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A loaded 13th week of the season wraps up with the most lop-sided pairing of the weekend. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be the backdrop as the table-topping Giltinis host the last-place Houston SaberCats for a late afternoon Sunday kickoff.
Ironically it was the SaberCats who helped lift some of LA’s air of invincibility during their first meeting in April. The Giltinis would close out the victory in the final quarter but the result was very much in doubt through the hour mark.
Accomplishing the same will take some doing for Houston, who have lost every subsequent match with their streak now at seven consecutive defeats. There will be great uncertainty for many players and this past week the organization confirmed that Paul Healy will not be continuing as Head Coach next season.
There are two personnel changes and another backline reshuffle following the decisive loss to Austin last week. Adriaan Booysen starts at the back of the scrum with Diego Magno shifting to the flank. Cecil Garber is the one to make way, moving to the bench that shows a 6-2 split.
Robbie Povey is recalled at flyhalf pushing Sam Windsor to the midfield. Taylor Howden is the odd man out. Zachary Short and Zack Godfrey are tasked with providing backline cover on the bench.
The Giltinis had a week off to recover from their brutal confrontation with Rugby ATL, only their second defeat of the season. It’s been six weeks since they felt the warmth of the Coliseum with a pitstop at SoFi Stadium their only home game during that time.
Adam Ashley-Cooper sits out with a sore knee but there is good news with the return of fullback Glenn Bryce from the injury suffered against New York. Luke Burton moves up to the midfield to fill the gap, and there is a straight swap on the wing with Ryan James getting the nod over John Ryberg.
Up front it’s just a single change as Corey Thomas starts at lock in place of the suspended Luke White. A season-ending knee injury to Lindsey Stevens sees newcomer Gelen Robinson slot straight into the backup hooker role, with Ma’aki Muti and Nathan Den Hoedt also among the forward reserves.
Picture-perfect conditions are on the forecast, which is all the Giltinis could hope for as they look to put the loss against the Ratlers behind them. With home advantage going to LA and no momentum to speak of for Houston, all signs point to a long day at the office for the visitors.
Kickoff is set for 4pm local time, 6pm Central, 7pm Eastern. Local broadcasts will be available on AT&T SportsNet Southwest in Houston and Bally Sports SoCal in Los Angeles, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
LA GILTINIS
1 Jean-Pierre Smith, 2 Sean McNulty, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Corey Thomas, 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Adam Ashe, 9 Harrison Goddard, 10 Matt Giteau, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 12 Luke Burton, 13 Bill Meakes, 14 Ryan James, 15 Glenn Bryce
Replacements: 16 Gelen Robinson, 17 Blake Rogers, 18 Ma’ake Muti, 19 Nathan Den Hoedt, 20 Pago Haini, 21 Luke Carty, 22 Serupepeli Vularika, 23 John Ryberg
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Mike Brown, 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Lucas Albornoz, 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Diego Magno, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Sam Windsor, 13 Joe Thomas, 14 Veramu Dikidikilati, 15 Zach Pangelinan
Replacements: 16 Patrick Donovan, 17 Liam Murray, 18 Nik Hildebrand, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Apisai Tauyavuca, 21 Cecil Garber, 22 Zachary Short, 23 Zack Godfrey
Date: Sunday, June 13
Venue: Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
Kickoff: 16:00 local (18:00 Central, 19:00 Eastern)
Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Jack Gohl (Australia)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Bally Sports SoCal, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2021-04-17 – Houston SaberCats 33, LA Giltinis 48 (AVEVA Stadium)
