by Aaron Wilson
Before the SaberCats built a powerhouse rugby program, they had to take stock of where they stood and make an honest evaluation.
The realistic conclusions reached three years ago for a 2-14 squad under new leadership: There was nowhere to go but upward, and it would take a lot of heavy lifting and a series of sound decisions to build a gold standard.
Now, the SaberCats are coming off a 14-2 season and being the top seed in the Major League Rugby playoffs.
They return the majority of that roster and have made several key new additions to bolster the overall talent and depth while implementing new strategies under the direction of veteran coach Pote Human.
Yes, it took a lot of work to get to this point with three consecutive playoff qualifying seasons during this climb.
Following a dominant 61-19 preseason victory Saturday over the visiting Chicago Hounds to go undefeated in two preseason games heading into next Saturday night’s home opener at SaberCats Stadium, attack coach-player recruitment Vic Meyer reflected on the growth of the franchise.
“I think we really had a goal, a three-year plan in place to really turn this franchise around,” Meyer said. “I just think it’s a great story that we went from a 2-14 team to, in three years, having the best record in the league three years after having the worst record in the league when we got here. I think it all starts with the players in the room. The strategy from Day One has been getting the best people in the room in terms of character, in terms of how to take that first step is just myself and Heyneke (Meyer), the big thing is get good human beings in the room and being a part of the community, guys that will go to war with the guy next to him.”
Over the past three years, the SaberCats have made exponential progress.
That was on full display Saturday as the SaberCats dominated from the first pitch to the end against a team they’ll host in an ‘Experience it Live,’ match that counts Saturday in Houston.
“I think it all comes from the boys and the coaching staff,” Albert said “The Houston SaberCats, as a whole organization, everybody wants to win. When you buy into that culture and put the team first, like our slogan, ‘we not me,’ everything just comes together. It doesn’t matter who’s scoring, just everyone together. We’re ready.”
There were tries from Sam Tuifua, Emmanuel Albert and Seth Smith and tries from Andre Warner, Louritz van der Schyff, Jeremy ‘Missile’ Misailegalu and Davy Coetzer.
The SaberCats built a commanding 28-7 lead by halftime and never let up.
“I came in last year and I was fortunate to be here and real grateful to be here,” said Misailegalu, who had previous stints with Atlanta and Seattle. “When I was with other teams, Houston wasn’t so good. Now, we’re coming to get to the top of this league.”
Next steps: Real games that count starting Saturday night.
“It’s been a great two games for us,” Meyer said. “Obviously, we want to take the momentum into the season. At the end of the day, these games mean nothing. The big game is next week.”
The growth is obvious for a winning organization.
“We’re ecstatic,” Pono Davis said. “We love it here. We love to win. When you win, you bring back the same kind of winning mentality. That’s what we want to do is bring that winning mentality to Houston and keep it going and just continue winning. We’ve created the tradition of winning in Houston.”
Newcomers like Tuifua and Javon Camp-Villalovos, previously with the now-defunct Dallas Jackals team that upset the SaberCats in the playoffs, have provided a boost to an already strong team.
The style of play taught by Human is intentionally more wide open with upgrades in spacing and passing making a big difference.
“This was a good last test before the game,” Camp-Villalovos said. “I feel pretty ready to go. The vibe is really good. I feel like this is a bit of different team and we’re going to have different results from last year.
“I think the way we play right now is very expansive. We have a lot of good players. They can do exciting things for the fans to see. We’re getting a lot of one-on-one opportunities and making people mijss. It’s going to be really exciting to see. We were able to move the ball pretty well. It worked. It paid off and it’s good to see.”
The SaberCats were eliminated in the first round by the Seattle Seawolves in 2023. Three seasons ago, they qualified for the Western Conference finals only to lose to Seattle.
“I think it’s definitely a bright future,” Coetzer said. “Every year, we’ve improved and we have better players, better support. It’s about figuring out how we can win games in the playoffs. We keep on building. We take lessons and we look forward.”
