Seawolves spoil SaberCats new stadium opener

photo credit: Jeremy Fletcher / Bigshots Snapshots / Houston SaberCats

Recap

The Seattle Seawolves brought the hammer down on the Houston SaberCats in the historic first ever match at the new AVEVA Stadium on Saturday, the final score reading Seattle 52, Houston 10. It was declared a soft opening, perhaps too soft as the sod under the turf had not yet settled leaving huge divots on the surface and eventually leading the referee to declare uncontested scrums as a safety precaution.

Seattle opened the scoring with disturbing ease. Houston were caught unawares at a penalty and only one pass was needed after Phil Mack’s quick tap to put Kellen Gordon into the corner. Brock Staller couldn’t convert but he would add a penalty in the 12th minute after a Sequoyah Burke-Combs break down the sideline put them into position.

Next it was Houston’s turn to strike. Sam Windsor chipped over the line and regathered, his over-the-shoulder pass finding Luke Beauchamp in support. The ball was recycled quickly and this time Windsor sprinted clean through a gap to slide in untouched. The conversion didn’t stick but the SaberCats were back in the game.

After 20 minutes of back-and-forth, a turnover at halfway cost the SaberCats dearly. Mack’s kick ahead found wide open space and Ben Cima won the race to the ball, offloading from the deck to Nakai Penny and the unmarked flanker had the easiest of finishes for the try.

Staller again pushed the extras wide, but he found his range early in the second half with a penalty goal from 35 meters. His third would be a chip-shot from straight in front. Two minutes later Windsor telegraphed a pass and it was Staller who got the message, sprinting home from beyond halfway.

The bonus point try came on the hour mark with Stephan Coetzee on the back of a lineout drive. Staller’s kick shaved the outside of the post but it didn’t matter, the result was now a foregone conclusion.

Within seconds of the restart Seattle were over again. The ball went through seven pairs of hands with the final pass delivered by Shalom Suniula to Brad Tucker, the big flanker loitering with intent on the right wing. This time Staller’s sideline effort split the posts to add the extra two.

Houston fans finally got something to cheer about in the 69th minute when new signing Thretton Palamo took an offload from Cecil Garber and sped past two defenders to score under the posts on debut. Windsor sliced the drop kick conversion and there was still time for two more Seattle tries.

Long-range finishes for Roland Suniula and Mat Turner wrapped things, both scored with the Seawolves down to 14 men after Dan Trierweiler had been shown yellow for team infringements. Two more kicks from Staller pushed the score beyond the half-century and left Houston to wonder how they conceded 39 points in a dreadful second half.

 

SCORING

HOUSTON 10
Tries – S. Windsor (16’), T. Palamo (69′)
Cons – S. Windsor 0/2

SEATTLE 52
Tries – K. Gordon (3’), N. Penny (36’), B. Staller (55′), S. Coetzee (60′), B. Tucker (62′), R. Suniula (75′), M. Turner (78′)
Cons – B. Staller 4/7 (56′, 63′, 76′, 79′)
Pens – B. Staller 3/3 (12’, 48′, 53′)
Yellow cards – D. Trierweiler (68′)

 

TEAMS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Mateo Sanguinetti (17 Jamie Dever 53′), 2 Pat O’Toole, 3 Charlie Connolly (21 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz 48′), 4 Diego Magno (20 Robert Meeson 67′), 5 Matt Trouville (capt.) (19 Victor Comptat 58′), 6 Luke Beauchamp, 7 Cecil Garber (18 Paul Mullen 73′), 8 Alejandro Nieto, 9 Connor Murphy (23 Joe Kelly 67′), 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Malacchi Esdale, 12 Max Tacket (22 Thretton Palamo 48′), 13 Osea Kolinisau, 14 Deion Mikesell, 15 Zach Pangelinan

Not used: 16 Amro Gouda

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Kellen Gordon (18 Ryan Youngman 73′), 2 Stephan Coetzee (16 Dan Trierweiler 63′), 3 Tim Metcher (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 53′), 4 Jérémy Lenaerts (20 Eric Duechle 53′), 5 Apisai Naikatini (19 Taylor Krumrei 48′-51′, 55′), 6 Brad Tucker, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh, 9 Phil Mack (21 JP Smith 55′), 10 Ben Cima, 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs (23 Dion Crowder 63′), 12 Shalom Suniula (capt.), 13 George Barton (22 Roland Suniula HT), 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner

