47 v 24 
SaberCatsRecap
The Houston SaberCats travel to Boston to face the New England Free Jacks in Quincy for a cross-conference clash that will end the 2023 regular saeson for both sides.
Both sides are already locked into their playoff spots, with the Free Jacks knowing they have a bye to the Conference Finals, and the SaberCats knowing they will face the Seawolves in Seattle next weekend.
A club record crowd of 4766 watched the home side run riot against a SaberCats side that was a hybrid of starters and (mostly) depth players. Le Roux Malan had scored twice before the first water break, and Paula Balekana scored another just before half time, his league-tying 14th try of the season! Shortly after half time, Malan struck again for his 3rd of the afternoon and the first hat trick of his MLR career! This was the 2nd hat trick in Free Jacks club history, and the 32nd in MLR history. In total, he gained 234m with ball in hand, setting a new MLR record for metres gained in a single game!
The SaberCats had scored in the first half through Danny Barrett, as well as a conversion and penalty from Kian Meadon. They had to wait until late in the game to get on the board again though. Canadian Kainoa Lloyd (a late season signing from Houston) scored in the 68th minute, quickly followed by Nick Boyer in the 74th, but by then it was all academic. The Free Jacks had romped to a 47-24 victory, securing their 10th win in a row in back-to-back seasons and finishing the 2023 regular season with a club record 14-2 record. The 10-6 SaberCats also set a club record, with their 53pt season bettering their 48pt season in 2022, and enter the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 18, 2023 | 1:30 pm | Major League Rugby | MLR 2023 |
Results
| Team | Penalty Kick | Tries | Conversions | TB | LB | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Jacks | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 47 |
| SaberCats | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Free Jacks
| # | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Ciquera 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Mills Sanerivi 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Cole Keith 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Semisi Paea 19 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Conor Keys | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Mitch Jacobson | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Slade McDowall 23 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Wian Conradie | Number 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 14 | 0 | 10 |
| 9 | John Poland 21 | Scrum-half | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | Beaudein Waaka 22 | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Paula Balekana | Wing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Le Roux Malan | Centre | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 234 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| 13 | Ben LeSage | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Mitch Wilson 20 | Fullback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Reece MacDonald | Fly-half | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 7 | 6/7 | 12 |
| 16 | Andrew Quattrin 2 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Foster DeWitt 1 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Joel Hintz 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Sam Fischli 4 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Joe Johnston 14 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Holden Yungert 9 | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Spencer Jones 10 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Cam Davidowicz 7 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 825 | 169 | 6/7 | 47 |
SaberCats
| # | Player | Position | T | C | P | AC | DG | MG | Tackles | KS/KA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alec McDonnell 17 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Dean Muir 16 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Valdemar Lee-Lo 18 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Siaosi Mahoni 19 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Emmanuel Albert | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Danny Barrett 20 | Flanker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Keni Nasoqeqe | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Hanco Germishuys | Number 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Carlo de Nysschen | Scrum-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Kian Meadon | Fly-half | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 4/4 | 9 |
| 11 | Zach Pangelinan 21 | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Robbie Povey 23 | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Kainoa Lloyd | Centre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| 14 | Nick Boyer | Wing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| 15 | Gerrie Labuschagne | Fullback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Axel Zapata 2 | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Frikkie de Beer 1 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Will Vakalahi 3 | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Wynand Grassmann 4 | Lock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Asa Carter 6 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Gideon van Wyk 11 | Flanker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Davy Coetzer | Fly-half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Jake Hidalgo 12 | Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 394 | 120 | 4/4 | 24 |
Officials
| Referee | Assistant 1 | Assistant 2 | TMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federico Anselmi | Amelia Luciano | Mike Rudzinsky | Luke Rogan |
Venue
| Veteran's Memorial Stadium |
|---|
| Veterans Memorial Stadium, Hancock Street, Quincy Center, Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 02170, United States |