Professional rugby union team from Houston, Texas
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 of in MLR membership to build a rugby-specific stadium intended for MLR competition.
Home field [ ]
Houston plays their games in Aveva 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 naming rights were awarded to British multinational software and technology company Aveva .[4]
Houston Sports Park is also the permanent training ground for Major League Soccer soccer team Houston Dynamo as well as the Houston Dash women's soccer team.
During the 2018 regular season, the SaberCats played their home matches at Dyer Stadium [5] and trained at Athlete Training and Health in Houston. The team also played at Constellation Field , home of the 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 Aveva Stadium healed, the team returned to Dyer Stadium to play one match against San Diego before returning to Aveva Stadium.
Broadcasts [ ]
2019 home games were shown on KUBE-TV an independent station in Houston .
[ ]
Season
Kit manufacturer
Shirt sponsor
Other Shirt sponsor(s)
2018–2019
XBlades
Aveva
None
2020
2021–present
Lone Star College System
Players and personnel [ ]
Current squad [ ]
The Houston SaberCats squad for the 2022 Major League Rugby season is:[7]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
Player
Position
Union
Nick Boyer
Scrum-half
United States
Zachary Short
Scrum-half
United States
Dillon Smit
Scrum-half
South Africa
David Coetzer
Fly-half
South Africa
Kian Meadon
Fly-half
South Africa
Robbie Povey
Fly-half
Canada
Centre
United States
Louritz van der Schyff
Centre
South Africa
Jordan Jackson
Wing
United States
Matai Leuta
Wing
United States
Maka Unufe
Wing
United States
Matías Freyre
Fullback
Argentina
Zach Pangelinan
Fullback
United States
Senior 15s 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)
Paul Emerick (Assistant Coach – skills)
Campbell Johnstone (Assistant Coach – forwards)
Ashley Dixon (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
Head coaches [ ]
Former Assistant Coaches [ ]
Captains [ ]
Records [ ]
Season standings [ ]
Year
Pos
Pld
W
D
L
F
A
+/−
BP
Pts
Playoffs
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
12th
5
1
0
4
99
116
−17
2
6
Season cut short due to Coronavirus Pandemic
2021
12th
16
2
0
14
274
550
-276
5
13
Did not qualify
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
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
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 .[12] It was cancelled the following week[13]
Regular season [ ]
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
References [ ]
^ "Major League Rugby – As It Stands" . Americas Rugby News . 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2018-01-23 .
^ "SaberCats fall to Seawolves in first match played at AVEVA Stadium" . Houston Chronicle . April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
^ 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 .
^ "SaberCats, city to break ground on new AVEVA Stadium late July" . KHOU . July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018 .
^ Gorman, Jack (2018-03-05). "Houston SaberCats Announce New Temporary Home" . Houston Press . Retrieved 2018-03-05 .
^ 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 .
^ "Houston SaberCats" . Americas Rugby News . Retrieved 6 December 2021 .
^ "Houston? No problem – SaberCats bullish about latest US rugby venture" . The Guardian . January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018 .
^ "Paul Emerick takes helm of SaberCats" . Houston Chronicle . May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019 .
^ "New Coach Announced Ahead of 2020 Season" . August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019 .
^ "Pote Human to join Heyneke Meyer at American Major League outfit" . Sport24 . September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021 .
^ Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
^ "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign" . Yahoo! Sports . AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020 .
Founded 2017
Based in Houston, Texas
Coach(es)
Pote Human (HC)
Paul Emerick
Campbell Johnstone
Ashley Dixon
Players
Team captain: De Wet Roos
Current squad
Rugby HTX (Sr. Academy)
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