Report
Rugby FC LA travel to Texas to face the Houston SaberCats in a Western Conference Clash during Round 8 of the 2025 Major League Rugby season! Rugby FC LA are coming off of a chaotic 54-44 victory over Old Glory DC to improve to a 3-3 record with 3 wins in a row. The SaberCats are flying high after a convincing 34-14 victory over the league-leading San Diego Legion, and have now won 5 in a row with a 5-1 record. These teams have met 3 times in the past, with the Houston SaberCats currently undefeated in this matchup. They took a 28-45 victory in the last meeting between these teams in Round 2 onf the 2025 season in Los Angeles, scoring 7 tries to RFCLA’s 4.
With both teams on win streaks, it was almost guaranteed that one team’s streak was going to come to an end in this game, but it was tight! RFCLA held a 17-24 lead, until the Houston SaberCats scored with the clock in the red to bring the score to 22-24 with the conversion to come. AJ Alatimu stepped up with the opportunity to end the game in a tie, but his attempt sailed just to the right of the posts, sealing the victory for LA! Houston’s 5-game win streak comes to an end but they pick up both bonus points for their efforts. LA on the other hand, pick up their first ever victory over the Houston SaberCats to improve to a 4-3 record with 4 wins on the trot, and take the full 5 points.
Details
Date | Time | League | Season |
---|---|---|---|
April 5, 2025 | 8:00 pm | Major League Rugby | MLR 2025 |
SaberCats
# | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ezekiel Lindenmuth 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
2 | Seth Smith 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Pono Davis 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
4 | Johan Momsen | Flanker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
5 | Nathan Den Hoedt 19 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
6 | Emmanuel Albert 20 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
7 | Marno Redelinghuys | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
8 | Sam Tuifua | Number 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
9 | André Warner 21 | Scrum-half | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
10 | Davy Coetzer 22 | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
11 | Max Schumacher | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
12 | Dominic Akina 23 | Center | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
13 | Tautalatasi Tasi | Center | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
14 | Rufus McLean | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
15 | Drew Wild | Fullback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
16 | Pita Anae-Ah Sue 2 | Hooker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
17 | LaRome White 1 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
18 | Michael Scott 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
19 | Justin Basson 5 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
20 | Keni Nasoqeqe 6 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
21 | Jay Renton 9 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
22 | AJ Alatimu 10 | Center | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 1/4 | 2 |
23 | Jeremy Misailegalu 12 | Center | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 315 | 122 | 1/4 | 22 |
RFCLA
# | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Declan Leaney 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
2 | Ben Sugars 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Maliu Niuafe 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
4 | Lucas Bur | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
5 | Jurie van Vuuren 20 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
6 | Jason Damm | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
7 | Matt Heaton 19 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
8 | Ben Houston | Number 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
9 | Gonzalo Bertranou 21 | Scrum-half | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
10 | Sean Nolan 23 | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0/2 | 0 |
11 | Andrew Coe | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
12 | Billy Meakes | Center | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
13 | Matias Jensen | Center | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
14 | Will Leonard | Center | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 12 | 0 | 5 |
15 | Rory van Vugt | Fullback | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
16 | Ben Strang 2 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
17 | Alessandro Heaney 1 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
18 | Franco van den Berg 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
19 | Tim Anstee 7 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
20 | Ed Timpson 5 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
21 | Tas Smith 9 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
22 | Robert Mapa | Center | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
23 | Reece MacDonald 10 | Fly-half | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 3 | 2/3 | 4 |
Total | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 590 | 198 | 2/5 | 24 |
Officials
Referee | Assistant 1 | Assistant 2 | TMO |
---|---|---|---|
George Myers | Mike Lawrenson | Jono Cooper | Chris O’Malley |
Venue
SaberCats Stadium |
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Aveva Stadium, 12131, Kirby Drive, Houston, Harris County, Texas, 77045, United States |