MLR 2025: Houston SaberCats vs NOLA Gold

The SaberCats will look to make up for back-to-back losses when they face a resurgent Gold on Saturday night. It’s a clash of styles with Houston’s forward-heavy approach set to maximum power with a huge pack selected. NOLA will have little interest in getting stuck in an arm wrestle with their backline among the most dangerous in Major League Rugby.

CURRENT STANDINGS

5-3-0 (L2) West 1st

3-5-0 (W2) East 4th

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
3	Pono Davis	Michael Scott
5	Nathan Den Hoedt	Marno Redelinghuys
10	Max Schumacher	AJ Alatimu
11	Seimou Smith	Juan-Dee Oliver
12	Sam Hill	Louritz van der Schyff
13	Tautalatasi Tasi	Dom Akina

	IN	OUT
1	Bart Vermeulen	Matt Harmon
2	Ale Lopeti	Joe Taufete’e
4	Jay Tuivaiti	Chase Jones
8	Tupou Afungia	Jonah Mau’u
9	Ruben de Haas	Luke Campbell
10	Luke Carty	Dorian Jones
13	Nikolai Foliaki	Isaac Te Tamaki

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(5) – Lindemuth, Alatimu (Samoa), Davis (USA), McLean (Scotland), Rebolo (Brazil)

(13) – Dolan, Tonga’uiha, de Haas, Carty, Taufete’e, Harmon, Mullen (USA), Afungia, Foliaki (Tonga), Fidow, Mau’u (Samoa), Mignot (France), Coats (Canada)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Marno Redelinghuys (FL), Ronan Murphy (N8), Davy Coetzer (FH)

– Jarred Adams (LH), Kélian Galletier (FL), Isaac Te Tamaki (CE)

PREDICTION

Davy Coetzer’s continued absence is a clear blow to the SaberCats, and this week they will give Max Schumacher his first shot at the No10 shirt in MLR competition. Along with a brutish forward he’ll have a powerhouse midfield to set loose against the visitors. Despite their top performance last week the Gold have rotated several positions including the halfbacks, and it will be Ruben de Haas and Luke Carty who will have to control territory and tempo for NOLA to win. Houston are favorites at home.

LINEUPS

HOUSTON SABERCATS
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Pita Anae-Ah Sue, 3 Pono Davis, 4 Justin Basson, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (capt.), 6 Emmanuel Albert, 7 Johan Momsen, 8 Sam Tuifua, 9 André Warner, 10 Max Schumacher, 11 Seimou Smith, 12 Sam Hill, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Rufus McLean, 15 Drew Wild

Replacements: 16 Wilton Rebolo, 17 LaRome White, 18 Valdemar Lee-Lo, 19 Tinashe Muchena, 20 Dom Akina, 21 Jay Renton, 22 AJ Alatimu, 23 Jeremy Misailegalu

NOLA GOLD
1 Bart Vermeulen, 2 Ale Lopeti, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Jay Tuivaiti, 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Aidan King, 8 Tupou Afungia, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Ed Fidow, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Nikolai Foliaki, 14 Xavier Mignot, 15 Julian Roberts

Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Matt Harmon, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 William Waguespack, 20 Callum Botchar, 21 Jonah Mau’u, 22 Luke Campbell, 23 Cooper Coats

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, April 19
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 77°F (25°C), SE 19-29mph (30-46km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, CW39, Gulf Coast Sports, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network