Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The Houston SaberCats have confirmed the return of five ‘originals’ for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. Cecil Garber, Sam Windsor, Kieran Farmer, Malacchi Esdale, and Zach Pangelinan will return for a fourth season having been with the club since their inception.
Garber, 28, has been a staple at openside flanker for the club since arriving from Seattle. The USA Selects representative has played 28 MLR games for the SaberCats, a mark matched by Esdale and beaten only by Windsor’s 29. He started three of the team’s five games in 2020.
The league’s all-time points scoring leader with 320, Windsor has started every SaberCats game in MLR while missing just 19 minutes of action across three seasons. At 33 years old he remains a key attacking player for Houston and one of the league’s most consistent performers.
Farmer had been groomed as Windsor’s long-term replacement but in 2020 found himself playing on the right wing. The 21-year-old was handed his first professional start against Old Glory DC in Week 3 and retained his spot the following week against Rugby United New York.
After earning international recognition with the USA Falcons Sevens side in the off-season, 25-year-old Esdale’s hopes of stepping into the Eagles spotlight were put on hold by COVID-19. He appeared in all five of Houston’s games this season, playing exclusively on the left wing.
Now 32 years old and a season veteran in American rugby, Pangelinan’s versatility has been highly valuable for Houston. Though primarily a fullback, he started MLR games at scrumhalf and flyhalf in 2019. This past season his four starts came on the wing, one on the left and three on the right.
