The Toronto Arrows hosts the Houston SaberCats at York Alumni Stadium on April 21 at 2 pm ET. Tickets are still available and the match is being broadcast on ESPN+, Game TV, and on KUBE.
Match Comments
Toronto Arrows Director of Rugby Chris Silverthorn has made one change in his starters as Kolby Francis replaces Paul Ciulini. Pat Lynott and Tom Van Horne also join the reserves.
Houston SaberCats Head Coach Justin Fitzpatrick has made five changes in the starters, four of them in the forwards. Jamie Dever and Paul Mullen start at loosehead and at tighthead prop, respectively. Victor Comptat is at lock with Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz at No.8, as Alejandro Nieto moves to flanker. Thretton Palamo, who scored a try coming off the bench, starts at inside center. Chris Coyle also joins the match day roster in the reserves.
The teams faced each other on February 22 with the Arrows winning 44-27. The Houston SaberCats are a stronger side since then.
Both teams have strengths in the set pieces, particularly in the scrums. The Arrows are a more explosive side, who score tries quickly despite Houston’s slight edge in maintaining possession and territory. The SaberCats have added more penalty goals with Sam Windsor being very accurate in his kicking game.
Look for Houston to try to play within Toronto’s territory, utilizing tactical kicking to do so. The SaberCats will look to score tries from set pieces and add penalty goals when errors arise.
The Arrows have been able to break the gainline on the attack more often than Houston, 74% to 64%. Look for the Arrows to utilize crash ball to open up space wide. Also, look for the team to attack from lineouts inside the SaberCats 22-meters.
The Arrows need a win if they are to maintain contact with the five teams ahead in the standings for a playoff spot. The SaberCats are looking to improve the team’s offensive production and finish the season on a winning note over the last seven matches.
Squads with Player Article Links
Toronto Arrows: 1 Rob Brouwer 2 AJ Quattrin 3 Cole Keith 4 Mike Sheppard 5 Kolby Francis 6 Lucas Rumball 7 Peter Milazzo 8 Marcello Wainwright 9 Jamie Mackenzie10 Sam Malcolm 11 Leandro Leivas 12 Guiseppe du Toit 13 Dan Moor (C) 14 Avery Oitomen 15 Theo Sauder16 Steven Ng 17 Pat Lynott 18 Morgan Mitchell 19 Tom Van Horne 20 John Moonlight 21 Riley DiNardo 22 Kainoa Lloyd 23 Shawn Windsor + Director of Rugby, Chris Silverthorn
Houston SaberCats: 1 Jamie Dever 2 Pat O’Toole 3 Paul Mullen 4 Diego Magno 5 Victor Comptat 6 Luke Beauchamp (C) 7 Alejandro Nieto 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz 9 Connor Murphy 10 Sam Windsor 11 Malacchi Esdale 12 Thretton Palamo 13 Osea Kolinisau 14 Deion Mikesell 15 Zach Pangelinan 16 Amro Gouda 17 Mateo Sanguinetti 18 Charlie Connolly 19 Matt Trouville 20 Chris Coyle 21 Cecil Garber 22 Max Tacket 23 Joe Kelly + Head Coach Justin Fitzpatrick
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