Houston SaberCats

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Houston SaberCats
Houston, Texas
Ground(s)SaberCats Stadium (Capacity: 4,000)
PresidentMike Sheehan
Coach(es)Pote Human
Captain(s)Johan Momsen
Top scorerSam Windsor (432)
Most triesSam Windsor (14)
League(s)Major League Rugby
2023Elimination round
3rd (Western Conference)
Team kit
Official website
www.houstonsabercats.com

The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby,[1] the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its first season in 2018. The SaberCats organization was born from one of the founding amateur rugby clubs that pooled resources to emerge professionally, and were the first in MLR membership to build a rugby-specific stadium intended for MLR competition.

Home field

Houston plays their games in SaberCats Stadium, which was opened on April 13, 2019.[2] In February 2018, the City of Houston agreed to fund $3.2 million of the $15.25 million needed to build a permanent rugby stadium for use by the Houston SaberCats at Houston Sports Park.[3] On July 17, the SaberCats announced that a three-year naming rights were awarded to British multinational software and technology company Aveva, and that it would be initially known as "Aveva Stadium".[4] Following this deal, the venue became known as "SaberCats Stadium".

Houston Sports Park is also the permanent training ground for

Houston Dynamo as well as the Houston Dash
women's soccer team.

During the 2018 regular season, the SaberCats played their home matches at

Sugar Land Skeeters, for part of the 2019 season, and for their exhibition matches in 2017 and 2018.[6]
Also, in April 2019, while the new pitch at SaberCats Stadium healed, the team returned to Dyer Stadium to play one match against San Diego before returning to SaberCats Stadium.

Stadium Capacity Location Year(s)
Dyer Stadium 6,000
Houston, Texas
2018
Constellation Field 7,500 Sugar Land, Texas 2018–2019
SaberCats Stadium 4,000
Houston, Texas
2019–present

Broadcasts

Sponsorship

Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Other Shirt sponsor(s)
2018–2019 XBlades Aveva None
2020 Paladin Sports
2021 Lone Star College System
2022 Live Oak Vodka None
2023 None

Players and personnel

Current squad

The Houston SaberCats squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is:[7]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Pita Anae Ah-Sue
Hooker
Samoa Samoa
Tiaan Erasmus*
Hooker
South Africa South Africa
Seth Smith
Hooker
United States United States
Sidney Tobias
Hooker
South Africa South Africa
Robb Cobb
Prop
New Zealand New Zealand
Pono Davis
Prop
United States United States
Frikkie de Beer*
Prop
South Africa South Africa
Valdemar Lee-Lo
Prop
United States United States
Ezekiel Lindenmuth
Prop
Samoa Samoa
Maks van Dyk
Prop
South Africa South Africa
LaRome White
Prop
United States United States
Justin Basson
Lock
South Africa South Africa
Nathan Den Hoedt
Lock
Australia Australia
Siaosi Mahoni
Lock
United States United States
Johan Momsen (c)
Lock
South Africa South Africa
Marno Redelinghuys
Lock
South Africa South Africa
Tomiwa Agbongbon
Back row
United States United States
Emmanuel Albert
Back row
United States United States
Orrin Bizer
Back row
United States United States
Asa Carter
Back row
United States United States
Aiden Kerr
Back row
United States United States
Ronan Murphy
Back row
United States United States
Keni Nasoqeqe
Back row
United States United States
Gideon van Wyk
Back row
South Africa South Africa
Anton Viera
Back row
United States United States
Player Position Union
Carlo de Nysschen*
Scrum-half
South Africa South Africa
Jay Renton
Scrum-half
New Zealand New Zealand
André Warner
Scrum-half
South Africa South Africa
AJ Alatimu
Fly-half
Samoa Samoa
Davy Coetzer
Fly-half
South Africa South Africa
Max Schumacher
Fly-half
United States United States
Dom Akina
Centre
United States United States
Sam Hill
Centre
England England
Seimou Smith
Centre
United States United States
Tautalatasi Tasi
Centre
Australia Australia
Louritz van der Schyff
Centre
South Africa South Africa
Drake Davis
Wing
United States United States
Christian Dyer
Wing
United States United States
Gerrie Labuschagné
Wing
South Africa South Africa
Jeremy Misailegalu
Wing
United States United States
Line Latu
Fullback
United States United States
Drew Wild
Fullback
New Zealand New Zealand
  • Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
  • * denotes players qualified to play for the
    United States
    on dual nationality or residency grounds.
  • MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

