By Aaron Wilson
Diving across the goal line to end the match, Houston SaberCats center Dominic Akina placed the exclamation point on an emphatic comeback victory Sunday in California.
Roughly an hour before, things were looking relatively bleak for the defending Western Conference division champions.
After an upset loss to the Chicago Hounds to start the season at home last week, the SaberCats were down 28-12 at halftime to Rugby FC Los Angeles in their first road match of the season.
They needed a strategy. They needed a spark. And they badly needed a win.
Mission accomplished: SaberCats 45, Rugby FC Los Angeles 28
The SaberCats engineered an epic comeback as they outscored the home team, 33-0, in the second half.
“We collectively agreed we would bring the most energy,” SaberCats prop Ezekiel Lindenmuth said. “It was a collective decision as a bomb squad. We had to put them on the back and make it easier for the backs to focus on big carries.
“No team wants to go 0-2 to start the season. We would have been in a pretty s—-y spot. It was a massive wakeup call. It wasn’t easy, but it was pretty much the same team as last year. Just a different style of rugby. This was my first game back. I tried to get the lungs going.”
Sam Tuifua celebrated his 23rd birthday with a try, and a win as the SaberCats improved to 1-1 for the season.
Tuifua scored the SaberCats’ first points in the second half to get the comeback rolling.
“All glory to God, the boys had my back,” Tuifua said. “The main thing was trying to keep the ball and try to play physical. That led to all the fun stuff.”
Huddling up at halftime with coach Pote Human, the veteran leader had a succinct message for the squad.
“His message was just be physical and earn the right,” Tuifua said. “We definitely reaped the rewards.”
Back in California where he played collegiately at Berkeley, Max Schumacher opened the scoring for the SaberCats followed by a try by team captain Nathan Den Hoedt.
This marked the first career start for the former first-round draft pick.
“I was talking to some of the boys and coach Pote that I was back on familiar ground,” said Schumacher, a Sacramento native whose parents and grandparents attended the match. “It was a good place for me to get my first start and be comfortable. It was great to have that support.
“We came out of the gates quick in the second half. The boys did the hard work and we did our job, identified the space and got it in there. By the time I touched the ball, all I had to do was fall forward. We came out in the second half and played much better rugby. We were much more efficient.”
The second half included tries from Tuifua, Jeremy Misailegalu, Justin Basson to take the lead for good and then Akina’s final score to put the game away.
“It was definitely a good experience, to say the least,” Emmanuel Albert said. “During that water break, the coaches came in and the leadership group and we decided to buy in and do the simple things. That’s what led to our victory, the basics, and things started connecting.
“Finishing this game and winning this game is big for us. A lot of people were counting us out after starting undefeated last year. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. We’re building. As long as we keep winning and building and win the shield, that’s what it’s all about.”
Ultimately, sticking with the plan and not getting shook by a rough start led to a big-time win for the SaberCats.
“Lovely game, it was lovely,” Akina said. “We never put our heads down. We had a meeting at halftime. We talked about the game plan and doing the next job after the next job and keep on building and the boys lifted it up in the second half.”
