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A trip to Utah for the Western Conference Final is on the line when the SaberCats host RFC Los Angeles on Sunday Monday evening. Houston started the campaign in strong form but have faded somewhat in recent weeks, while the opposite is true for their guests. It sets the stage for a dramatic showdown in Texas.
** EDIT: This game has now been postponed to Monday night at 6pm local time (4pm Pacific, 7pm Eastern) due to adverse weather conditions. **
| REGULAR SEASON RECORD |
10-6-0 (W1) West 2nd
8-7-1 (L1) West 3rd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 13 | Tautalatasi Tasi | Louritz van der Schyff |
| 15 | Max Schumacher | Seimou Smith |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Alessandro Heaney | Franco van den Berg |
| 2 | Ben Sugars | Mike Sosene-Feagai |
| 7 | Ed Timpson | Matt Heaton |
| 11 | Rory van Vugt | Seth Purdey |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(5) – Lindenmuth, Alatimu (Samoa), Davis (USA), McLean (Scotland), Rebolo (Brazil)
(7) – Damm, Sosene-Feagai (USA), Bertranou (Argentina), Leali’ifano (Samoa), Coe, O’Gorman (Canada), Kunatani (Fiji)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Sam Tuifua (N8), Davy Coetzer (FH), Drew Wild (FB)
– Dane Zander (PR), Matt Heaton (FL), Christian Dyer (WI)
| PREDICTION |
After a poor start to the season, LA have turned things around with their all-or-nothing approach on attack the key feature of their game. Searing humidity might slow them, however, and at the very least make ball handling more difficult. Light rain is expected, which combined with the downpour that contributed to the game’s postponement will make for a heavier pitch. That plays into the hands of the Cats, who feature a mammoth forward pack with more beef in reserve. Without star playmakers Davy Coetzer and Drew Wild, however, they are decidedly less dynamic in the backline. The scales are close and while the bookies might favor the team with the better record, victory by the visitors wouldn’t be a great upset based on recent form. Houston are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue, 3 Pono Davis, 4 Justin Basson, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.), 6 Emmanuel Albert, 7 Johan Momsen, 8 Marno Redelinghuys, 9 André Warner, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Drake Davis, 12 Sam Hill, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Rufus McLean, 15 Max Schumacher
Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 Wilton Rebolo, 18 Michael Scott, 19 Javon Camp, 20 Keni Nasoqeqe, 21 Jay Renton, 22 Louritz van der Schyff, 23 Dom Akina
RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Alessandro Heaney, 2 Ben Sugars, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Tim Anstee, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 11 Rory van Vugt, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Nick Chan, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 Mike Sosene-Feagai, 17 Timmy Ohlwein, 18 Franco van den Berg, 19 Reegan O’Gorman, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Ben Strang, 22 Tas Smith, 23 Seth Purdey
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, June 15 (postponed) Monday, June 16
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:30 local 18:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 19:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: light rain, 79°F (26°C), wind S 6-10mph (10-16km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, CW39, FanDuel SoCal, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistants: Chris Assmus (Canada) & Cam Russell (Canada)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (7) – Houston 4, ATL/LA 3
2025-04-05 – Houston SaberCats 22, RFC Los Angeles 24 (SaberCats Stadium)
2025-02-23 – RFC Los Angeles 28, Houston SaberCats 45 (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
2024-06-08 – Houston SaberCats 29, RFC Los Angeles 12 (SaberCats Stadium)
2024-03-10 – RFC Los Angeles 12, Houston SaberCats 27 (Dignity Health Track Field)
2023-03-25 – Houston SaberCats 40, Rugby ATL 28 (SaberCats Stadium)
2022-03-05 – Rugby ATL 29, Houston SaberCats 22 (Silverbacks Park)
2021-06-19 – Rugby ATL 33, Houston SaberCats 15 (Lupo Family Field)
