MLR 2024: Houston SaberCats vs New England Free Jacks

Two of the top teams in Major League Rugby collide in Houston on Saturday night when the SaberCats host the defending champion Free Jacks. The home side are the only unbeaten team remaining in the competition while New England’s only defeat to date was by one point against DC in Week 2.

CURRENT STANDINGS

5-0-0 (W5) West 2nd

4-1-0 (W3) East 1st

LINEUP CHANGES

3 Maks van Dyk replaces Rob Cobb
5 Nathan Den Hoedt replaces Justin Basson
8 Tomi Agbongbon rotates with 20 Ronan Murphy
10 AJ Alatimu replaces Drew Wild (15 vs Dallas)
13 Louritz van der Schyff replaces Tautalatasi Tasi

1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai replaces Kyle Ciquera (injury)
2 Sean Ralph replaces Andrew Quattrin
7 Mitch Jacobson rotates with 20 Seta Baker
13 Wayne van der Bank replaces Ben LeSage
14 Mitch Wilson rotates with 23 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi
16 Andrew Quattrin replaces Mason Koch
17 Foster DeWitt replaces Malakai Hala-Ngatai
19 Jackson Thiebes replaces Kyle Baillie
22 Ben LeSage replaces Killian Coghlan

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(3) – Lindenmuth, Alatimu (Samoa), Dyer (USA)

(11) – Keith, Larsen, Keys, von Dadelszen, Quattrin, DeWitt, LeSage (Canada), Conradie, Malan (Namibia), Wilson, Geiger (USA)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Sam Hill (CE), Tautalatasi Tasi (CE), Drew Wild (FB)

– Kyle Ciquera (LH), John-Roy Jenkinson (TH), John Poland (SH)

NOTES

Houston welcome back Maks van Dyk at tighthead prop… he replaces Rob Cobb, who filled in for the past two games despite being primarily a loosehead
Nathan Den Hoedt last played in Week 3 when he captained the side… the SaberCats have now settled on Johan Momsen as full-time skipper
Tomi Agbongbon is handed his first MLR start at No8… Ronan Murphy drops to Houston’s bench for the first time this season
AJ Alatimu and Louritz van der Schyff step in for Drew Wild and Tautalatasi Tasi… a sign that Houston are undecided on their strongest backline combination… Sam Hill misses out entirely again, the former England Saxons center has played just once this year
Mitch Jacobson returns to the starting lineup and notably takes over the Free Jacks captaincy… it’s the first time in club history that Josh Larsen will start a game without being captain… Larsen was named captain in 2020 and has led the team 35 times… Jacobson was captain for most of last year’s championship run, taking over when Larsen was injured early in the season
there are first New England starts for young front row pair Malakai Hala-Ngatai and Sean Ralph… both are from New Zealand… Hala-Ngatai represented his country at the 2023 World Rugby u20 Championship… Ralph was long-listed for that same squad

PREDICTION

Both teams have opted for some changes despite their success and the high-profile nature of the contest. The SaberCats will be confident in the scrum with the return of van Dyk, and Den Hoedt’s presence is a boost to the lineout. They are also rested coming off a bye week. New England are in strong form with a dominant win over Miami last week but this is a clear step up in opposition. It’s a very tight call, but Houston are slight favorites at home.

LINEUPS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue, 3 Maks van Dyk, 4 Johan Momsen (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Emmanuel Albert, 8 Tomi Agbongbon, 9 Andre Warner, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Jeremy Misailegalu, 12 Dom Akina, 13 Louritz van der Schyff, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Davy Coetzer

Replacements: 16 Tiaan Erasmus, 17 LaRome White, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Keni Nasoqeqe, 20 Ronan Murphy, 21 Carlo de Nysschen, 22 Max Schumacher, 23 Line Latu

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 2 Sean Ralph, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Josh Larsen, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Piers von Dadelszen, 7 Mitch Jacobson (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie, 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Reece MacDonald

Replacements: 16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Foster DeWitt, 18 Kaleb Geiger, 19 Jackson Thiebes, 20 Seta Baker, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Ben LeSage, 23 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 13
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 72°F (22°C), wind SE 17-25mph (27-40km/h)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, Space City, The Rugby Network