RUNY spoils SaberCats comeback in windy Houston

photo credit: Jeremy Fletcher / Bigshots Snapshots / Houston SaberCats

Recap

A stiff Texan breeze made for two contrasting halves at AVEVA Stadium on Sunday evening. It was Rugby United New York who adjusted best, riding a dominant first half to a 31-23 win over the feisty but ultimately second-best SaberCats.

The opening arm wrestle went in favor of New York. They got the edge on in the scrum, and the put their vaunted lineout drive to good use with Dylan Fawsitt collecting the plaudits. Cathal Marsh knocked over the extras and it was 7-nil to the visitors.

RUNY continued to have the upper hand in the exchanges. Houston defended well for time, winning a turnover in their end, but couldn’t relieve the pressure with the wind in their face.

Mathieu Bastareaud thundered through a half-gap and drew in three players before offloading to Dylan Fawsitt, who in turn found Chris Mattina running a straight line under the posts. Marsh was on target again and the SaberCats were two converted tries behind heading into the hydration break.

Sam Windsor finally got Houston on the board in the 25th minute with a penalty goal but New York came roaring back. From an attacking scrum deep in SaberCats territory Bastareaud made it over the gainline. A couple more hit-ups from the forwards and Paddy Ryan crashed over for the try. The conversion left the SaberCats with a 21-3 deficit heading into halftime.

The two kickers exchanged penalties to start the second half. With Houston now enjoying the wind advantage they took another from Windsor’s boot and then it was the flyhalf himself who want over after sustained pressure. He converted his own to close the gap to eight points.

A moment of individual brilliance soon brought the crowd to their feet. Luke Beauchamp’s charge down inspired a turnover, and Windsor picked out Taylor Howden with a skip pass. The veteran midfielder sold a dummy and stepped back inside across the defense to run home from 40 meters. Windsor added the extra two and suddenly it was a one point game.

There would be no comeback celebration. Mike Brown picked off a loose pass in Houston territory to snaffle away possession. At the next ruck Marcus Walsh scampered in off the post with a show-and-go, diving over for the bonus point try, with Marsh’s kick stealing the losing bonus point from the SaberCats.

 

SCORING

HOUSTON 23
Tries – S. Windsor (57’), T. Howden (70’)
Cons – S. Windsor 2/2 (58’, 71’)
Pens – S. Windsor 3/3 (25’, 42’, 51’)

NEW YORK 31
Tries – D. Fawsitt (8’), C. Mattina (18’), P. Ryan (29’), M. Walsh (79’)
Cons – C. Marsh 4/4 (9’, 19’, 30’, 80’)
Pens – C. Marsh 1/1 (45’)

 

TEAMS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Valdemar Lee-Lo (17 Nicolás Solveyra 58’), 2 Diego Fortuny (16 Tim Cadwallader 64’), 3 Charlie Connolly (18 Boyd Wiggins HT), 4 Kyle Breytenbach (20 Van Stewart 69’), 5 Victor Comptat (19 Robert Meeson 52’), 6 Luke Beauchamp, 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 9 De Wet Roos (capt.), 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Zach Pangelinan, 12 Taylor Howden, 13 Thomas Morani (22 Tim Stanfill 30’), 14 Kieran Farmer (22 Tim Stanfill 4’-15’) (23 Malacchi Esdale 72’), 15 Matías Freyre

Not used: 21 Zachary Short

RUGBY UNITED NEW YORK
1 James Rochford (17 Anthony Parry 52’), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (capt.), 3 Paddy Ryan (18 Kirk Hamilton 52’), 4 Nate Brakeley, 5 Charlie Hewitt (19 Matt Wirken 67’), 6 Hanco Germishuys, 7 James Denise (20 Rob Irimescu 67’), 8 Mathieu Bastareaud (16 Mike Brown 60’), 9 Mike Petri (21 Marcus Walsh 72’), 10 Cathal Marsh, 11 Connor Wallace-Sims, 12 Chris Mattina, 13 Will Leonard, 14 Quentin Pradère (22 Harry Bennett 63’), 15 Ben Foden

Not used: 23 JP Aguirre

 

Result

TeamTCPDBPPoints
Houston SaberCats223023
Rugby United New York4410131

Houston SaberCats

1Valdemar Lee-Lo 17 Loosehead Prop
2Diego Fortuny 16 Hooker
3Charlie Connolly 18 Tighthead Prop
4Kyle Breytenbach 20 Right Lock
5Victor Comptat 19 Left Lock
6Luke Beauchamp Blindside Flanker
7Cecil Garber Openside Flanker
8Adriaan Booysen Number Eight
9De Wet Roos Scrumhalf
10Sam Windsor Flyhalf
11Zach Pangelinan Left Wing
12Taylor Howden Inside Center
13Thomas Morani 22 Outside Center
14Kieran Farmer 23 Right Wing
15Matías Freyre Fullback
16Tim Cadwallader 2 Hooker
17Nicolás Solveyra 1 Loosehead Prop
18Boyd Wiggins 3 Tighthead Prop
19Robert Meeson 5 Right Lock
20Van Stewart 4 Left Lock
21Zachary Short Scrumhalf
22Tim Stanfill 13 Left Wing
23Malacchi Esdale 14 Right Wing

Rugby United New York

1James Rochford 17 Loosehead Prop
2Dylan Fawsitt Hooker
3Paddy Ryan 18 Tighthead Prop
4Nate Brakeley Right Lock
5Charlie Hewitt 19 Left Lock
6Hanco Germishuys Blindside Flanker
7James Denise 20 Openside Flanker
8Mathieu Bastareaud 16 Number Eight
9Mike Petri 21 Scrumhalf
10Cathal Marsh Flyhalf
11Connor Wallace-Sims Left Wing
12Chris Mattina Inside Center
13Will Leonard Outside Center
14Quentin Pradère 22 Right Wing
15Ben Foden Fullback
16Mike Brown 8 Hooker
17Anthony Parry 1 Loosehead Prop
18Kirk Hamilton 3 Tighthead Prop
19Matt Wirken 5 Left Lock
20Rob Irimescu 7 Openside Flanker
21Marcus Walsh 9 Scrumhalf
22Harry Bennett 14 Fullback
23Juan Pablo Aguirre Center

Officials

Referee
Henrique Platais (Brazil)
Assistant Referee 1
Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)
Assistant Referee 2
Greg Varnell (USA)

Details

Date Time League Season
March 1, 2020 6:00 pm Eastern Conference 2020

Venue

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

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