A NEW SPORT
Houston Sabercats rugby kicks off tonight at Constellation Field
Jan 6, 2018, 1:48 pm
The Sabercats open play tonight. Courtesy photo
Rugby is officially here in Houston. Tonight the Houston Sabercats will have their inaugural match at Constellation Field in Sugarland. I believe a Rugby team here can be successful because Houston is such an international city; there is going to be a demand for almost every sport you can imagine. The season also starts after football has wound down so you can get your fix for testosterone fueled action. The newly formed Major League Rugby currently has six teams, with the Sabercats playing nine exhibition games before the season starts in April. They’ve also got a deal with CBS Sports to broadcast the matches on television and an apparel deal with XBlades, so you can purchase some Sabercats gear.
On Tuesday I was able to go to the Sabercats practice. It was 30 degrees and sleeting so I know these guys are tough! Coach Justin Fitzpatrick and fly-half/assistant coach Sam Windsor are both excited about the opportunity to start up a new league. When I spoke with Sam on Friday afternoon he said the guys are ready to go for tonight. Windsor has been playing rugby since the age of seven when he competed in an “under 9’s” league and later played for two of the oldest rugby clubs in the world – The Blackheaths in England and Trinity College in Dublin, which are both over 150 years old. “I’m excited about starting up a whole new club from the ground up here after playing for older, well established clubs.” Windsor said. Many people compare rugby and football due to the similarities of the field, the scrum being the precursor to the line of scrimmage and the tackling and seemingly violent nature of the sport. However, rugby also has a lot in common with basketball – a sport that actually was invented as an indoor alternative to rugby during the cold months. In rugby, like basketball, players participate on both offense and defense so the play is continuous with very little stoppage time. I asked Windsor about the toll this can take on the players’ bodies – “let’s just say I’m not very mobile on a Sunday,” he said. However, because players are taught proper tackling techniques from a young age, injuries are not as common of an occurrence in the sport as you might imagine even though most players are wearing little to no protective gear.
Rugby gets a reputation as a hooligan’s sport, but there are actually very strict ethical guidelines that players must adhere to. Windsor told me that only the captain can speak with the referee and back chat from other players can earn them a yellow or red card and could ultimately lead to an ejection. And even though players are competing hard against each other while on the field, it’s a common occurrence for them to share a pint afterwards. A player doesn’t want to have to leave the field of play, hurting his team, so referees are treated with a respect in rugby that you don’t often see in other sports. Windsor defined a successful rugby player in three words: “strong, aware, and communicative. Players have to have the strength to play the full match, be aware of the field and what’s going on around them, and be able to communicate effectively with teammates to be successful.” he said. The Sabercats will also be starting a rugby academy for young children up to teenagers to teach them about the sport, what it can provide them for the future, and as an opportunity to really foster rugby in young people.
Why should Houstonians give rugby a chance? “You’ll definitely be getting your money’s worth at a Sabercats game” Windsor says. “We’re playing with a high skill level, there’s going to be non-stop action, beer sales, a fan experience, an area for kids, and much more.”
Tonight the Sabercats take on the Seattle Saracens – the team head coach Fitzpatrick and Windsor were with before starting the Sabercats – and the weather is shaping up for a beautiful afternoon and evening. Tailgating starts at 3:30 p.m. with the fan experience at 4:30. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available at www.houstonsabercats.com/tickets.
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How Houston Texans' defense now measures up to other NFL powerhouses
Mar 14, 2025, 2:22 pm
We’re inside two weeks to the Astros starting their regular season (Yes!), but the NFL hogged this week of the pro sports scene with its annual spend like drunken sailors shopping spree via free agency. The Texans’ activity has been interesting on both the free agent and trade fronts. Let’s dig in.
