North American Rugby Database

Report

The League-leading Houston SaberCats wrap up their regular season by hosting their Texas rivals, the Dallas Jackals at SaberCats Stadium. This game would serve as a preview of the Western Conference Semi-Final, as Houston (#1) was already locked in to play Dallas (#4) in a playoff Texas Tussle!

The hosts burst out of the gates, with Rob Cobb scoring just minutes in and, despite an early yellow card to Captain Johan Momsen, maintained a 7-0 lead until the 26th minute when Justin Basson was able to extend it. Houston added two more before the HT whistle to secure the try BP and looked like they would take a 26-0 lead into the sheds before Dallas hit back with a 7-pointer from Ben Fry to halt the SaberCats momentum.

Fry’s try may have spurred the Jackals on, as the 2nd half was dominated by the guests, who pulled it back to 26-21 thanks to tries from Tomas Cubilla & Dewald Kotze, before a 77th minute Tomy Malanos try tied things up at 26-26, and Juan-Dee Oliver nailed the conversion to give Dallas a slim lead with minutes to go. Unfortuntely, the Jackals are the masters of the losing BP in 2024, and with the clock deep in the red, conceded a penalty with which Davy Coetzer made no mistake. these 3pts were the only score of the half for Houston to secure a 29-28 win and end their regular season on a high.

Houston finish with a 14-2 record and 67pts, 10pts ahead of 2nd places Seattle in the West, and top of the entire MLR. As mentioned, they are already locked in to play the Jackals again in the Quarter-Finals, who fell to 6-10 on the season following this loss. The Jackals have picked up NINE losing bonus points this season, tied with the Utah Warriors for a single-season MLR record.