The Houston SaberCats rugby team is hosting Dallas Jackals on Saturday night, 1/22/22, in a preseason game at AVEVA Stadium (Houston Sports Park). Game time is 7 pm, tickets are available. The game will also be streamed: https://www.youtube.com/c/HoustonSaberCats
The Major League Rugby 2022 season is nearing the end and for once the Houston SaberCats are in the playoff race. Standings East 1. New England 13 g.p. 56 pts 2. Rugby New York 13 g.p. 47 pts 3. Rugby ATL 13 g.p. 42 pts ----------------------------------------------- 4. Toronto Arrows 13 g.p. 35 pts 5. NOLA Gold 13 g.p. 25 pts 6. Old Glory DC 13 g.p. 16 pts West 1. Austin Gilgronis 13 g.p. 48 pts 2. LA Giltinis 13 g.p. 44 pts 3. Houston SaberCats 13 g.p. 41 pts ------------------------------------------------ 4. San Diego Legion 14 g.p. 37 pts 5. Seattle Seawolves 14 g.p. 36 pts 6. Utah Warriors 13 g.p. 22 pts 7. Dallas Jackals 14 g.p. 4 pts In Rugby Union teams get 4 points for a win but can also get a bonus point for scoring 4 tries. Losing teams can also get the 4 try bonus point and a point for losing by 7 or less. The top team in each conference gets a bye and #3 plays at #2 in the first round of the playoffs. So the standings can be hard to predict but Houston will be very close to clinching a playoff spot with a win at OGDC this Saturday. Remaining SaberCat games: 5/21: @ Old Glory DC 12:00 pm CDT 5/27: @ Seattle 9:30 pm CDT 6/3: Austin 8:00 pm CDT I would encourage everyone to come out the final home game on Friday, June 3, when the SaberCats host Austin at AVEVA Stadium. Rugby is a lot of fun and the games are exciting. You can also stream games on The Rugby Network. You have to register but it is free. https://www.therugbynetwork.com/
MLR Week 16: The SaberCats beat OGDC on Saturday, 42-59! That set a league record for combined points in a game. Houston trailed 42-40 with 8 minutes left in the game but got 3 tries to get the win. That was the 4th win in a row and the 7th in the last 9 games. The new standings: East 1. New England 14 g.p. 56 pts 2. Rugby ATL 14 g.p. 47 pts 3. Rugby New York 14 g.p. 47 pts ----------------------------------------------- 4. Toronto Arrows 14 g.p. 40 pts 5. NOLA Gold 14 g.p. 25 pts 6. Old Glory DC 14 g.p. 17 pts West 1. LA Giltinis 14 g.p. 49 pts 2. Austin Gilgronis 14 g.p. 48 pts 3. Houston SaberCats 14 g.p. 46 pts ------------------------------------------------ 4. San Diego Legion 15 g.p. 42 pts 5. Seattle Seawolves 14 g.p. 36 pts 6. Utah Warriors 14 g.p. 26 pts 7. Dallas Jackals 15 g.p. 4 pts Houston can clinch a playoff position with 2 points in their last two games. They are at Seattle on Friday night, May 27. 2nd place and a home playoff game are also in reach. Especially since the SaberCats host Austin the regular season finale on Friday, June 3. That game will be on FS2 at 8 pm.
Major League Rugby Updated standings with 1 week left to play. But there is drama. MLR has announced today that Austin has been disqualified from the playoffs due to rules violations. League Update: Due to a violation of league rules, the Austin Gilgronis have been disqualified from 2022 postseason play. Championship Series fixtures will be announced as they are determined. pic.twitter.com/YxJELWPhYk— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) June 3, 2022 East 1. New England 15 g.p. 61 pts 2. Rugby ATL 15 g.p. 52 pts 3. Rugby New York 15 g.p. 52 pts ----------------------------------------------- 4. Toronto Arrows 15 g.p. 40 pts 5. NOLA Gold 15 g.p. 25 pts 6. Old Glory DC 15 g.p. 18 pts West 1. LA Giltinis 15 g.p. 54 pts 2. Austin Gilgronis 15 g.p. 53 pts 3. Houston SaberCats 15 g.p. 48 pts ------------------------------------------------ 4. San Diego Legion 16 g.p. 43 pts 5. Seattle Seawolves 15 g.p. 41 pts 6. Utah Warriors 15 g.p. 28 pts 7. Dallas Jackals 15 g.p. 4 pts That may keep San Diego and Seattle alive for the last playoff spot and give Houston a home playoff game. We shall see. Houston hosts Austin tonight at 8 pm. This should be interesting. The playoffs start on June 12.
Confirmed! The Houston SaberCats are hosting a first round playoff game on Sunday, June 12, at 7:30 pm. I would encourage everyone to come out. The opponent is probably San Diego or Seattle. The winner would go to the LA Giltinis for the conference final on June 18.
