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The Texas Cup will be on the line in Houston on Saturday evening as the SaberCats host the Austin Gilgronis at AVEVA Stadium. It’s fair to say the home side will be keen to make amends for the last rendition, when the AG’s trounced the Cats 26-nil in Austin on April 3.
After losing their first three meetings under the old ‘Elite’ banner, Austin have won both games against Houston as the Gilgronis. That brief but meaningful streak will be tested as the AG’s are asked to front up after taking a beating in Utah last weekend, a match that saw three players injured before halftime.
There are seven changes in all made to the run-on side, three up front. LaRome White makes his first start of the season at loosehead prop with Cam Dodson in at lock. Jake Turnbull and Isaac Ross sit out entirely. Dom Bailey is out with a bad knee so Kyle Breytenbach comes in on the blindside flank.
Ned Hodson and Will Magie are ruled out but there are welcome returns for Conner Mooneyham and Zinzan Elan-Puttick at wing and fullback respectively. The halfbacks are rotated as Ruben de Haas and Mack Mason swap to the bench with Pele Cowley and Kurt Morath getting the start.
In better news for Austin there are three forwards returning to active duty among the replacements. Robbie Coetzee takes over from Mason Koch as backup hooker, with Reegan O’Gorman and Christian Ostberg filling the voids left from the absence of Ross, Bailey, Moe Abdelmonem, and Michael de Waal.
The SaberCats are riding the longest current losing streak in Major League Rugby with no wins since April 10, a run of six games. They hold a one-point lead over Seattle for last place overall though the Seawolves have one game at hand. With only two games at AVEVA Stadium left this season, there is precious little time to improve their lowly 2-8 record.
Both Tiaan Erasmus and Charlie Connolly are absent this week. Mike Brown comes in for his first start in a Cats shirt at hooker, with Nicolás Solveyra wearing the No1 shirt and Nikoloz Khatiashvili sliding across to tighthead prop. Lucas Albornoz and Diego Magno replace Jérémy Lenaerts and Adriaan Booysen at lock and No8 respectively.
The backline gets a boost with the return of Zach Pangelinan from a hamstring injury. He starts at fullback with Taylor Howden moving to the more familiar inside center spot and Veramu Dikidikilati pushing out to the wing. Jinho Mun and Robbie Povey are this week’s backup halfbacks.
In terms of tangible rewards the Cup is all that is left on offer for the Cats this season unless one counts a higher draft position. For Austin, however, a positive result is of vital importance if they are to stay in touch of a Semi Final spot. Rain is on the forecast but that shouldn’t deter the AG’s from their task. Take the visitors to retain bragging rights.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. A local broadcast will be available on KBVO in Austin, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide. AT&T SportsNet Southwest will air the game on Sunday evening.
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Nicolás Solveyra, 2 Mike Brown, 3 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 4 Kody O’Neil, 5 Lucas Albornoz, 6 Luke Beauchamp (capt.), 7 Cecil Garber, 8 Diego Magno, 9 Nick Boyer, 10 Sam Windsor, 11 Veramu Dikidikilati, 12 Taylor Howden, 13 Joe Thomas, 14 Paula Balekana, 15 Zach Pangelinan
Replacements: 16 Patrick Donovan, 17 Liam Murray, 18 Nik Hildebrand, 19 Jérémy Lenaerts, 20 Adriaan Booysen, 21 Jinho Mun, 22 Robbie Povey, 23 Jake Hidalgo
AUSTIN GILGRONIS
1 LaRome White, 2 Hugh Roach, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Sebastian de Chaves, 5 Cam Dodson, 6 Kyle Breytenbach, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Dominic Akina, 9 Pele Cowley, 10 Kurt Morath, 11 Conner Mooneyham, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Frank Halai, 14 Cole Davis, 15 Zinzan Elan-Puttick
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Reegan O’Gorman, 20 Christian Ostberg, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Mack Mason, 23 Rodrick Waters
Date: Saturday, June 5
Venue: AVEVA Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Jack Gohl (Australia)
Assistants: Joey Swatzell (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
Broadcasts: AT&T SportsNet Southwest (24h delay), KBVO, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2021-04-03 – Austin Gilgronis 26, Houston SaberCats 0 (Bold Stadium)
2020-03-07 – Houston SaberCats 20, Austin Gilgronis 24 (AVEVA Stadium)
2019-05-25 – Houston SaberCats 36, Austin Elite 15 (AVEVA Stadium)
2019-01-26 – Austin Elite 20, Houston SaberCats 21 (Dell Diamond)
2018-04-28 – Houston SaberCats 50, Austin Elite 38 (Dyer Stadium)