Current coaching staff

  • Pote Human (Head Coach)
  • Vic Meyer (Assistant Coach - Attack)
  • Ryan Nell (Assistant Coach – backs)
  • Jon Hood (Strength & Conditioning Coach)

Head coaches

Former assistant coaches

Captains

Records

Season standings

Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
2018 - 7th 8 1 0 7 216 256 −40 7 11 - - - - - - Did not qualify
2019 - 7th 16 6 0 10 345 496 −151 6 30 - - - - - - Did not qualify
2020[a] Western 6th 5 1 0 4 99 116 −17 2 6 - - - - - - Cancelled
2021 Western 6th 16 2 0 14 274 550 -276 5 13 - - - - - - Did not qualify
2022 Western 3rd 16 9 0 7 408 393 +15 12 48 1 0 1 27 46 -19 Lost
West Conference Final (Seattle Seawolves
) 27–46
2023 Western 3rd 16 10 0 6 484 413 +71 13 53 1 0 1 26 37 -11 Lost West Conference Eliminator Game (Seattle Seawolves) 26-37
Totals 77 29 0 48 1,826 2,224 -398 32 108 1 0 1 27 46 -19 2 postseason appearances

Notes

  1. ^ 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2018 season

Exhibition

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
November 18, 2017 Dallas Reds Away Won, 31–24
December 2, 2017 Dallas Harlequins Away Won, 125–0
December 9, 2017 Austin Blacks Away Won, 46–31
December 9, 2017 Austin Blacks Away Won, 55–14
December 16, 2017 Dallas Reds Home Won, 21–5
January 6, 2018
Seattle Saracens
Away Won, 50–7
January 13, 2018 Vancouver Ravens Away Lost, 23–26
January 20, 2018 Uruguay National Team Home Lost, 24–32
January 27, 2018 James Bay Athletic Club Home Won, 42–13
February 3, 2018 Capital Selects Home Won, 49–3
February 10, 2018 Chicago Lions Home Won, 60–10
February 17, 2018 New York Athletic Club Away Won, 39–38
February 24, 2018 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 30–12
March 3, 2018 Ontario Arrows Home Draw, 28–28
March 24, 2018 New Orleans Gold Away Draw, 32–32
April 7, 2018 San Diego Legion Away Won, 33–17

Regular season

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
April 21 New Orleans Gold Home Lost, 26–35
April 28
Austin Elite
Home Won, 50–38
May 4 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 32–35
May 19 New Orleans Gold Away Lost, 26–35
May 26 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 30–36
June 2 Seattle Seawolves Home Lost, 7–20
June 9
Glendale Raptors
Away Lost, 24–37
June 23 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 27–31

2019 season

Exhibition

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
December 1, 2018 Austin Blacks Away Won, 78–12
December 8, 2018 Dallas Reds Away Won, 34–8
January 11, 2019
Austin Elite
Home Lost, 10–14
January 19, 2019
Glendale Raptors
Home Lost, 21–36

Regular season

Date Opponent Home/Away Venue Result
January 26 Austin Elite Away Dell Diamond Won, 21–20
February 9 San Diego Legion Away Torero Stadium Lost, 13–17
February 22 Toronto Arrows Home Constellation Field Lost, 27–44
March 2
Rugby United New York
Home Constellation Field Lost, 8–35
March 10 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Lost, 14–27
March 16 New Orleans Gold Home Constellation Field Lost, 11–49
March 23 Utah Warriors Home Constellation Field Won, 29–27
April 6 Glendale Raptors Away Infinity Park Lost, 44–52
April 13 Seattle Seawolves Home
Aveva Stadium
Lost, 12–52
April 21 Toronto Arrows Away
York Stadium
Lost, 21–35
April 27 San Diego Legion Home
Dyer Stadium
Lost, 19–41
May 5
Rugby United New York
Away
MCU Park
Lost, 0–21
May 18 New Orleans Gold Away Archbishop Shaw Stadium Won, 27–20
May 25 Austin Elite Home Aveva Stadium Won, 36–15
May 29 Glendale Raptors Home Aveva Stadium Won, 32–17
June 1 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Won, 31–27

2020 season

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic.[13] It was cancelled the following week[14]

