MLR’s top regular season team, the Houston SaberCats (#1) host their Texas Rivals the Dallas Jackals (#4) at SaberCats Stadium for the Western Conference Semi-Finals and a spot in the Western Conference Final.

The game started as a slow burn in the Houston heat, with the first coming from the boot of AJ Alatimu 10 minutes in, before the Jackals dotted down the first try through Ronan Foley a few minutes later. The conversion missed, but Dallas would get another chance soon enough as Connor Winchester doubled their tries 5 minutes later, and Juan-Dee Oliver made no mistakes with this one. The guests lead 3-12 at the first water break, which the SaberCats must have needed because they hit back almost immediately after play resumed through Seimou Smith to close the gap, before taking the lead a few minutes later thanks to a great line break from Louritz van der Schyff to give the hosts back a 3pt lead. Oliver’s boot tied things up at 15-15 on the half hour mark, before Tomas Cubilla would notch Dallas’ 3rd try of the day. Conversion missed again gave the Jackals a 15-20 lead which remained intact at the half time break.

Gideon van Wyk came off the bench at 50 minutes and almost immediately received a yellow card, digging the ‘Cats into a deeper hole that was about to get worse. Tautalatasi Tasi, usually such a threat in midfield, attempted a grubber that he fluffed and the ball was picked up by Dallas back row Sam Tuifua who offloaded to Jason Tidwell to extend the visitors lead to 15-27 following the conversion. Houston would get one back through Andre Warner at the 65 minute mark to close the gap back to 5, before clsoe to 10 minutes of back and forth as the SaberCats tried desperately to break the Jackals’ defence, but the Houston heat and humidity was not on their side. Another SaberCats mistake with a handful of minutes remaining led to a kick through was finished by Juan-Dee Oliver, which put the game to bed. Martin Elias added the extras to take the score out of reach, and the game ended 22-34.

This marks the first time ever that the Dallas Jackals have defeated their rivals from Houston, and what a time to deliver. They advance to the Western Conference Finals to face the Seattle Seawolves at the formidable Starfire Stadium. For the SaberCats, they still wait for their first Playoff victory, and the clubs best ever season ends early. They head to the off-season and with Director of Rugby Heneke Meyer heading back to South Africa, they face a big challenge.

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, aand 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.