Cruise to win against the Anthem RC expansion

A match between teams at opposite ends of the Major League Rugby standings held few surprises. The Houston SaberCats earned a halftime bonus point in a 38-15 win Friday at Anthem RC.

Jay Renton made his first MLR appearance, starting and scoring as the SaberCats improved to 9-1. This was their first game against the Anthem RC expansion.

Gideon van Wyk, Louritz van der Schyff, Renton, Jeremy Misailegalu and Drew Wild all reached the try zone before halftime as the SaberCats took a 33-3 lead, allowing only a penalty goal .

Teams receive four points or each victory during the MLR regular season, with a bonus point added for achieving four or more tries.

Anthem RC (0-10) received second-half tries from Josh Shetler and Tyren Malik Al-jiboori, while Misailegalu added his second for the SaberCats in the 69th minute.

Van der Schyff led the SaberCats with 103 running yards, many of them on a long try after a throw from AJ Alatimu, who had a game-high 325 yards on the run in addition to conversions.

Seimou Smith added 91 running meters and 10 tackles, matching Johan Momsen. Emmanuel Albert and van Wyk made a team-high 11 tackles.

Houston, which has 44 points, will maintain the Western Conference lead even if the second-place Seattle Seawolves win Saturday at NOLA Gold.

The SaberCats continue inter-conference play next Saturday, hosting the Chicago Hounds at SaberCats Stadium.

Chicago was 5-3-1 heading into its home game against Old Glory DC, ranking second in the Eastern Conference. The Hounds’ 27 points included a win over defending MLR champion New England.