By Aaron Wilson
When the SaberCats celebrated their 30-19 home victory Saturday night over the Miami Sharks, they didn’t revel in maintaining their undefeated status.
It was a somewhat measured reaction from the squad because there were too many penalties and mistakes that are correctable for the 3-0 SaberCats.
Having built a one-point edge over the undefeated Seattle Seawolves in the Western Conference heading into a key early-season road match next week, the SaberCats are focused on improvement.
“I think we were very scrappy,” said scrumhalf Andre Warner, who scored an early try for the SaberCats to open a 5-0 lead. “Technically, we played well at the beginning. At the end of the match, we had a lot of bad discipline mistakes. We actually didn’t play our best and we still won the match.”
A penalty try in the final second by Gideon Van Wyk, the team’s fourth of the match, provided the bonus point for the SaberCats.
One year after winning a franchise record 10 matches and making the playoffs for the second consecutive season, the SaberCats have set their ambitions on a deep playoff run and trying to win the Major League Rugby championship.
The SaberCats have now defeated the Utah Warriors, Los Angeles and Miami.
The SaberCats celebrated Culture Night, honoring the rich diversity on the roster. The halftime entertainment was provided by legendary Houston rapper Trae tha Truth.
Johan Momsen, a lock and back row acquired in the offseason from the Atlanta franchise, is encouraged overall, especially by the team chemistry.
“It’s lovely, everyone is good friends, very good culture,” Momsen said. “Everyone is here to win. Scrappy win, but a good one. We were not at our best. For sure, we made a lot of errors. We were fortunate to win. When you can pull wins through like that, it shows something about your character. We’re happy about that.”.
A strong kicking game, including AJ Alatimu, made the difference. The SaberCats built a 15-12 halftime lead that included a try by Keni Nasoqeqe.
In the second half, Jeremy ‘Missile’ Misailegalu scored a try off a pitch from Line Latu to boost the lead to 20-12. And the SaberCats held on for the win.
“Scrappy win, but we got it done,” Christian Dyer said. “We got the bonus point, exactly what we were going for. Credit to them, they put us under a lot of pressure in the kicking game. Next week, we need to right those wrongs and continue the momentu. We’re in a good spot, but hungry to keep getting better. We’re going to focus on us.”
