Game Report: SaberCats vs. Raptors at AVEVA Stadium

Sunny skies and light breezes set the tone for the Houston SaberCats as their 2020 season kicked off at home against the Colorado Raptors. As fans filled Aveva Stadium, energy and excitement followed. New head coach Paul Healy led the Cats to a 21-12 win, their first in as many games this season.

Playing at a much higher level than in the preseason, the SaberCats started the game a lot more intense and precise. This led to the Cats jumping out to an early lead in the first half 13-5, highlighted by a beautiful pitch-to-pitch sequence between Tiaan Loots and Sam Windsor and a successful scrum that led to Adriaan Booysen pounding in a big try right before the half. The SaberCats failed to convert on two conversions, one of the few mistakes in the first half.

The dominance of the SaberCats was evident and the energy carried onto the second half. Winning the small battles, limiting mistakes and ultimately spending time in Colorado’s territory provided confidence for the home team.

Defensively, the Cats did an outstanding job limiting time in their territory and making the Raptors work for every inch, in most cases leading to no success. While on a scoring drought, Malaacchi Esdale scored a try that gave the SaberCats an 18-5 lead. The Raptors scored a try late to make it a close game, coming within six, 18-12.

With the game still winnable for Colorado, Houston put it out of reach with a game-sealing penalty kick by Sam Windsor, who totaled 11 points on the day.

Scrum- Half, De Wet Roos called it an amazing feeling to “open the season with a win and especially at home.” With a tremendous improvement on defense, Roos went on to say that “defense is an attitude, we said we needed to focus on a few things, we worked hard this past week and it showed today.”

The SaberCats gave the home crowd a reason to cheer and more importantly, got one in the win column. The SaberCats’ next game is Sunday, February 16 against the Toronto Arrows at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.

By: John Hickman