Professional rugby union team from Houston, Texas
Rugby team
TheHouston SaberCats were an American professionalrugby union team based inHouston , Texas, that competes inMajor League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2017.[ 1] 2026 Major League Rugby season .
Houston played their games inSaberCats Stadium , which was opened on April 13, 2019.[ 2] Houston Sports Park .[ 3] Aveva , and that it would be initially known as "Aveva Stadium".[ 4]
Houston Sports Park is also the permanent training ground forMajor League Soccer soccer teamHouston Dynamo as well as theHouston Dash women's soccer team.
During the 2018 regular season, the SaberCats played their home matches atDyer Stadium [ 5] Constellation Field , home of theSugar Land Skeeters , for part of the 2019 season, and for their exhibition matches in 2017 and 2018.[ 6]
2019 home games were shown onKUBE-TV an independent station inHouston . Players and personnel [ edit ] The Houston SaberCats squad for the2025 Major League Rugby season is:[ 7]
Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed inbold . * denotes players qualified to play for theUnited States on dual nationality or residency grounds. MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match. Current coaching staff [ edit ] Pote Human (Head Coach)Vic Meyer (Assistant Coach - Attack) Ryan Nell (Assistant Coach – backs)Mike Brown (Assistant Coach) Jon Hood (Strength & Conditioning Coach) Former assistant coaches [ edit ]
Season Conference Regular season Postseason Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result 2018 - 7th 8 1 0 7 216 256 −40 7 11 - - - - - - Did not qualify 2019 - 7th 16 6 0 10 345 496 −151 6 30 - - - - - - Did not qualify 2020 [ a] Western 6th 5 1 0 4 99 116 −17 2 6 - - - - - - Cancelled 2021 Western 6th 16 2 0 14 274 550 -276 5 13 - - - - - - Did not qualify 2022 Western 3rd 16 9 0 7 408 393 +15 12 48 1 0 1 27 46 -19 LostWest Conference Final (Seattle Seawolves ) 27–46 2023 Western 3rd 16 10 0 6 484 413 +71 13 53 1 0 1 26 37 -11 Lost West Conference Eliminator Game (Seattle Seawolves ) 26-37 2024 Western 1st 16 14 0 2 478 347 +131 11 67 1 0 1 22 34 -12 Lost West Conference Eliminator Game (Dallas Jackals ) 22-34 Totals 93 43 0 50 2,304 2,571 -267 56 228 3 0 3 75 117 -42 3 postseason appearances
Date Opponent Home/Away Result November 18, 2017 Dallas Reds Away Won, 31–24 December 2, 2017 Dallas Harlequins Away Won, 125–0 December 9, 2017 Austin Blacks Away Won, 46–31 December 9, 2017 Austin Blacks Away Won, 55–14 December 16, 2017 Dallas Reds Home Won, 21–5 January 6, 2018 Seattle Saracens Away Won, 50–7 January 13, 2018 Vancouver Ravens Away Lost, 23–26 January 20, 2018 Uruguay National Team Home Lost, 24–32 January 27, 2018 James Bay Athletic Club Home Won, 42–13 February 3, 2018 Capital Selects Home Won, 49–3 February 10, 2018 Chicago Lions Home Won, 60–10 February 17, 2018 New York Athletic Club Away Won, 39–38 February 24, 2018 New Orleans Gold Home Won, 30–12 March 3, 2018 Ontario Arrows Home Draw, 28–28 March 24, 2018 New Orleans Gold Away Draw, 32–32 April 7, 2018 San Diego Legion Away Won, 33–17
Date Opponent Home/Away Result April 21 New Orleans Gold Home Lost, 26–35 April 28 Austin Elite Home Won, 50–38 May 4 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 32–35 May 19 New Orleans Gold Away Lost, 26–35 May 26 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 30–36 June 2 Seattle Seawolves Home Lost, 7–20 June 9 Glendale Raptors Away Lost, 24–37 June 23 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 27–31
Date Opponent Home/Away Venue Result January 26 Austin Elite Away Dell Diamond Won, 21–20 February 9 San Diego Legion Away Torero Stadium Lost, 13–17 February 22 Toronto Arrows Home Constellation Field Lost, 27–44 March 2 Rugby United New York Home Constellation Field Lost, 8–35 March 10 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Lost, 14–27 March 16 New Orleans Gold Home Constellation Field Lost, 11–49 March 23 Utah Warriors Home Constellation Field Won, 29–27 April 6 Glendale Raptors Away Infinity Park Lost, 44–52 April 13 Seattle Seawolves Home Aveva Stadium Lost, 12–52 April 21 Toronto Arrows Away York Stadium Lost, 21–35 April 27 San Diego Legion Home Dyer Stadium Lost, 19–41 May 5 Rugby United New York Away MCU Park Lost, 0–21 May 18 New Orleans Gold Away Archbishop Shaw Stadium Won, 27–20 May 25 Austin Elite Home Aveva Stadium Won, 36–15 May 29 Glendale Raptors Home Aveva Stadium Won, 32–17 June 1 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Won, 31–27
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic .[ 13] [ 14]
Date Opponent Home/Away Result March 20 Seattle Seawolves Home Won, 30–24 March 27 New England Free Jacks Home Lost, 0–32 April 3 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 0–26 April 10 San Diego Legion Home Won, 34–32 April 17 LA Giltinis Home Lost, 48–33 April 24 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 50–43 May 8 New Orleans Gold Away Lost, 26–28 May 15 Toronto Arrows Home Lost, 10–19 May 22 Old Glory DC Home Lost, 13–21 May 29 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 11–39 June 5 Austin Gilgronis Home Lost, 9–28 June 13 LA Giltinis Away Lost, 5–52 June 19 Rugby ATL Away Lost, 15–33 June 26 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 5–24 July 10 Rugby United New York Away Lost, 19–54 July 15 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 21-40
Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 5 LA Giltinis Home Won, 21–11 February 12 Rugby New York Home Lost, 7-10 February 19 Dallas Jackals Away Won, 38–33 February 26 San Diego Legion Home Lost, 20-31 March 5 Rugby ATL Away Lost, 22-29 March 12 Seattle Seawolves Home Won 21-19 March 26 Utah Warriors Away Won, 28-12 April 3 Austin Gilgronis Away Lost, 5-45 April 9 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 31-6 April 16 LA Giltinis Away Lost, 12-17 April 23 Toronto Arrows Home Won, 29-17 May 8 San Diego Legion Away Won, 34-24 May 14 Utah Warriors Home Won, 31-27 May 21 Old Glory DC Away Won, 59-42 May 27 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 36-43 June 3 Austin Gilgronis Home Lost, 14-29
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result West Conference Finals June 18 Seattle Seawolves Home Lost, 27-46
Date Opponent Home/Away Result February 19 Dallas Jackals Away Won, 33-12 February 25 NOLA Gold Home Won, 35-14 March 5 San Diego Legion Home Won, 31-26 March 11 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 12-24 March 25 Rugby ATL Home Won, 40-28 April 2 Chicago Hounds Away Won, 38-21 April 8 Utah Warriors Home Lost, 24-30 April 15 Dallas Jackals Home Won, 33-21 April 23 New York Ironworkers Away Won, 34-27 April 30 San Diego Legion Away Lost, 16-29 May 13 Seattle Seawolves Home Lost, 17-34 May 20 Utah Warriors Away Lost, 28-34 May 27 Chicago Hounds Home Won, 40-33 June 3 Toronto Arrows Away Won, 48-26 June 9 Old Glory DC Home Won, 31-7 June 18 New England Free Jacks Away Lost, 24-47
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result West Conference Eliminator Round June 24 Seattle Seawolves Away Lost, 26-37
Date Opponent Home/Away Location Result March 2 Utah Warriors Home SaberCats Stadium Won, 22-15 March 10 Rugby Football Club Los Angeles Away Dignity Health Sports Park Won, 27-12 March 16 Miami Sharks Home SaberCats Stadium Won, 30-19 March 22 Seattle Seawolves Away Starfire Sports Complex Won, 42-40 March 29 Dallas Jackals Away Choctaw Stadium Won, 30-27 April 13 New England Free Jacks Home SaberCats Stadium Lost, 47-35 April 20 Old Glory DC Away Maryland SoccerPlex Won, 38-17 April 27 San Diego Legion Home SaberCats Stadium Won, 33-0 May 4 Utah Warriors Away Zions Bank Stadium Won, 29-24 May 10 Anthem RC Away American Legion Memorial Stadium Won, 38-15 May 18 Chicago Hounds Home SaberCats Stadium Won, 23-22 June 1 NOLA Gold Away The Gold Mine Won, 21-7 June 8 Rugby Football Club Los Angeles Home SaberCats Stadium Won, 29-12 June 15 Seattle Seawolves Home SaberCats Stadium Won, 28-25 June 23 San Diego Legion Away Snapdragon Stadium Lost, 37-24 June 29 Dallas Jackals Away SaberCats Stadium Won, 29-28
Round Date Opponent Home/Away Result West Conference Semi-Final July 20 Dallas Jackals Home Lost, 34-22
^ "Major League Rugby – As It Stands" .Americas Rugby News . 2017-08-01. Retrieved2018-01-23 .^ "SaberCats fall to Seawolves in first match played at AVEVA Stadium" .Houston Chronicle . RetrievedApril 15, 2019 .^ Schneider, Andrew (2018-02-07)."Houston City Council Approved $3.2 Million Deal To Build A New Rugby Stadium" .Houston Public Media . Retrieved2018-04-07 . ^ "SaberCats, city to break ground on new AVEVA Stadium late July" .KHOU . July 19, 2018. RetrievedJuly 23, 2018 .^ Gorman, Jack (2018-03-05)."Houston SaberCats Announce New Temporary Home" .Houston Press . Retrieved2018-03-05 . ^ 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. Retrieved2018-01-23 . ^ "Houston SaberCats" .Americas Rugby News . Retrieved12 January 2024 .^ "Houston? No problem – SaberCats bullish about latest US rugby venture" .The Guardian . January 22, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2018 .^ "Paul Emerick takes helm of SaberCats" .Houston Chronicle . May 2, 2019. RetrievedMay 2, 2019 .^ "New Coach Announced Ahead of 2020 Season" . August 6, 2019. RetrievedAugust 6, 2019 .^ "Pote Human to join Heyneke Meyer at American Major League outfit" .Sport24 . September 6, 2021. RetrievedSeptember 7, 2021 .^ "MLR 2022 - Houston SaberCats vs LA Giltinis - ARN Guide" . Americas Rugby News. 2022-02-04. Retrieved2022-05-08 .^ "Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020" . Archived fromthe original on March 14, 2020. RetrievedMarch 14, 2020 .^ "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign" .Yahoo! Sports . AFP. March 19, 2020. Archived fromthe original on March 19, 2020. RetrievedMarch 19, 2020 .
Coach(es) Players Stadiums Final appearances Rivalries
Teams
By year
Seasons Championships Player transfers Draft
See also
Baseball Basketball Football Hockey Soccer Australian rules Roller derby Rugby union Softball Volleyball Cricket Ultimate Esports College athletics
Justin Fitzpatrick (2017–2019)[8]
Paul Emerick (2019)[9]
Paul Healy (2020–2021)[10]
Pote Human (2022–Present)[11]
Neil Kelly (Defense – 2019)
Darren Morris (Forwards – 2019)
City ofHouston
