Rugby Debuts in Houston With New SaberCats Team

HOUSTON, TX — When it comes to sports in Houston, everyone knows about the World Series Champion Astros, the Houston Texans and their roster of star players, the red hot Houston Rockets, and the Houston Dynamo who had their own playoff run in 2017.

However, many may not have have heard of Houston’s newest sports franchise, the SaberCats — Houston’s new rugby team.

The SaberCats, who advertised for several weeks on Facebook and other social media sites, began their inaugural season in January, playing at Sugar Land’s Constellation Field.

And even though the new team is still growing its fanbase, there is already a plan to build a rugby field inside the Houston Sports Park, KPRC reported.

The plan, which was announced on Wednesday, callso for the complex to have a multi-purpose field that would be used for rugby, football or other sports, and would be built by a private company using funds from a 2012 bond, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

The cost of the sports complex and field is projected at 6;3.2 million.

While the sport is wildly popular in New Zealand, Australia and some European countries, in recent years it’s gained a following in the US that includes seven teams, with two of them in Texas.

Those seven teams all began play this year under the banner of Major League Rugby, and are in the midst of the league’s exhibition season.

The regular season for rugby season commences at the e4nd of April and continues through June.

For many, it will be a prelude to the NFL season, a sport for which it is often compared with — minus the helmets, pads and specialty positions — much rougher.

So what is rugby?

Anyone over 40 who remembers childhood school yard games of "keep away" or "kill the man with the ball" got a small taste of what playing rugby feels like, if you're the one runing with the ball.

Rugby is played with a ball that is an odd cross between a football and a soccerball, that is passed and kicked between the teams whose objective it is to score points, which can vary depending on the method.

In rugby, there are nifty terms such as, scrum, two-point conversion, penalty kick, a try, and a drop goal, but there is a lot more to scoring in rugby.

The important part is looking beyond the terminology and enjoying the game, which is how fans become fans.

The SaberCats play most weekends, with the next game scheduled at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Constellation Field.

IMAGE: (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

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