MLR 2025: Western Conference Semi Final – Houston SaberCats vs RFC Los Angeles

A trip to Utah for the Western Conference Final is on the line when the SaberCats host RFC Los Angeles on Sunday evening. Houston started the campaign in strong form but have faded somewhat in recent weeks, while the opposite is true for their guests. It sets the stage for a dramatic showdown in Texas.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD

10-6-0 (W1) West 2nd

8-7-1 (L1) West 3rd

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
13	Tautalatasi Tasi	Louritz van der Schyff
15	Max Schumacher	Seimou Smith

	IN	OUT
1	Alessandro Heaney	Franco van den Berg
2	Ben Sugars	Mike Sosene-Feagai
7	Ed Timpson	Matt Heaton
11	Rory van Vugt	Seth Purdey

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

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

(7) – Damm, Sosene-Feagai (USA), Bertranou (Argentina), Leali’ifano (Samoa), Coe, O’Gorman (Canada), Kunatani (Fiji)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Sam Tuifua (N8), Davy Coetzer (FH), Drew Wild (FB)

– Dane Zander (PR), Matt Heaton (FL), Christian Dyer (WI)

PREDICTION

After a poor start to the season, LA have turned things around with their all-or-nothing approach on attack the key feature of their game. Searing humidity might slow them, however, and at the very least make ball handling more difficult. It could play into the hands of the Cats, who feature a mammoth forward pack with more beef in reserve. Without star playmakers Davy Coetzer and Drew Wild, however, they are decidedly less dynamic in the backline. That certainly brings the scales closer to even and while the bookies might favor the team with the better record, victory by the visitors would hardly be considered an upset based on recent form. Houston are slight 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 Marno Redelinghuys, 9 André Warner, 10 AJ Alatimu, 11 Drake Davis, 12 Sam Hill, 13 Tautalatasi Tasi, 14 Rufus McLean, 15 Max Schumacher

Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 Wilton Rebolo, 18 Michael Scott, 19 Javon Camp, 20 Keni Nasoqeqe, 21 Jay Renton, 22 Louritz van der Schyff, 23 Dom Akina

RFC LOS ANGELES
1 Alessandro Heaney, 2 Ben Sugars, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Tim Anstee, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 11 Rory van Vugt, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Nick Chan, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Reece MacDonald

Replacements: 16 Mike Sosene-Feagai, 17 Timmy Ohlwein, 18 Franco van den Berg, 19 Reegan O’Gorman, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Ben Strang, 22 Tas Smith, 23 Seth Purdey

MATCH INFO

Date: Sunday, June 15
Venue: SaberCats Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 19:30 local (17:30 Pacific, 20:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 85°F (29°C), humidex 95°F (35°F), wind SE 4-7mph (6-11km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, CW39, FanDuel SoCal, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network