Major League Rugby playoffs 2022: Home team first, times are CDT. Semifinals Saturday, June 11 East: Rugby ATL v. Rugby New York 7:30 pm FS2 Sunday, June 12 West: Houston SaberCats v. Seattle Seawolves 8:00 pm FS2 Conference Finals Saturday, June 18 West: LA Giltinis v. semifinal winner 6:00 pm FS2 Sunday, June 19 East: New England Free Jacks v. semifinal winner 2:00 pm FS1 MLR Championship Final Saturday, June 25 East v. West 11:00 am FOX The Final will be at an Eastern Conference team based on the standings.
https://www.npsl.com/18342/ CF10 Houston FC’s first victory of the 2022 NPSL season came this weekend with a 3-0 result against Austin United FC.
UPDATE: The LA Giltinis have also been disqualified from the MLR playoffs. Houston moves up to the #1 seed! Major League Rugby playoffs 2022: Home team first, times are CDT. Semifinals Saturday, June 11 East: Rugby ATL v. Rugby New York 7:30 pm FS2 Sunday, June 12 West: Seattle Seawolves v. San Diego Legion 8:00 pm FS2 Conference Finals Saturday, June 18 West: Houston SaberCats v. semifinal winner 6:00 pm FS2 Sunday, June 19 East: New England Free Jacks v. semifinal winner 2:00 pm FS1 MLR Championship Final Saturday, June 25 East v. West 11:00 am FOX The Final will be at an Eastern Conference team based on the standings.
Crazy turn of events. I was literally texting my buddies to get a head count to call the Sabercats to buy tickets for this Sunday's first round match when one of the guys said we were now hosting the conference final the following weekend. We can win one game and we are in the rugby championship match. Damn.
Since our Houston pro rugby football club has the moniker of Sabercats, is their supporter club calling themselves "The Cavemen" to run with the B.C. era theme? If not, it would seem legit! Have Captain Caveman as the team mascot. And have those Geico commercial cavemen dudes image as the supporters club logo!!! Ha! Correct. In 2006, our Dynamo guys played just 3 games and won 2 of them, placing us in the championship match. Small league, smaller playoffs ya know Pen.
Support our city's rugby football team. DEM SABERCATS!!! Become a "Caveman" and join in on the backing of our players from an era on our planet from long ago! "I love my SABERCATS UNGA BUNGA!!!"--- Captain Caveman
Conference semis results: Major League Rugby playoffs 2022 Home team first, times are CDT. Semifinals Saturday, June 11 East: Rugby ATL 19-26 Rugby New York Sunday, June 12 West: Seattle Seawolves 43-19 San Diego Legion Conference Finals Saturday, June 18 West: Houston SaberCats v. Seattle Seawolves 6:00 pm FS2 Sunday, June 19 East: New England Free Jacks v. Rugby New York 2:00 pm FS1 MLR Championship Final Saturday, June 25 East v. West 11:00 am FOX The Final will be at an Eastern Conference team based on the standings.
Hoping that the Sabercats are more high temp conditioned and the Seawolves will wilt in the forecasted 103F heat-index temp at 6pm game time. Aveva Stadium concessions better have a lot of cold beer waiting for me to stay cool.
The SaberCats got knocked out on Saturday night. Conference Finals Saturday, June 18 West: Houston SaberCats 27-46 Seattle Seawolves Sunday, June 19 East: New England Free Jacks 16-24 Rugby New York MLR Championship Final Saturday, June 25 Rugby New York v. Seattle Seawolves 11:00 am FOX Seattle is going for their 3rd MLR Shield. NY is trying to be the first team from the east to win.
Saturday was a tough night for Sabercats' fans. Sabercats were uncharacteristically not very sure handed and gave away a lot possession. I think the most painful turning point was when we were only down 22-25 early in the 2nd half after having score 2 quick tries out of the halftime break, and then we were in the middle of a breakaway run and were about to score another try to take the lead...only to give away the ball on their 5 meter line. Then Seattle kept taking advantage of our errors.
Yeah, it felt like the SaberCats had the momentum early in the 2nd half but that play was a killer. We just couldn't play cleanly enough to stay in the game.
The MLR final has been moved to Red Bull Arena. That will be a much better look on TV than the high school field in Hoboken that NY has been using.
MLR Championship Final Saturday, June 25 Rugby New York 30-15 Seattle Seawolves Rugby NY wins their first title. The 2023 season will likely start in February. In the meantime, there is an upcoming exhibition game here in Houston. The US national team is getting ready for World Cup qualifying. Friday, July 1 USA v. French Barbarians @ AVEVA Stadium 8:00 pm Tickets are available. The USA is in the final round of regional World Cup 2023 qualifying. They will face Chile in a home and away series for a spot. The loser goes into a world-wide qualification tournament this fall. Saturday, July 9 Chile v. USA @ Santiago, CHI 5:00 pm CDT Saturday, July 16 USA v. Chile @ Glendale, CO 2:00 pm CDT The 2023 World Cup starts September 8 in France.