Utah Warriors

The Utah Warriors are a professional rugby union team that competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby competition in the United States that played its first season in 2018.[1] The team is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was founded in 2010 as Utah Warriors (Rugby Super League) and re-refounded in 2017 by Rugby Utah Ventures.

For other uses, see Utah Warriors (disambiguation).
Utah Warriors
UnionUSA Rugby
Founded2017
Ground(s)Zions Bank Stadium
Herriman, Utah
CEOKimball Kjar
Coach(es)Shawn Pittman (Interim head)
Ben Nicholls (Assistant)
Shaun Davies (Backs)
Sica Glauser (Trainer)
Mark Drown (Manager)
Brandon Sparks (Director of Rugby Operations)
Top scorerTim O'Malley (134)
Most triesTonata Lauti (10)
League(s)Major League Rugby
20198th place (regular season)
Team kit
Official website
warriorsrugby.com

Home field

The Utah Warriors play at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, which has a seating capacity of 5,000.[2] The adjacent training facility includes two full-sized indoor turf fields. The Warriors share the venue with Real Monarchs, a USL Championship team affiliated with Real Salt Lake.[3]

Broadcasts

2019 home games were shown on KMYU a CBS affiliate station owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Jarom Jordan and Jonny Linehan were the on air talent.

Sponsorship
Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2018-2019 XBlades Nui
2020–present Paladin Sports None

Players and personnel

Current squad
For player movements before and during the 2021 season, see List of 2020–21 Major League Rugby transfers § Utah Warriors.

The Utah Warriors squad for the 2021 Major League Rugby season is:[4]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Sama Malolo Hooker Australia
Michael Payne Hooker United States
Veremalua Vugakoto Hooker Fiji
Elijah Hayes Prop United States
Olive Kilifi Prop United States
Angus MacLellan Prop United States
Paul Mullen Prop United States
Alex Tucci Prop United States
Franco van den Berg Prop South Africa
Matthew Dalton Lock Ireland
Aston Fortuin Lock South Africa
Matt Jensen Lock United States
Puna Vuli Lock Fiji
Thomas Tu’avao* Flanker England
Saia Uhila* Flanker Tonga
Lance Williams Flanker United States
Bailey Wilson* Flanker Australia
Jurie van Vuuren Number 8 South Africa
Player Position Union
Michael Baska Scrum-half United States
Fraser Hurst Scrum-half Canada
Danny Giannascoli Fly-half United States
Cliven Loubser Fly-half Namibia
Hagen Schulte Fly-half Germany
Tyler Fisher Centre South Africa
Rodney Iona Centre Samoa
Dom Toluono Centre United States
Jared Whippy* Centre Fiji
Calvin Whiting Centre United States
Derek Ellingson Wing United States
Tonata Lauti* Wing Tonga
James Vaifale Wing American Samoa
Josh Whippy Wing United States
John Powers Fullback United States
Mike Te'o Fullback United States
  • Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
  • * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
  • MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

Training squad

The following players were named in the Utah Warriors Senior Training Squad:[5]

  • David Perez (Prop)
  • Kal Kistner (Lock)
  • James Mocke (Lock)
  • Cumorah Saulala (Fly-half)
  • Logan Tago (Centre)
  • Joseph Mano (Wing)
  • Aaron Wade (Wing)

Head coaches

Captains


Honorary members
  • Josh Pray (2019–present)

Records

Season standings
Year Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts   Playoffs
2018 4th 8305269274–51022   Lost semi-final 21–34 to Glendale Raptors
2019 8th 162212381517−136921   Did not qualify
2020 7th 5212125134-9212  Season currtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Honors