Regular season

Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result
February 8
Colorado Raptors
Home
Aveva Stadium
Won, 21–12
February 16 Toronto Arrows Neutral Las Vegas Ballpark Lost, 22–27
February 22 Old Glory DC Home Aveva Stadium Lost, 13–22
March 1
Rugby United New York
Home Aveva Stadium Lost, 23–31
March 7 Austin Gilgronis Home Aveva Stadium Lost, 20–24
March 14 New England Free Jacks Away Union Point Sports Complex Cancelled
March 21 Seattle Seawolves Away
Starfire Stadium
Cancelled
April 5 San Diego Legion Away Torero Stadium Cancelled
April 11 Utah Warriors Home Aveva Stadium Cancelled
April 18
Colorado Raptors
Away Infinity Park Cancelled
April 26 Austin Gilgronis Away Round Rock Multipurpose Complex Cancelled
May 2 Seattle Seawolves Home Aveva Stadium Cancelled
May 9 New Orleans Gold Away
Gold Mine
Cancelled
May 16 San Diego Legion Home Aveva Stadium Cancelled
May 23
Rugby ATL
Home Aveva Stadium Cancelled
May 30 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Cancelled

2021 season

Regular season

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 20 Seattle Seawolves Home Won, 30–24
March 27 New England Free Jacks Home Lost, 0–32
April 3 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 0–26
April 10 San Diego Legion Home Won, 34–32
April 17 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 48–33
April 24 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 50–43
May 8 New Orleans Gold Away Lost, 26–28
May 15 Toronto Arrows Home Lost, 10–19
May 22 Old Glory DC Home Lost, 13–21
May 29 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 11–39
June 5 Austin Gilgronis Home Lost, 9–28
June 13 LA Giltinis Away Lost, 5–52
June 19
Rugby ATL
Away Lost, 15–33
June 26 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 5–24
July 10
Rugby United New York
Away Lost, 19–54
July 15 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 21-40

2022 season

Regular season

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
February 5 LA Giltinis Home Won, 21–11
February 12 Rugby New York Home Lost, 7-10
February 19 Dallas Jackals Away Won, 38–33
February 26 San Diego Legion Home Lost, 20-31
March 5
Rugby ATL
Away Lost, 22-29
March 12 Seattle Seawolves Home Won 21-19
March 26 Utah Warriors Away Won, 28-12
April 3 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 5-45
April 9 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 31-6
April 16 LA Giltinis Away Lost, 12-17
April 23 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 29-17
May 8 San Diego Legion Away Won, 34-24
May 14 Utah Warriors Home Won, 31-27
May 21 Old Glory DC Away Won, 59-42
May 27 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 36-43
June 3 Austin Gilgronis Home Lost, 14-29

Post season

Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result
West Conference Finals June 18 Seattle Seawolves Home Lost, 27-46

2023 season

Regular season

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
February 19 Dallas Jackals Away Won, 33-12
February 25 NOLA Gold Home Won, 35-14
March 5 San Diego Legion Home Won, 31-26
March 11 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 12-24
March 25
Rugby ATL
Home Won, 40-28
April 2 Chicago Hounds Away Won, 38-21
April 8 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 24-30
April 15 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 33-21
April 23
New York Ironworkers
Away Won, 34-27
April 30 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 16-29
May 13 Seattle Seawolves Home Lost, 17-34
May 20 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 28-34
May 27 Chicago Hounds Home Won, 40-33
June 3 Toronto Arrows Away Won, 48-26
June 9 Old Glory DC Home Won, 31-7
June 18 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 24-47

Post season

Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result
West Conference Eliminator Round June 24 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 26-37

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Major League Rugby – As It Stands". Americas Rugby News. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  2. ^ "SaberCats fall to Seawolves in first match played at AVEVA Stadium". Houston Chronicle. April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Schneider, Andrew (2018-02-07). "Houston City Council Approved $3.2 Million Deal To Build A New Rugby Stadium". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  4. ^ "SaberCats, city to break ground on new AVEVA Stadium late July". KHOU. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  5. ^ Gorman, Jack (2018-03-05). "Houston SaberCats Announce New Temporary Home". Houston Press. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  6. ^ Dart, Tom (2018-01-22). "Houston? No problem – SaberCats bullish about latest US rugby venture". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  7. ^ "Houston SaberCats". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Houston? No problem – SaberCats bullish about latest US rugby venture". The Guardian. January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "Paul Emerick takes helm of SaberCats". Houston Chronicle. May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "New Coach Announced Ahead of 2020 Season". August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  11. ^ "Pote Human to join Heyneke Meyer at American Major League outfit". Sport24. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "MLR 2022 - Houston SaberCats vs LA Giltinis - ARN Guide". Americas Rugby News. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  13. ^ Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
  14. ^ "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

External links