Houston SaberCats

Houston SaberCats
Full name Houston SaberCats
Founded 2017
Location Houston, Texas
Ground(s) Aveva Stadium (Capacity: 4,000)
President Brian Colona
Director of Rugby Jeremy Turner
Coach(es) Justin Fitzpatrick
League(s) Major League Rugby
2018 7th placed (regular season)
Team kit
Official website
www.houstonsabercats.com

The Houston SaberCats is an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby,[1] the top-level rugby competition in the United States that launched its first season in 2018.

Home field

As of the 2018 regular season, the SaberCats play their home matches at Dyer Stadium,[2] and train at Athlete Training and Health in Houston. The team previously played at Constellation Field, home of the Sugar Land Skeeters, for their exhibition matches in 2017 and 2018.[3]

The SaberCats have plans to build a stadium of their own in Houston.[4] In February 2018, the City of Houston agreed to fund $3.2 million of the $5.25 million needed to build a permanent rugby stadium for use by the Houston SaberCats at Houston Sports Park.[5] Aveva Stadium is expected to be completed in January 2019 and will seat 3,500 spectators.[6][7]

Houston Sports Park is also the permanent training ground for Major League Soccer soccer team Houston Dynamo as well as the Houston Dash women's soccer team.

Stadium Capacity Location Year(s)
Constellation Field 7,500 Sugar Land, Texas 2018
Dyer Stadium 6,000 Houston, Texas 2018
Aveva Stadium 4,000 Houston, Texas from 2019

Current squad

The SaberCats lineup for the 2018 season:[8]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Diego Maquieira Hooker United States United States
Gabriel Romero Hooker United States United States
Jack Riley Hooker England England
Lindsey Stevens Hooker Canada Canada
Jamie Dever Prop Ireland Ireland
Estevan Flores Prop United States United States
Chauntez Jackson Prop United States United States
Codi Jones Prop United States United States
Adam Macklin Prop Ireland Ireland
Paul Mullen Prop United States United States
Kenneth Hepburn Prop Jamaica Jamaica
Jake Turnbull Prop United States United States
Charlie Hewitt Lock Ireland Ireland
Robert Meeson Lock United States United States
Chris Parker Lock United States United States
Jackson Slater Lock United States United States
Chris Coyle Flanker United States United States
Andres Diaz Flanker United States United States
Cecil Garber Flanker United States United States
Colton Pederson Flanker United States United States
Kyle Sumsion Flanker United States United States
Pago Haini Number 8 United States United States
Matt Trouville Number 8 United States United States
Player Position Union
Chris Milledge Scrum-half United States United States
Connor Murphy Scrum-half England England
Chris Slater Scrum-half United States United States
Santiago Arata Scrum-half Uruguay Uruguay
Kieran Farmer Fly-half Scotland Scotland
Sam Windsor Fly-half Australia Australia
Malacchi Esdale Centre United States United States
Osea Kolinisau Centre Fiji Fiji
Conor Mills Centre United States United States
Dan Paul Centre United States United States
Alex Elkins Wing United States United States
Moravia Mascary Wing United States United States
Willie Perry-Jackson Wing United States United States
Josua Vici Wing Fiji Fiji
Zach Pangelinan Fullback United States United States
Art Reyes Fullback United States United States
  • Internationally capped players in bold
  • MLR teams are allowed to field up to five overseas players per match

Coaching staff

2018 season

Exhibition schedule

DateOpponentHome/AwayResultScore
11/18/17Dallas RedsAwayW31-24
12/2/17Dallas HarlequinsAwayW125-0
12/9/17Austin BlacksAwayW46-31
12/9/17Austin BlacksAwayW55-14
12/16/17Dallas RedsHomeW21-5
1/6/18Seattle SaracensAwayW50-7
1/13/18Vancouver RavensAwayL23-26
1/20/18Uruguay National TeamHomeL24-32
1/27/18James Bay Athletic ClubHomeW42-13
2/3/18Capital SelectsHomeW49-3
2/10/18Chicago LionsHomeW60-10
2/17/18New York Athletic ClubAwayW39-38
2/24/18NOLA GoldHomeW30-12
3/3/18Ontario ArrowsHomeD28-28
3/24/18NOLA GoldAwayD32-32
4/7/18San Diego LegionAwayW17-33

Regular season

DateOpponentHome/AwayResultScore
4/21NOLA GoldHomeL26-35
4/28Austin EliteHomeW50-38
5/4San Diego LegionAwayL35-32
5/19NOLA GoldAwayL26-35
5/26Utah WarriorsHomeL36-30
6/2Seattle SeawolvesHomeL7-20
6/9Glendale RaptorsAwayL37-24
6/23Utah WarriorsAwayL27-31

Records

Season standings

Major League Rugby

Year Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts   Play-offs
2018 7th 8107216256–40711   Did not compete

Head coaches

Captains

  • 2018: Kyle Sumsion

References

  1. ↑ "Major League Rugby – As It Stands". Americas Rugby News. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  2. ↑ Gorman, Jack (2018-03-05). "Houston SaberCats Announce New Temporary Home". Houston Press. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  3. 1 2 Dart, Tom (2018-01-22). "Houston? No problem – SaberCats bullish about latest US rugby venture". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  4. ↑ Hlavaty, Craig (2017-03-22). "Houston group bringing a rugby franchise, stadium to the city". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  5. ↑ Schneider, Andrew (2018-02-07). "Houston City Council Approved $3.2 Million Deal To Build A New Rugby Stadium". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  6. ↑ Morris, Mike (2018-02-05). "Houston City Council to consider $3.2M stadium deal with SaberCats rugby team". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  7. ↑ "City of Houston sign off on a New Rugby Stadium in deal with Major League Rugby Team Houston SaberCats" (Press release). Houston SaberCats. February 8, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Team". Houston SaberCats. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.