Club remains undefeated after pulling away late

The Houston SaberCats were able to celebrate for multiple reasons as time expired Saturday at SaberCats Stadium.

Not only did they finally seal a 30-19 victory against the Miami Sharks to remain undefeated in Major League Rugby, but a lastsecond try gave them a bonus point in the standings.

Houston improved to 3-0, matching Seattle as the remaining MLR teams without a loss. Gideon van Wyk’s try was the SaberCats’ fourth of the match, adding a fifth standings point for the game and 13 for the season.

“It was actually a penalty try, so we were lucky to get that one,” SaberCats captain Nathan den Hoedt said. “It was very important. We talked about getting a bonus point, so it was nice to come away with that one. It’s good to get those scrappy wins.”

The SaberCats opened the season with a 22-15 victory at home over Utah and added a 27-12 win at Los Angeles last week.

“It’s amazing,” SaberCats first-year player Seth Smith said. “We’ve played some really good teams, and a lot of teams have kept us in the fight. We just keep grinding, and that’s what it’s about. We’ve got to keep grinding and keep improving.”

The SaberCats appeared primed to take advantage of an early mistake by Miami, with a dropped punt setting Houston up near the goal line. But the initial try was waved off because of a penalty.

The SaberCats punched it in again shortly after, with Andre Warner crossing the line in the middle of a pack and touching down for a 5-0 lead in the 13th minute.

Houston answered one of four Miami penalty kicks with a try by Keni Nasoqeqe, adding AJ Alatimu’s conversion to take a 12-6 advantage midway through the first half.

The Sharks tied the match by the 36th minute with Felipe Etcheverry’s kick, but Alatimu’s late penalty produced a 15-12 halftime lead for Houston.

“(The first try) got overturned,” den Hoedt said. “I can’t remember exactly what it was, but discipline is obviously a bit of a workon area for us. We need to do better there. We gave away too many penalties.”

The SaberCats spent ample time in Miami territory early in the second half, capitalizing when Line Latu broke loose for several meters and pitched to Jeremy Misailegalu for the try. The conversion failed, leaving the score 2012.

Miami (0-3) worked for several minutes near the goal line before Houston’s defense finally yielded. Benjamin Bonasso’s try and the conversion cut the lead to 20-19 in the 64th minute.

The SaberCats were able to maintain the advantage during the latter part of the match, adding a key penalty by Alatimu for a 23-19 lead. Miami set up a line out in Houston territory moments later but turned the ball over.

Houston’s strength in scrums during the second half helped keep the edge, even if there is room for improvement.

“I don’t think we were as dominant as we were hoping to be,” den Hoedt said. “I think they got a few scrum penalties on us, but it was nice to finish the way we did with the scrums. I feel like that helped us seal that game there.”

Houston has a one-point lead on Seattle (3-0), which defeated Utah 23-13 on Saturday.

There will be one undefeated team after next week. The SaberCats visit Seattle on Friday.

“Obviously, (being 3-0) is important, but it’s only the early days,” den Hoedt said. “It means nothing unless we keep that momentum and keep building. Seattle is still undefeated, and we have Seattle next week, so that’s going to be a huge game. I think we struggled against them last year, so that’s going to be a big game for us.”