WarriorsRecap
The first game of the Western Conference in the 2024 season saw the Utah Warriors travel to Texas to face the SaberCats. Both teams finished with the same 10-6 record in 2023, but Utah missed out on the post-season while Houston did not. The Warriors won both 2023 match-ups in the growing rivalry.
The action didn’t take long to start, with a fearsome SaberCats maul bundling over to score just 4 minutes in, Ronan Murphy scoring for the first points and first try of 2024 for the ‘Cats. Despite Joel Hodgson slotting a pen for the Warriors’ first points of 2024, Houston dominated the first half and led 15-3 at the break. Utah managed to get back into the game thanks in part to a yellow card to Johan Momsen, allowing Spencer Jones to exploit a gap for the first Warriors’ try of the season, and the first try by a Canadian in 2024.
The Warriors were on top for much of the 2nd half but a beautiful Tautalatasi Tasi interception allowed Houston to extend their lead to 22-8. The ‘Cats continued to absorb the pressure but could not hold, with Bailey Wilson dotting down for another try and Hodgson nailing the conversion to bring the Warriors within 7 and secure the losing Bonus Point, final score 22-15 to the hosts.
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2, 2024 | 8:00 pm | Major League Rugby | MLR 2024 |
SaberCats
| # | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezekiel Lindenmuth 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Pita Anae-Ah Sue 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Maks van Dyk 18 | Prop | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Justin Basson | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Johan Momsen | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Marno Redelinghuys | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Keni Nasoqeqe 19 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Ronan Murphy 20 | Number 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | André Warner 21 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Davy Coetzer | Fly-half | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 7 | 3/5 | 7 |
| 11 | Jeremy Misailegalu 22 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Dominic Akina 23 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Tautalatasi Tasi | Centre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 22 | 0 | 5 |
| 14 | Christian Dyer | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Drew Wild | Fullback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Seth Smith 2 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Valdemar Lee-Lo 1 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Pono Davis 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Emmanuel Albert 7 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Asa Carter 8 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Carlo de Nysschen 9 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Max Schumacher 11 | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Line Latu 12 | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 449 | 187 | 3/5 | 22 |
Warriors
| # | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emerson Prior 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Nic Souchon 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Angus MacLellan 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Frank Lochore | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Louis Conradie 19 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Kalisi Moli 22 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Dylan Nel | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Thomas Tu’avao 20 | Number 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Zion Going | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Joel Hodgson | Fly-half | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 2/3 | 5 |
| 11 | Mika Kruse | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Paul Lasike 21 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Spencer Jones | Centre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| 14 | Michael Manson | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Caleb Makene | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Phil Bradford 2 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Franco van den Berg 1 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Paul Mullen 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Saia ‘Uhila 5 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Kieran McClea 12 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Onehunga Havili 8 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Bailey Wilson 6 | Flanker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| 23 | Robbie Povey | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 683 | 98 | 2 | 15 |
Officials
| Referee | Assistant 1 | Assistant 2 | TMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robin Kaluzniak | Pete Pender | Blair McClure | Saro Turner |
Venue
| SaberCats Stadium |
|---|
| Aveva Stadium, 12131, Kirby Drive, Houston, Harris County, Texas, 77045, United States |