Utah Warriors
 | ||
| Union | USA Rugby | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | |
| Ground(s) | Zions Bank Stadium Herriman, Utah | |
| CEO | Kimball Kjar | |
| Coach(es) | Chris Latham (Head) Ben Nicholls (Assistant) Shawn Pittman (Forwards) Shaun Davies (Backs) Sica Glauser (Trainer) Mark Drown (Manager) Brandon Sparks (Director of Rugby Operations) | |
| Top scorer | Tim O'Malley (134) | |
| Most tries | Tonata Lauti (10) | |
| League(s) | Major League Rugby | |
| 2019 | 8th place (regular season) | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| warriorsrugby | ||
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.
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 |
Players and personnel
Current squad
The following players have been reported for Utah for the 2020 season:[4][5]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- Internationally capped players in bold
- MLR teams are allowed to field up to five overseas players per match
* Players qualified to play for United States on dual nationality or residency grounds
Head coaches
- Alf Daniels (2018–2019) [6]
- Chris Latham (2020–)
Captains
- Paul Lasike (2018)
- Tim O'Malley (2019)
- Dwayne Polataivao (2020)
Honorary members
- Josh Pray (2019–present)
Records
Season standings
| Year | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 4th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 269 | 274 | –5 | 10 | 22 | Lost semi-final 21–34 to Glendale Raptors |
| 2019 | 8th | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 381 | 517 | −136 | 9 | 21 | Did not qualify |
Honors
- Major League Rugby
- Playoff appearances: 2018
2018 season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Venue | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 30 | Glendale Raptors° | Home | Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, Utah | Lost, 42–15 |
| April 6 | Ontario Arrows° | Home | Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, Utah | Lost, 24–20 |
| April 20 | Prairie Wolf Pack° | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Herriman, Utah | Won, 80–12 |
| April 29 | San Diego Legion | Away | Torero Stadium | San Diego, California | Lost, 24–31 |
| May 5 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Herriman, Utah | Lost, 29–36 |
| May 11 | Austin Elite | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Herriman, Utah | Won, 41–22 |
| May 20 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Starfire Stadium | Seattle, Washington | Lost, 30–41 |
| May 26 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Dyer Stadium | Houston, Texas | Won, 36–30 |
| June 1 | Austin Elite | Away | Round Rock Multipurpose Complex | Austin, Texas | Lost, 33–41 |
| June 16 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Herriman, Utah | Lost, 43–46 |
| June 23 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Herriman, Utah | Won, 31–27 |
| June 30 | Glendale Raptors°° | Away | Infinity Park | Glendale, Colorado | Lost, 21–34 |
° = Preseason game
°° = Playoff semifinal
Matches won are colored green
2019 season
Exhibition
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 13, 2018 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Infinity Park | Postponed |
| October 20, 2018 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Postponed | |
| January 12, 2019 | Life West | Home | RSL Academy Indoor Field | Won, 25–10 |
| February 9, 2019 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Zions Bank Training Center | Won, 70–15 |
Regular season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1 | Austin Elite | Away | Dell Diamond | Win, 17–9 |
| February 17 | San Diego Legion | Away | Torero Stadium | Lost, 10–21 |
| February 23 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Draw, 26–26 |
| March 2 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 19–21 |
| March 9 | Rugby United New York | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 21–47 |
| March 23 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Constellation Field | Lost, 27–29 |
| March 30 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 31–64 |
| April 5 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 36–48 |
| April 13 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Gold Stadium | Lost, 19–28 |
| April 20 | Rugby United New York | Away | MCU Park | Lost, 22–24 |
| April 27 | Austin Elite | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Won, 35–19 |
| May 4 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Infinity Park | Lost, 22–64 |
| May 12 | Toronto Arrows | Away | York Stadium | Lost, 21–28 |
| May 18 | San Diego Legion | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 21–31 |
| May 26 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Starfire Sports | Draw, 27–27 |
| June 1 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Zions Bank Stadium | Lost, 27–31 |
2020 season
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Regular season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 9 | Rugby ATL | Away | Lost, 19–28 |
| February 15 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Won, 39–33 |
| February 22 | Austin Gilgronis | Away | Draw, 20–20 |
| February 29 | Colorado Raptors | Away | Lost, 14–22 |
| March 7 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Won, 33–31 |
| March 13 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Postponed |
| March 27 | San Diego Legion | Home | Postponed |
| April 4 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Postponed |
| April 11 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Postponed |
| April 18 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | |
| April 25 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | |
| May 3 | Old Glory DC | Away | |
| May 8 | Colorado Raptors | Home | |
| May 16 | Rugby United New York | Home | |
| May 25 | San Diego Legion | Away | |
| May 30 | Houston SaberCats | Home |
See also
- Utah Warriors (Rugby Super League) – defunct rugby union team of the same name that played nationally in the United States in 2011.
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Utah Warriors Announce Home Venue for the Major League Rugby Season". Utah Warriors. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid". Real Monarchs. May 24, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ "2018 Major League Rugby – Utah Warriors". Americas Rugby News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
- ^ "MLR Off-Season Update – December 13, 2018". Americas Rugby News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
- ^ "Utah Warriors Names Alf Daniels Head Coach". djcoilrugby. 2017-10-18. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
- ^ Anonymous, "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS," www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
