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

Results

TeamTriesConversionsPenalty KickTBLBPoints
SaberCats4101122
RFCLA4201024

SaberCats

# Player Position T C P AC DG MG Tackles KS/KA Pts
1Ezekiel Lindenmuth 17Prop00000131000
2Seth Smith 16Hooker0000022600
3Pono Davis 18Prop0000014600
4Johan MomsenFlanker100004705
5Nathan Den Hoedt 19Lock000009600
6Emmanuel Albert 20Flanker000009500
7Marno RedelinghuysFlanker000007900
8Sam TuifuaNumber 800000321100
9André Warner 21Scrum-half100002805
10Davy Coetzer 22Fly-half000004200
11Max SchumacherWing0000016300
12Dominic Akina 23Center0000038700
13Tautalatasi TasiCenter1000034705
14Rufus McLeanWing0000023800
15Drew WildFullback0000051300
16Pita Anae-Ah Sue 2Hooker1000011305
17LaRome White 1Prop000000300
18Michael Scott 3Prop000004400
19Justin Basson 5Lock000000100
20Keni Nasoqeqe 6Flanker000000200
21Jay Renton 9Scrum-half0000010300
22AJ Alatimu 10Center010001261/42
23Jeremy Misailegalu 12Center000000200
 Total 410003151221/422

RFCLA

# Player Position T C P AC DG MG Tackles KS/KA Pts
1Declan Leaney 17Prop00000282100
2Ben Sugars 16Hooker0000021600
3Maliu Niuafe 18Prop0000051200
4Lucas BurLock0000001400
5Jurie van Vuuren 20Lock000000900
6Jason DammFlanker00000101400
7Matt Heaton 19Flanker0000031500
8Ben HoustonNumber 800000581700
9Gonzalo Bertranou 21Scrum-half100000505
10Sean Nolan 23Fly-half00000950/20
11Andrew CoeWing0000078600
12Billy MeakesCenter1000043905
13Matias JensenCenter00000662000
14Will LeonardCenter10000551205
15Rory van VugtFullback1000015505
16Ben Strang 2Hooker0000031400
17Alessandro Heaney 1Prop000000000
18Franco van den Berg 3Prop000001200
19Tim Anstee 7Flanker0000037200
20Ed Timpson 5Flanker0000038700
21Tas Smith 9Scrum-half000000000
22Robert MapaCenter000000000
23Reece MacDonald 10Fly-half0200011132/34
 Total 420005901982/524

Officials

RefereeAssistant 1Assistant 2TMO
George MyersMike LawrensonJono CooperChris O’Malley

Venue

SaberCats Stadium
Aveva Stadium, 12131, Kirby Drive, Houston, Harris County, Texas, 77045, United States