NEWS

SaberCats Defeat Elite for Second-Straight Win

Saturday afternoon was a great day for the Houston SaberCats.

Their 36-15 victory over Austin Elite Rugby not only marked the second time this season that Houston (4-10) has defeated Austin (0-15), but it also marked their first win in the brand new AVEVA Stadium and their second win in as many weeks.

The SaberCats used a six-try performance from four different try scorers to knock off the Elite. Those tries were made possible by the work that Houston did off the ball.

“I thought we did very well in open play with keeping the ball alive in our offloading,” captain and forward Matt Trouville said of his team’s performance. “We had a lot of people working off the ball to put themselves in position to receive that pass to finish off some of those tries.”

It took a few minutes for the SaberCats to get their footing, but once they did they never looked back. Eight-man Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz got the scoring started in the 14th minute when he capitalized on an Austin turnover and took the ball in for the first try of the match. Fly-half Sam Windsor nailed the conversion to give the SaberCats a 7-0 lead.

Houston answered back with another quick try just three minutes later when Windsor offloaded the ball to inside center Thretton Palamo who rumbled scampered into the in-goal to give the SaberCats a 12-0 lead.

With the wind to their face, the Elite got their first points of the match when outside center Andres Vilaseca nailed his first penalty goal attempt to cut into Houston’s lead. Austin went into the 20-minute hydration break trailing Houston 12-3. Vilaseca would end the day with 10 of Austin’s 13 points.

After the wind pushed Vilaseca’s second penalty goal of the day wide, Houston made the Elite pay when Fa’anana-Schultz scored his second try of the match. After breaking into the open field, Fa’anana-Schultz threw a dummy that turned everyone around before jetting in for the try. Windsor nailed the conversion to give Houston a 19-3 lead in the 31st minute.

The SaberCats never let their foot off the gas.

Houston scored their fourth try of the match and secured a bonus point in just the 34th minute when flanker Cecil Garber capitalized on another Austin turnover and rumbled into the in-goal. As a result, Houston took a 24-3 lead into the half.

Austin came out of the sheds with a little bit of fire in their belly.

After eight scoreless minutes, the Elite pounced first in the second half with a Larome White pick-and-drive try. Vilaseca wasn’t able to hit the conversion and the Elite then trailed 24-8.

Houston’s next try was the backbreaker.

The SaberCats once again took advantage of an Austin turnover at the breakdown and this time wing Malacchi Esdale ripped off a long run down the touchline to score Houston’s fifth try of the match and give them a 29-8 lead heading into the 60-minute hydration break.

Both Austin and Houston traded tries in the final 20-minute frame, but the SaberCats walked away with a 36-15 win when the dust settled.

Houston picked up five points in the victory to give them 20 points in the table. They currently sit in seventh place. Austin didn’t pick up any points in the loss. They remain in ninth place with four points.

The SaberCats will have their hands full over the next week. They’ll take on the Glendale Raptors at home on Wednesday, May 29, and then the Utah Warriors on Saturday, June 1st.

“It’s going to be tough on the bodies but there is a good vibe in the squad so we are excited,” Trouville said of the upcoming stretch. “I think with Glendale, they’ve got a very good attacking team. They know how to throw the ball around and use the width. I think the biggest thing for us is just staying connected on defense. The cliché of bend, don’t break. Just keep working together, keep moving around the ball and just when they make mistakes or forcing a turnover when we get the opportunity. Just staying connected is one of the biggest things to do against a team with an attack like Glendale.”

Austin will finish the season against the Seattle Seawolves on Sunday, June 2.

Scoring

Houston SaberCats

Tries: Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (2), Thretton Palamo (2), Cecil Garber, Malacchi Esdale

Conversions: Sam Windsor (2/5), Osea Kolinisau (1/1)

Penalty Goals: N/A

Austin Elite Rugby

Tries: Larome White, Andres Vilaseca

Conversions: Andres Vilaseca (1/2)

Penalty Goals: Andres Vilaseca (1/2)