2018 season
DateOpponentHome/AwayVenueLocationResult
March 30Glendale Raptors°HomeRio Tinto StadiumSandy, UtahLost, 42–15
April 6Ontario Arrows°HomeRio Tinto StadiumSandy, UtahLost, 24–20
April 20Prairie Wolf Pack°HomeZions Bank StadiumHerriman, UtahWon, 80–12
April 29San Diego LegionAwayTorero StadiumSan Diego, CaliforniaLost, 24–31
May 5Glendale RaptorsHomeZions Bank StadiumHerriman, UtahLost, 29–36
May 11Austin EliteHomeZions Bank StadiumHerriman, UtahWon, 41–22
May 20Seattle SeawolvesAwayStarfire StadiumSeattle, WashingtonLost, 30–41
May 26Houston SaberCatsAwayDyer StadiumHouston, TexasWon, 36–30
June 1Austin EliteAwayRound Rock Multipurpose ComplexAustin, TexasLost, 33–41
June 16New Orleans GoldHomeZions Bank StadiumHerriman, UtahLost, 43–46
June 23Houston SaberCatsHomeZions Bank StadiumHerriman, UtahWon, 31–27
June 30Glendale Raptors°°AwayInfinity ParkGlendale, ColoradoLost, 21–34

° = Preseason game
°° = Playoff semifinal
     Matches won are colored green

2019 season

Exhibition
DateOpponentHome/AwayVenueResult
October 13, 2018Glendale RaptorsAwayInfinity ParkPostponed
October 20, 2018Glendale RaptorsHomePostponed
January 12, 2019Life WestHomeRSL Academy Indoor FieldWon, 25–10
February 9, 2019New England Free JacksHomeZions Bank Training CenterWon, 70–15

Regular season
DateOpponentHome/AwayVenueResult
February 1Austin EliteAwayDell DiamondWin, 17–9
February 17San Diego LegionAwayTorero StadiumLost, 10–21
February 23Glendale RaptorsHomeZions Bank StadiumDraw, 26–26
March 2New Orleans GoldHomeZions Bank StadiumLost, 19–21
March 9Rugby United New YorkHomeZions Bank StadiumLost, 21–47
March 23Houston SaberCatsAwayConstellation FieldLost, 27–29
March 30Toronto ArrowsHomeZions Bank StadiumLost, 31–64
April 5Seattle SeawolvesHomeZions Bank StadiumLost, 36–48
April 13New Orleans GoldAwayGold StadiumLost, 19–28
April 20Rugby United New YorkAwayMCU ParkLost, 22–24
April 27Austin EliteHomeZions Bank StadiumWon, 35–19
May 4Glendale RaptorsAwayInfinity ParkLost, 22–64
May 12Toronto ArrowsAwayYork StadiumLost, 21–28
May 18San Diego LegionHomeZions Bank StadiumLost, 21–31
May 26Seattle SeawolvesAwayStarfire SportsDraw, 27–27
June 1Houston SaberCatsHomeZions Bank StadiumLost, 27–31

2020 season

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] It was cancelled the following week.[9]

Regular season
DateOpponentHome/AwayResult
February 9Rugby ATLAwayLost, 19–28
February 15New England Free JacksHomeWon, 39–33
February 22Austin GilgronisAwayDraw, 20–20
February 29Colorado RaptorsAwayLost, 14–22
March 7Seattle SeawolvesAwayWon, 33–31
March 13New Orleans GoldHomeCancelled
March 27San Diego LegionHomeCancelled
April 4Toronto ArrowsAwayCancelled
April 11Houston SaberCatsAwayCancelled
April 18Austin GilgronisHomeCancelled
April 25Seattle SeawolvesHomeCancelled
May 3Old Glory DCAwayCancelled
May 8Colorado RaptorsHomeCancelled
May 16Rugby United New YorkHomeCancelled
May 25San Diego LegionAwayCancelled
May 30Houston SaberCatsHomeCancelled

See also

References
  1. "MLR Notes: Utah announces name, Seattle picks venue". This is American Rugby. 2017-09-25. Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  2. "Utah Warriors Announce Home Venue for the Major League Rugby Season". Utah Warriors. 2018-01-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  3. "Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid". Real Monarchs. May 24, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  4. "Utah Warriors". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  5. "Utah adds seven players to senior training squad". Americas Rugby News. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. "Utah Warriors Names Alf Daniels Head Coach". djcoilrugby. 2017-10-18. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
  7. "Utah Warriors announce resignation of head coach Chris Latham". OurSports Central. January 14, 2021.
  8. "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS". www.majorleague.rugby. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  9. "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
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