By Aaron Wilson
History in the making.
An unprecedented milestone.
A convincing victory built on defense and athleticism.
Strong leadership at every level.
Houston SaberCats 33, Utah Warriors 19.
The SaberCats propelled themselves into the Major League Rugby championship finals against the New England Free Jacks next Saturday in Rhode Island at Centreville Bank Stadium.
While the job isn’t finished, the Shield is attainable for the SaberCats after defeating Utah. One more win is what the SaberCats need to be champions for the first time in franchise history.
They’ve already become the most successful team in SaberCats history by winning their first two playoff matches over the past week.
“The defense was phenomenal, that’s what wins championships,” veteran coach Pote Human said. “The job is not done. I’m really proud of the guys. That’s what SaberCats rugby stands for. I’m very happy with the guys. They’ve worked very hard. We’ve got one to go.”
Andre Warner opened the game’s scoring for the SaberCats, followed by an A.J. Alatimu conversion kick to grab the momentum immediately.
Racing to a 21-5 halftime advantage that proved to be enough of a lead to win the match, Alatimu followed that kick with a try of his own that set the stage for another conversion kick.
The speed of the SaberCats kept showing up as Tautalatasi Tasi accelerated away from pursuit for an open-field try with Alatimu tacking on another conversion.
The SaberCats are victorious.
“Honestly, it’s a great achievement,” team captain Nathan Den Hoedt said. “To win the Western Conference final, it’s a big achievement. It’s something we don’t take lightly.
“Now, we need to take the opportunity to win the championship. It’s a great feeling. We spoke about this at the beginning of the season. We’ve got one game to go now. One big game to win.”
In the second half, after Alatimu missed a penalty kick, Drake Davis raced ahead of the pack for a try of his own in the 54th minute.
Alatimu, who scored a game-high 13 points, added another conversion kick.
Seth Smith, a Fulshear graduate and a former all-state wrestler and football player, scored a try nine minutes later.
Although the Warriors, the top seed in the Western Conference who fell to 1-3 against Houston this season, scored a pair of late tries, the SaberCats held on for the win to advance to the finals.
“I actually think Utah came out very strong,” Den Hoedt said. “We did a good job of weathering the storm and that won us the game, I believe.
“We kept turning up for each other, working hard. We gave up a couple of easy tries, but that’s something we can work on.”
The open field excellence of Davis and Tasi was impressive.
“Absolutely, we have some incredible athletes,” Den Hoedt said. “Drake is absolutely rapid. He’s pretty hard to catch in open space. All those tries came from great defense, on the back of our defensive effort.”The SaberCats are on the cusp of winning it all.
In order to do so, to even be in this position, it all goes back to their strong culture and camaraderie.
“Absolutely,” Den Hoedt said. “That’s kind of the cornerstone of everything we do. Our foundation is our culture. We worked really hard on that.“It’s been a culmination of the past few years. We’ve had relatively the same core group of guys. Culture is a massive thing for us.”
After winning the Western Conference division a year ago and having the top seed and the best record in the league with a 14-2 mark, the SaberCats lost in the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
This year, it’s a different story altogether.
The SaberCats are winners in the postseason with two consecutive playoff victories.
The leadership of Human has been pivotal to the growth of the franchise.
“Making him proud, absolutely,” Den Hoedt said. “He said earlier he feels as though we’re his sons and he treats us like that. He’s a father figure.
“He’s an unbelievable leader. He puts in an incredible amount of effort and certainly does much more than required.”
