NEWS

Dean Muir on the Rise of the Houston SaberCats

Written by Joe Harvey | Photos by Big Shots Snapshots

After week three of the 2022 Major League Rugby season, the Houston SaberCats are competing at the top of the Western Conference, currently sitting in fourth-place. 

Following an offseason of change at the AVEVA Stadium, most recently the team picked up a last-gasp 33-38 victory over the Dallas Jackals at Choctaw Stadium, Christian Dyer’s try with the clock in the red spoiling their hosts’ home opener.

Having opened up their campaign with a win over incumbent champions, the LA Giltinis, it was clear that the winds of change had blown over the SaberCats and their new captain, Dean Muir, spoke to majorleague.rugby about the team.

LATE WINNERS

“I was just so relieved,” Muir, when asked about the last-minute win over Dallas last weekend, said. “I came off with around 10 minutes (to go), we were behind and needed three scores to win.

“There is a strong belief in this team, and we believed we were going to win the game. We just had to stick to our structure, keep the ball, we got some good turnovers, some good hands at the end and we managed to pull through.”

A man down, following Gerrie Labuschagne’s red card in the 47th minute, that fact alone makes the SaberCats’ comeback all the more impressive in Arlington, Texas.

When Dyer slid over the try line to secure the winning points, several members of the Houston squad ran onto the field, their relief clear for all to see after a challenging encounter.

Thanks to their wins over LA and Dallas, Houston have already matched the efforts of the team last season, who ended their campaign with a 2-14 record, the team’s fans perhaps more optimistic than ever.

Much of this early success can be attributed to a huge overhaul at the team, with former South Africa Head Coach, Heyneke Meyer, being appointed as Director of Rugby, and Pote Human installed as the new Head Coach.

As part of the rebuild, a host of players with extensive professional rugby experience in Super Rugby and in Japan were recruited, while Muir, Aaron Mitchell, Keni Nasoqeqe and Frikkie de Beer are all domestic recruitments, and the likes of Danny Barrett, Matai Leuta and Maka Unufe came from the USA Sevens program.

When speaking to MLR in the preseason, Barrett explained how the new coaching group were looking to create a family environment, Muir the figurehead on the field guiding the side to new horizons.

“I feel honored to lead this team,” he said. “Like I tell the boys, we have a group where anyone can be a leader.

“I made the decisions on the day, but we have got a leadership group and I am just lucky enough to be the leader on the day. Anyone could have taken that role.

“We came together late as a team; we have had some good team building sessions, and this is a very special group of guys that we have here.

“It is a mixture of American, South Africans, Argentinians, and we have all just bonded together. I know every team says that they want to build a good family culture, but I think that is something we really strive for, and we are heading in the right direction.”

CATS ON THE PROWL

This weekend, Muir will be welcoming a host of former teammates to his new home. Having spent three seasons with the San Diego Legion, his former employers come to the AVEVA Stadium off the back of a 28-31 loss to the Seattle Seawolves.

Both sides have matching records, the SaberCats having experienced defeat to Rugby New York in week two, Ed Fidow inspiring Marty Veale’s team to a 7-10 victory in Texas, in what was the Eastern Conference side’s opening game of the season.

Part of the Legion team that concluded the truncated 2020 campaign with a 5-0 record, Muir will be coming up against the likes of Ma’a Nonu, Chris Robshaw, Ryan Matyas and Nate Augspurger, who he shared the field with to such effect over those years.

“I had a chat with Heyneke (Meyer) before I signed here,” Muir said. “He told me who was going to be involved with the coaching, some of the players we were signing, and they have got great facilities here.

“It is a world class setup, from the medical staff, to the front office, to the owners, to the players. It is all world class. It was a pretty easy choice for me, and I am very glad to be here.”

Then, when it comes to coming up against a group of former teammates, Muir is primarily looking forward to another challenge, Mitchell, Siaosi Mahoni and Nasoqeqe, among the group of SaberCats also hoping to get an outing against their former team.

“We are playing our old team, our old teammates, old coaches, but it is just another game,” the South African said. “We are not going to psych ourselves out too much and try and prove a point. We are just going to stick to our structures, and it is another game of rugby.

“It is always good to be testing yourself against the best. We have got a lot of youngsters, they are really hungry, want to build a name for themselves, and we are not really worried about who we play against, we just want to play good, hard rugby.”

AMBITION

One of MLR’s original teams, the SaberCats are yet to make the playoffs. The closest they came was in the 2019 season, when the team finished the season with a 6-10 record, 24 points adrift of Rugby New York who finished fourth overall that season.

Now following a rebuild, most of the playing group don’t have the weight of years gone by on their shoulders, their main aim being to push for the playoffs at the very least in 2022.

“The past four seasons haven’t been the best in Houston,” Muir said. “We have come with the mindset of earning respect this year.

“We kind of got a bit of respect after the first game (against LA), but people were still saying it was luck, so we want to prove ourselves every week.

“Obviously the main goal is to win the league and there is a belief that in this team we are going to go all the way this year.

“Lastly, we want to be Houston’s team. We want to be the professional sports team that the people back in Houston.”