battle between playmakers Davy Coetzer and Lincoln McClutchie will be worth the price of admission. San Diego are slight favorites on the road.

LINEUPS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Seth Smith, 3 Pono Davis, 4 Johan Momsen, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.), 6 Emmanuel Albert, 7 Marno Redelinghuys, 8 Sam Tuifua, 9 André Warner, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 Max Schumacher, 12 Dom Akina, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Rufus McLean, 15 Drew Wild

Replacements: 16 Pita Anae-Ah Sue, 17 LaRome White, 18 Michael Scott, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Keni Nasoqeqe, 21 Ronan Murphy, 22 Jay Renton, 23 AJ Alatimu

SAN DIEGO LEGION
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Darcy Breen, 4 Jed Holloway, 5 Brandon Harvey, 6 Paddy Ryan, 7 Brad Wilkin (capt.), 8 Jimmy Hokafonu, 9 Richard Judd, 10 Lincoln McClutchie, 11 Ryan James, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Ethan Grayson, 14 Tomas Aoake, 15 Rhian Stowers

Replacements: 16 Liki Chan-Tung, 17 Nathan Sylvia, 18 Brook To’omalatai, 19 Charlie Hewitt, 20 Christian Poidevin, 21 Inoke Waqavesi, 22 Tiaan Loots, 23 Marcel Brache

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 79°F (26°C), wind SE 14-22mph (22-35km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, CW39, YurView San Diego, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network

OFFICIALS

Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Blair McClure
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (11) – San Diego 7, Houston 4
2024-06-23 – San Diego Legion 37, Houston SaberCats 24 (Snapdragon Stadium)
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)