The Houston SaberCats re-signed Kyle Breytenbach for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 27-year-old lock (28 in April) is 6’5″ and 250 lbs.
Kyle started all five matches during the truncated 2020 MLR season. He played for Austin Elite Rugby (now Austin Gilgronis) during his first two seasons. He was a key contributor for the team in 2019 and played in 15 of 16 matches where needed, at flanker, No.8, or at lock. He played 863 minutes, carried the ball 79 times for 361 meters, had one tackle break, two offloads, and made 137 tackles. In 2018 he started all 8 matches, playing 612 minutes.
Kyle is from Phalaborwa, South Africa, and lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Heather. He attended Frans du Toit High School and then went to Cape Peninsula University of Technology from 2014-2016 for Electrical Engineering. He also studied at NWU Pukke.
Kyle played rugby while in school and in 2014 played for Tygerberg in the Western Province RFU President’s Cup Super League A.
Kyle moved to Austin in 2016 and helped lead the team to the 2017 USA Rugby Club Division 1 National Championship. In 2016 and in 2017 he also played sevens with the Huns in the Club 7s Nationals.
In 2017 he joined Austin Elite Rugby (now Austin Herd) and helped the young team contend for the playoffs in 2018 until just falling short the final week of the season. The rugby future is bright for Kyle. He was a team leader again during 2019.
Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Kyle played with Steamboat Springs RFC in the Rocky Mountain League.
In 2020, Kyle appeared to be having a breakout year with the Houston SaberCats prior to the shortened season due to COVID-19. While it is often difficult to leave an area where you have spent time, moving apeared to rejuvenate him. Expect a breakout year for him in 2021.
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