Late Comeback Bid Falls Short in Road Loss to Houston

The Toronto Arrows ran out of runway in their efforts to complete a late comeback in Houston, falling 29-17 to the SaberCats on Saturday evening.

Capitalizing on a late momentum swing, three tries by the Arrows — all scored in the final 15 minutes of the match — pulled the visitors to within 12 points of the hosts, but that would be as close as Toronto would come to finishing the spirited turnaround attempt.

The Arrows came close to scoring on multiple occasions in the opening 10 minutes, travelling deep inside SaberCats’ territory before seeing their chances go begging as a result of handling errors.

After marching back down the field and winning a penalty at the Arrows’ five-metre line, Houston captain Dean Muir tapped quickly and rammed through the Toronto defence to score the opener. Kian Meadon added the extras.

The SaberCats doubled their lead before the first-half hydration break, with strong attacking work from the hosts’ forwards rewarded when Juan Pablo Zeiss barged across.

Struggling to find their rhythm, additional Arrows miscues led to a 30th-minute penalty goal from Meadon to increase Houston’s lead to 17.

A crack in the SaberCats’ foundation appeared late in the first half; a tip-tackle on Mitch Voralek by Gerrie Labuschagne warranted a TMO check, resulting in the Houston wing receiving a red card for the offence. The scoreline remained 17-0 in favour of the hosts heading into the interval.

The second half began much like how the first half ended, as Houston’s defence held firm for its 20-minute stint with 14 men on the pitch to shut down Toronto’s probes. A 50-metre from Voralek that started at the fullback’s own goal line was the Arrows’ bright spot with the man advantage, but the SaberCats forced another turnover to extinguish the opportunity.

Just as the red card offence was expiring, Houston would see another player sent to the bin. After inserting himself into some sideline pushing and shoving, lock Siaosi Mahoni was given a yellow card for being the third man in, restoring Toronto’s man advantage for a further 10 minutes.

A confusing series of events ensued. SaberCats centre Louritz van der Schyff blocked a kick inside Toronto territory to regain possession, and later received an offload to score. The TMO initially chalked off the try after spotting an infraction in the build up, and Toronto subsequently kicked to touch from the penalty to trigger the second-half hydration break. However, during the breather, the TMO rescinded his earlier decision, indicating that the penalty was instead committed by a Toronto player and not a SaberCat. The flip-flop resulted in van der Schyff’s try going back on the scoresheet.

With momentum behind the hosts after the bewildering sequence, van der Schyff raced in for his second try just three minutes later to put Houston ahead by 29.

As the Toronto bench emptied and fresh legs arrived on the pitch, the Arrows began to turn on the jets. Prop Lolani Faleiva used his sizable frame to smash across for two tries; the first came at 67 minutes, marking the Kiwi’s first MLR try, while the second ended the match with the clock in the red. Faleiva’s brace sandwiched a 75th-minute try from Guiseppe du Toit, representing the Canadian international’s fifth career tally for the club.

Toronto will rest up with a bye in Week 12 before returning to face Eastern Conference rivals Rugby New York (6-3; 30 points*) at home on May 8. The match stands to be the most critical game of the season, with the winner gaining a major leg up in the race for a playoff berth.

Tickets are available for purchase via AXS, the official ticketing partner of the Toronto Arrows, on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Single game tickets start as low as $15.

* at time of publication

Toronto Arrows Stat Leaders:

Ball Carries: Andrew Quattrin – 18
Carry Metres: Mitch Voralek – 126
Tackles Made: Ronan Foley – 14
Offloads: Sam Malcolm – 3

Houston SaberCats Stat Leaders:

Ball Carries: Juan Pablo Zeiss – 15
Carry Metres: Louritz van der Schyff – 150
Tackles Made: Wynand Grassmann – 20
Offloads: Five Players – 1

Toronto Arrows Score Report:

Tries: Lolani Faleiva 2 (67, 80+1), Guiseppe du Toit (75)
Conversions: Sam Malcolm (68)

Houston SaberCats Score Report:

Tries: Dean Muir (12), Juan Pablo Zeiss (20), Louritz van der Schyff 2 (60, 63)
Conversions: Kian Meadon 3 (13, 21, 61)
Penalty Goals: Kian Meadon (29)

Toronto Arrows Lineup vs. Houston SaberCats:

1. Cole Keith
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Isaac Salmon
4. Mike Sheppard (C)
5. Paul Ciulini
6. Lucas Rumball
7. James O’Neill
8. Ronan Foley
9. Riley Di Nardo
10. Sam Malcolm
11. Mitch Richardson
12. Ueta Tufuga
13. Spencer Jones
14. John Sheridan
15. Mitch Voralek
16. Jack McRogers
17. Lolani Faleiva
18. Tyler Rowland
19. Adrian Wadden
20. Siaki Vikilani
21. Gord McRorie
22. Guiseppe du Toit
23. Gaston Mieres

Header Photo Credit: Paris Malone