By Aaron Wilson
When the SaberCats square off at home against the Dallas Jackals on Saturday night, the Western Conference division champions will do much more than celebrate the end of a successful regular season.
During Fan Appreciation Night, this Texas Showdown provides an early playoff preview for the top-seeded SaberCats.
The 13-2 SaberCats will face the fourth-seeded Jackals on July 20 at SaberCats Stadium.
So, this match shapes up as an interesting litmus test of strategy and gamesmanship.
Without any remaining playoff seeding ramifications, there’s a strong possibility that multiple starters and players recovering from injuries could potentially be rested for this regular-season finale.
Nonetheless, it’s still a rivalry game and an opportunity for the SaberCats to get back to their winning ways after a league-best eight-game winning streak was snapped last week on the road against the San Diego Legion.
“I think it’s a great thing for Texas,” Gideon van Wyk said. “We have two teams in the state after previously having three when Austin had one. I think that’s a great thing, a great competition.
“We didn’t lose to them yet, so we need to keep that winning streak going. We’ll play them again in our first playoff game. We need to make sure we get everything in place and in order for the playoffs.”
Although the Jackals have a 6-9 record, they have some talented players dotting their roster.
The Jackals have scored 454 points and allowed 421 points.
The SaberCats have scored 449 points, yielding a Major League Rugby low mark of 319 points for a point differential of 130 points.
“They’re a good side,” Sam Hill said. “They’ve scored a lot of tries. After our performance against San Diego, we want a good 80-minute performance to give us confidence and momentum. We’re going against them a gain in the playoffs, so we want to give ourselves a nice bit of confidence and get back on a winning run.”
The SaberCats won’t take the Jackals lightly. They know their Texas rivals are a capable opponent.
“It’s definitely a rivalry with Dallas,” Nathan Den Hoedt said. “It’s definitely going to be a tough, tough battle. They’re a physical team. They’re going to probably rest a lot of guys. A lot of strategy will go into this one because it’s the first playoff game coming up. We want to make sure we’re doing our one percent better and getting ahead of them.
“They’re definitely a physical side. They show up every time we come against them. It’s never a blowout. They show up for us. We throw everything at it. We’re looking to get a win and get back into the winner’s column. We approach it as if it’s a final. Obviously, it’s the last regular-season game. That’s our mindset. We then have two weeks off and we have them to play again. We’re got to approach it like it’s the finals now.”