Let’s start with their Tunsil-ectomy. Laremy Tunsil was a very good though not superstar left tackle here. His embarrassing number of false starts notwithstanding, Tunsil was consistently their best pass protector. That might not be saying much relative to the rest of the offensive line, but it is not meant as damning with faint praise. Pro Bowl selections can come from reputation or flat-out bad voting, but being named a Pro Bowler five times in six seasons is at least a good indicator a guy doesn’t stink. Still, had he remained, Tunsil’s salary cap figure would have been a bloated 28 and a half million dollars. Getting second and third round draft picks from the Washington Commanders for Tunsil is a good return, though it is also telling that the Texans were willing to absorb 15 million dollars in dead salary cap space to offload him.
Cutting guard Shaq Mason costs the Texans another 12 and a half mil in dead cap space, a little over five million of that swallowed this year with the balance wasted in 2026. Nick Caserio signed Tunsil and Mason to the contract extensions the Texans ultimately chose to escape from early. Caserio’s first first round pick in charge was guard Kenyon Green, whose time with the Texans was an absolute flop. Dealing Green this week to the Super Bowl Champion Eagles for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is an absolute win, almost regardless of how Gardner-Johnson performs here. “CGJ” joins Jalen Pitre and Calen Bullock in giving the Texans three talented safeties all 27 years old or younger. Back to the o-line. Two years in, former second round pick Juice Scruggs is a middling player at best. Off an undistinguished rookie season as a second rounder also, Blake Fisher has a prove himself season coming with the right tackle job seemingly being handed to him.
Tytus Howard presumably slots as the new left tackle. Season-to-season he has never been as good as Tunsil. At over 23 million dollars, Howard presently carries the second-biggest cap figure on the team, behind only Danielle Hunter. One guard spot in 2025 goes to value free agent signee Laken Tomlinson. Summing him up in one word, Tomlinson is middling. In another word he is durable. The 33-year-old Tomlinson has started every game for seven consecutive seasons. The downside is he’s just not that great. Hence the Texans get him on a one-year contract for four and a quarter mil. Yet, if Tomlinson can be an average starting guard that will be a substantial upgrade from their guard play in 2024. That leaves center and the other guard spot to sort through. Scruggs and Jarrett Patterson are still around. Caserio took a flier in trading a 2026 sixth round pick to Minnesota for guard Ed Ingram. After starting for two and a half seasons, a healthy Ingram was benched and didn’t play one snap apart from special teams in the Vikings’ last nine games. Ingram is only 26 years old and in the final season of his rookie contract. Again, he doesn’t need to be confused with prime-Mike Munchak to be able to improve the Texans at least incrementally.
Add it all up and Caserio has not done a good job where the o-line is concerned. His in-season remarks bleating about a “lazy narrative” from the media re: the weakness of that line were condescending and/or mistaken at the time, and now register as flat out ridiculous. The offensive coordinator and offensive line coach have been fired, three of the season-opening starting o-linemen have been jettisoned. With all of the changes, all offensive line problems going forward should be pinned squarely on Caserio. I think C.J. Stroud would agree.
Doubling down on defense
The Texans’ other free agent moves have been depth plays, most notably on the defensive line, re-signing defensive linemen Mario Edwards Jr., Derek Barnett, and Kurt Hinish, adding Darrell Taylor, and bringing back 2023 starter Sheldon Rankins after he had an injury-hindered 2024 with Cincinnati. The wide receiver room needed work. Stefon Diggs is probably gone, unfortunately Tank Dell is a question mark to play much at all in 2025. None among Robert Woods, John Metchie, and Xavier Hutchinson should be automatics for roster spots. The trade for Christian Kirk from Jacksonville adds a speed component at wideout. Maybe Justin Watson from Kansas City has sleeper contributor potential. Over the last two seasons with the Chiefs Watson caught 49 passes, five for touchdowns.
The next heavy lifting for the Texans comes with the NFL Draft, which starts April 24. The Texans have the 25th pick in the first round. Pending any other free agent moves of note, offensive line and wide receiver should remain top priorities.
Closing in on Opening Day, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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