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# Seawolves to Sign South African Scrumhalf André Warner, Fifth Former SaberCat to Join 2026 Seattle Roster
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seawolves-to-sign-south-african-scrumhalf-andre-warner-fifth-former-sabercat-join-2026-seattle-roster/
- Published: 2025-12-30T23:29:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:16:36.000Z
- Author: Callaghan Bluechel
- Tags: News, Seawolves, André Warner, Allen Clarke

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The Seattle Seawolves have brought over quite a few players from the now-defunct Houston SaberCats during the offseason, starting with the announcement of flyhalf [Davy Coetzer](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/seawolves-sign-former-sabercat-davy-coetzer-to-fill-2026-flyhalf-role) and continuing with lock [Marno Redelinghuys](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/seawolves-sign-versatile-forward-marno-redelinghuys), loosehead prop [Ezekiel Lindenmuth](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/seawolves-bring-domestic-prop-ezekiel-lindenmuth-into-2026-fold), and wing Rufus McLean. Seawolves head coach Allen Clarke told Emerald City Spectrum that he had talked with some of these players through their agents as their contracts expired, though it’s unclear how exactly the SaberCats’ unexpected folding affected things on that front.

Also coming over from Houston is South African scrumhalf André Warner. The team has not yet formally announced the signing, but Clarke confirmed to Emerald City Spectrum this week that Warner will be on the 2026 team, joining longtime Seawolf JP Smith in the scrumhalf department. Although the criteria for domestic pathway players (who are not domestic eligible but are on track to be and therefore don’t take up an international gameday slot) are not totally clear, it is unlikely that Warner - who is going into his third year of US play - meets them, and so he will probably take up one of the team’s seven international gameday slots each time he makes a matchday 23.

At the club level, Warner played in the Currie Cup, Super Rugby, United Rugby Championship, and Pro D2 before coming to MLR in 2024\. Once stateside, he scored 12 tries in 27 total matches with the SaberCats, with 391 meters made and 186 tackles per the North American Rugby Database (NARDb). Much of this success came in 2024, when he made the All-MLR First XV, but he still performed well enough in 2025 for Houston to trust him with the starting job in the MLR final. 

Warner’s own style as a scrumhalf is similar to Smith’s, as he tends to be measured and methodical on the ball, rather than the intentional chaos approach that Nick Boyer brought in the second half of 2025\. This can be seen by measuring the rate of touches (defined as passes, carries, and kicks in play) each scrumhalf had in 2025: Warner had 82.3 touches per 80 minutes in 2025; Smith had 84.2, and Boyer had 101.5 (MLR average was 83.3). However, Smith and Warner were both more accurate passers than Boyer, and any statistical analysis of scrumhalves must come with the caveat that one of the biggest aspects of the position is an intuition for how and where to direct play. This is something Smith, Warner, and Boyer excelled at, whereas Brock Gallagher, the team’s backup scrumhalf going into 2025, often struggled to get that quick read.

The team, then, seems to be moving away from Gallagher (who, as a Canadian, will not be domestic eligible in 2026) as well as the Smith-into-Boyer strategy they employed in the final matches of 2025, where the steady Smith would wear down opposing defenses over the first 60 minutes or so and Boyer would come in to break the game open. Seattle is probably looking to strike at opponents more consistently over the course of their matches and avoid the drawbacks of being a second-half team. However, with talent coalescing into just six MLR sides for 2026 - Chicago and Anthem looking particularly improved - the only test of Seattle’s best laid plans will be the season itself.