MAD SCENES! Tempers flare as coaches fight during MLR game! : PlanetRugby

On Apr 24, 2023

Tempers flared during the Major League Rugby (MLR) game between the Houston Sabercats and Rugby New York on Sunday.

Sabercats head coach Pote Human and New York head of high-performance Ollie Richardson clashed during a break in play.

According to a post by a fan, Richardson came onto the pitch during a water break and was ‘yelling and pointing at Houston players’.

Human did not take kindly to this and stormed onto the pitch to tell Richardson off, and that’s where the pair locked heads.

Human hits out first, slapping Richardson across the face, and the New York coach reacted after breaking through from someone holding him back. He heads straight for Human and punches the Sabercats’ coach before the pair are separated again.

Pote Human the Houston SaberCats Head Coach clearly angry about something. SaberCats beat Rugby NY 34 – 27 pic.twitter.com/DYx8AhmCuj

— Adrian Slabbert (@adrian_slabbert) April 23, 2023

Both coaches were ejected from the match by the referee and are expected to face further punishment for their actions from MLR.

Human is the former head coach of the Bulls and also held roles with the Griffons, Ricoh Black Rams and UP Tuks before he joined the Sabercats under former Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

Victory keeps Houston in the running

Houston went on to win the match 34-27 thanks to tries from Davy Coetzer, Carlo de Nysschen, Vereniki Tikoisolomone, Dean Muir and Christian Dyer. Fly-half Coetzer also added three conversions and a penalty taking his personal haul to 14.

New York scored tries through Conor McManus, Brooklyn Hardaker, Andrew Coe and Nick Feakes.

The win for Houston keeps them in the running for the Western Conference as they are just four league points shy of their next opponents and Conference leaders, San Diego Legion.

Meanwhile, the loss for New York saw them slip to third place on the Eastern Conference as Old Glory DC moved into second spot after their 36-22 win over Utah.

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