 

Result

TeamTCPDBPPoints
Houston SaberCats200010
Seattle Seawolves7430152

Houston SaberCats

1Mateo Sanguinetti 17 Loosehead Prop
2Pat O’Toole Hooker
3Charlie Connolly 21 Tighthead Prop
4Diego Magno 20 Left Lock
5Matt Trouville 19 Right Lock
6Luke Beauchamp Blindside Flanker
7Cecil Garber 18 Openside Flanker
8Alejandro Nieto Number Eight
9Connor Murphy 23 Scrumhalf
10Sam Windsor Flyhalf
11Malacchi Esdale Left Wing
12Max Tacket 22 Inside Center
13Osea Kolinisau Outside Center
14Deion Mikesell Right Wing
15Zach Pangelinan Fullback
16Amro Gouda Hooker
17Jamie Dever 1 Loosehead Prop
18Paul Mullen 7 Tighthead Prop
19Victor Comptat 5 Right Lock
20Robert Meeson 4 Left Lock
21Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz 3 Number Eight
22Thretton Palamo 12 Inside Center
23Joe Kelly 9 Outside Center

Seattle Seawolves

1Kellen Gordon 18 Loosehead Prop
2Stephan Coetzee 16 Hooker
3Tim Metcher 17 Tighthead Prop
4Jérémy Lenaerts 20 Right Lock
5Apisai Naikatini 19 Left Lock
6Brad Tucker Blindside Flanker
7Nakai Penny Openside Flanker
8Riekert Hattingh Number Eight
9Phil Mack 21 Scrumhalf
10Ben Cima Flyhalf
11Sequoyah Burke-Combs 23 Left Wing
12Shalom Suniula Outside Center
13George Barton 22 Inside Center
14Brock Staller Right Wing
15Mat Turner Fullback
16Dan Trierweiler 2 Hooker
17Djustice Sears-Duru 3 Loosehead Prop
18Ryan Youngman 1 Tighthead Prop
19Taylor Krumrei 5 Left Lock
20Eric Duechle 4 Blindside Flanker
21JP Smith 9 Scrumhalf
22Roland Suniula 13 Outside Center
23Dion Crowder 11 Left Wing

Officials

Referee
Derek Summers (USA)
Assistant Referee 1
Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistant Referee 2
Greg Varnell (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season
April 13, 2019 6:30 pm Major League Rugby 2019

Venue

AVEVA Stadium
12131 Kirby Dr, Houston, TX 77045, USA

Video

Brazil Name Loaded Roster for Hong Kong Tour

Emiliano Caffera has named a 28-man roster to represent Brazil in November. As part of the annual November Internationals, Os Tupis will play two away test matches against Hong Kong. The roster contains 17 forwards and 11 backs. Hong Kong and Brazil are both chasing spots at Rugby World Cup …

Read More »

Powerful Spain roster to face Teros and Eagles

Pablo Bouza has named a 42-man extended Spain roster for their upcoming test series against Uruguay, Fiji, and the USA. The ex-Pumas forward will have a large contingent of his France-based professionals available as the Leones begin preparations for next year’s World Cup qualifiers. Giant Toulouse prop Joël Merkler returns …

Read More »

Chile Trim Roster for November Internationals

Chile has trimmed down the size of its roster from 32 to 25 players. Pablo Lemoine’s Cóndores will play test matches against Canada and the Netherlands and face Scotland ‘A’ in an uncapped fixture. As was the case at Rugby World Cup 2023, flanker Martín Sigren leads his country. He is …

Read More »

South American 7’s 2024 – Day One Results

South American Men’s and Women’s Rugby Champions will be crowed in Villa María del Triunfo, Peru on Sunday. Day two of the 2024 South American (SAR) Sevens sees Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia in the Semi Finals of the Women’s tournament and Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Paraguay in the Men’s …

Read More »

MLR trio in Tonga squad for November tests

Tonga have named a 30-man squad to travel north next month for their tests series against Romania, the USA, and Georgia. Included are Miami Sharks prop Tau Koloamatangi, San Diego Legion flanker Tupou Afungia, and NOLA Gold winger Taniela Filimone. The Ikale Tahi will square off against the Eagles in …

Read More »