2022 – RD 18: Houston SaberCats v Austin Gilgronis

14 v 29

Report

The Houston SaberCats host state rivals the Austin Gilgronis for a turbulent game at SaberCats Stadium during the final round of the 2022 regular season.

The Gilgronis had a bombshell drop just hours before this game, as Major League Rugby announced that the Austin Gilgronis had been disqualified from the 2022 MLR season for ‘a violation of league rules’. As a result, a number of Gilgronis players pulled out of the Austin lineup in an apparent response to MLR’s decision to disqualify the AGs. With the San Diego Legion on a bye, the Houston SaberCats were likely aware that they had all but secured a playoff spot.

Some of the frustrations may have added to the intra-state rivalry, with 3 cards being doled out at once including 2 reds (one per team). The Gilgronis did walk away with a bonus point victory in a 14-29 win in what is now the AGs final game of the 2022 season. The Gilgronis’ disqualification lifts their sister team the LA Giltinis into the #1 spot in the Western Conference, moving the Seattle Seawolves into a playoff slot.

This game would turn out to be the final game in the history of the Austin Elite/Herd/Gilgronis as the club was put up for sale following the disqualification, and were unable to find a buyer. The team effectively folded in October of 2022.

Details

Date	Time	League	Season
June 3, 2022	8:00 pm	Major League Rugby	MLR 2022

Results

Team	Tries	Conversions	Penalty Kick	TB	LB	Points
SaberCats	2	2	0	0	0	14
Gilgronis	4	3	1	1	0	29

SaberCats

#	Player	Position	T	C	MG	Tackles	KS/KA	Pts
1	Frikkie de Beer 17	Prop	0	0	10	8	0	0
2	Diego Fortuny 16	Hooker	0	0	27	3	0	0
3	Aaron Mitchell 18	Prop	0	0	8	6	0	0
4	Emmanuel Albert 19	Lock	1	0	48	3	0	5
5	Will Crawford 20	Lock	0	0	10	7	0	0
6	Gideon van Wyk	Flanker	0	0	87	3	0	0
7	Wynand Grassmann	Lock	0	0	7	4	0	0
8	Willie Britz	Number 8	0	0	56	7	0	0
9	Nick Boyer	Scrum-half	0	0	22	6	0	0
10	Kian Meadon	Fly-half	0	2	41	8	2/2	4
11	Marcos Moroni	Wing	0	0	23	5	0	0
12	Matai Leuta 23	Center	0	0	59	6	0	0
13	Kisi Unufe 21	Center	0	0	0	3	0	0
14	Gerrie Labuschagne	Wing	0	0	21	1	0	0
15	Zach Pangelinan 22	Fullback	0	0	21	1	0	0
16	Axel Zapata 2	Hooker	1	0	21	3	0	5
17	Alec McDonnell 1	Prop	0	0	9	2	0	0
18	Juan Pablo Zeiss 3	Prop	0	0	44	4	0	0
19	Maikeli Naromaitoga 4	Lock	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Keni Nasoqeqe 5	Number 8	0	0	20	3	0	0
21	Zachary Short 13	Scrum-half	0	0	3	1	0	0
22	Robbie Povey 15	Fly-half	0	0	17	0	0	0
23	Trace Bolstad 12	Center	0	0	4	0	0	0
	Total		2	2	558	84	2/2	14

Gilgronis

#	Player	Position	T	C	P	MG	Tackles	KS/KA	Pts
1	Faka’osi Pifeleti 17	Prop	1	1	0	13	6	0	7
2	Mason Koch 16	Hooker	0	0	0	42	5	0	0
3	Namatahi Waa 18	Prop	0	0	0	25	3	0	0
4	Cam Dodson	Lock	0	0	0	39	17	0	0
5	Isaac Ross	Lock	0	0	0	48	20	0	0
6	Ronan Murphy 19	Flanker	0	0	0	10	13	0	0
7	Maclean Jones	Flanker	0	0	0	23	25	0	0
8	Michael de Waal 20	Number 8	0	0	0	9	13	0	0
9	Pele Cowley 21	Scrum-half	0	0	0	15	13	0	0
10	Mack Mason	Fly-half	0	1	1	4	2	2/2	5
11	Zinzan Elan-Puttick 23	Wing	1	0	0	25	3	0	5
12	Bryce Campbell	Center	1	1	0	37	11	0	7
13	Marcel Brache	Center	0	0	0	22	5	0	0
14	Conner Mooneyham	Wing	0	0	0	15	4	0	0
15	Chris Mattina 22	Center	0	0	0	43	3	0	0
16	Hugh Roach 2	Hooker	1	0	0	12	8	0	5
17	Jake Turnbull 1	Prop	0	0	0	11	11	0	0
18	LaRome White 3	Prop	0	0	0	10	15	0	0
19	Payton Telea-Ilalio 6	Prop	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
20	Luke Beauchamp 8	Flanker	0	0	0	16	11	0	0
21	Sidney Shoop 9	Scrum-half	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
22	Will Magie 15	Fly-half	0	0	0	0	2	0/1	0
23	Caleb Strum 11	Wing	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	Total		4	3	1	419	205	2/3	29