The SaberCats led 35-7 at halftime before being outscored in the second half. Christian Dyer scored a try in the first half for the SaberCats. “I’m very happy about the bonus point,” SaberCats director Heyneke Meyer said. “Good start to the season, but every game you have to be humble, feet on the ground and keep performing. The big thing for me is guys came from injuries.

“You have to have depth. Quite a good performance, especially in the first half. Second half was a little bit loose, missed a few opportunities. Give them credit, they came back. Very happy with the win.”

Returning second-team all-star hooker Dean Muir scored a try in the first half. It was a big night for Muir as it marked his 50th overall Major League Rugby match, and the 50th match with the SaberCats for Zach Pangelinan.

This marked Muir’s first game back after returning from paternity leave in South Africa.

“Made a huge difference, very experienced, did very well,” Meyer said of Muir.

“We’re glad to have him back.” Coetzer, the SaberCats’ leading scorer, found a path on his pair of early scores to spark the team. “I think it’s all the work from the boys,” Coetzer said. “The things we train on during the week, we finished them off. I’m very excited for the rest of the season. I still think we haven’t scratched the surface of the potential of this team.”

Throughout the season, Coetzer has provided consistent scoring pop. He had 28 points heading into this match. “He’s a little warrior,” Meyer said. “He kicked well. The kicks made a difference. He’s played better and better.”

To get back on a winning track was pivotal for the SaberCats. “I think we were feeling pretty confident against Seattle, we just didn’t execute,” Coetzer said.

“This week, that was the big thing to finish the chances we get. I think in the first half we did that, we finished opportunities. In the second half, we made a lot of mistakes. We get things right. We’re improving week after week. I’m excited. I love it.”

Gerrie Labuschagne’ scored the final try for the SaberCats to cap the scoring.

“I feel like even though we won, we expect more of ourselves as a team and individuals,” Labuschagne’ said. “There’s a lot of things we can work on. Being 4-1 is great, but we have to build on that. We’re not worried about 4-1, 5-1, 6-1.

We don’t care about that. We just have to regroup as a team and take every step by step.” Meyer is encouraged about the state of the team and the camaraderie they’ve built. “Very good culture,” he said. “The guys really do play for each other and pull for each other. Unbelievable. I thought it was a great performance, still a lot of things to improve. I thought it was a great game, a lot of tries.

*Photos by Nicolas Romero