By Aaron Wilson
As the Houston SaberCats prepare for a key road match against the San Diego Legion, they’re looking forward to an anticipated boost from the return of leading scorer Davy Coetzer.
Coetzer leads the squad with 49 points and has missed the past few matches with a hamstring injury.
He is back in the starting lineup for Saturday night’s match against the Legion.
The SaberCats (7-4) are coming off a road loss to the defending Major League Rugby champion New England Free Jacks.
They’re in third place in the Western Conference division, one point behind the 7-5 Legion, and four points behind the 8-3 Utah Warriors.
“It’s definitely an exciting challenge against San Diego,” Drew Wild said. “They’re another tough team in our conference. It’s a good way to make a statement against them.”
Having Coetzer back can make a huge difference.
He’s one of the best scoring threats in Major League Rugby.
When healthy, Coetzer has provided a consistent scoring threat.
With speed and moves at his disposal, Coetzer figures out the angles and finds a scoring path.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder has made strides in his game every year.
The Port Elizabeth, South Africa native and SaberCats’ star fly-half is chasing a championship.
“Culture is something we talk about a lot with our team, and the main thing is for us is to get along and you need to have a good culture from start to finish,” Coetzer said. “Culture keeps us grinding and supporting each other and everyone having a common goal of winning the whole thing. We have motivated guys. “
All season, the SaberCats have been striving for more consistency. The goal is to find that quality and peak at the right time as they make a push for the playoffs and their goal of claiming the Shield.
“Still a lot to work on,” Coetzer said. “This team always bounces back really well. I don’t think we need to focus on winning as much as we need to focus on the process. We need to stick to the process and winning will take care of itself.”
“I’m quite frustrated, but, then again, we’ve shown so much potential in previous weeks,” Wild said. “We need to show that every week. We’ve beaten top teams. We need to play that way every week. I can’t pinpoint one area of the game, but we need to tune up and be better in the moment.”
Team captain Nathan Den Hoedt has emphasized that the SaberCats are more than capable of manufacturing top performances.
It all goes back to focus.
“It’s absolutely correctable,” Den Hoedt said. “I actually don’t think there are a lot of things we need to change. As far as the mental space, we just need to be ready from the first whistle to the last whistle and switch that on completely.
“If we approach every game like it’s a final, that mentality will steer us. We have the blueprint week in and week out from the coaches giving it to us. We certainly have the players capable of doing what we have to do to perform.”
