Utah Warriors

background & History

The Utah Warriors are a founding member of Major League Rugby, founded in 2017 by Rugby Utah Ventures with Kimball Kjar as CEO. Rugby Utah Ventures resurrected the name ‘Utah Warriors’ from an early 2010s entity that competed in Rugby Super League and folded in 2012. The Utah Warriors have competed in every season of Major League Rugby to date, 7 seasons in total.

The Utah Warriors struggled during their first seasons in MLR, only winning 7 games and drawing 3 (losing 17) through their first 3 seasons from 2018-2020 despite qualifying for the post-season in their first season in 2018, albeit with a 3-5 record. Since 2020 the Warriors have been an on/off team, recording two 10-6 seasons sandwiching a 5-11 season in 2022. The Warriors have reached the postseason on two occasions (2018, 2021), but have yet to win a Championship Series game in 2 attempts. In 2023, the Warriors recorded their second 10-0-6 season as mentioned above, and ended the regular season with 50pts which was only good enough for 4th in the brutal 2023 Western Conference. Had the Warriors been in the Eastern Conference, a 50pt season would’ve put them in 2nd place and easily through to the playoffs.

The Warriors put an emphasis on player development and home-grown talent and will often draft native Utah players or players from Utah universities. They have a robust pathway system and hosted a number of pathway/combine events every year including the Collegiate Rugby Shield and the Crossroads Cup that served as a talent ID camp prior to the MLR Collegiate Draft each year. this was replaced by MLR Rising ahead of the 2024 draft.

In January 2023, the Utah Warriors announced a partnership with French Top 14 club Stade Toulousain dubbed ‘The Rugby Alliance’. The first big manifestation of this partnership took place in September 2023 when Stade Toulousain faced a non-cap USA Eagles side at America First Field in Sandy, UT. The USA Eagles emerged 24-21 victors. The Warriors would host a game at America First Field themselves in 2024, their final game of that season saw over 10,000 fans attend their game against Rugby FC LA, a 24-31 loss that rounded out a difficult season for the Utah Warriors, struggling to start games on time and regularly finding themselves down by large margins early. The Warriors finished outside a playoffs spot, 5th in the Western Conference with a 5-11 record, just 3pts ahead of LA at the bottom of the West despite some incredible standout players in 2024 such as Frank Lochore, Dylan Nel, and most notably, joint-MLR leading try scorer in 2024, Michael Manson.


Records & Record Holders

All Time

Top Scorer: Joel Hodgson (233pts)
Top Try Scorer: Joe Mano (25)
Top Playoff Scorer: Sama Malolo (7)
Top Tackler: Lance Williams (790)
Top Meter Eater: Caleb Makene (3,329m)
Most Capped Player: Angus MacLellan (92)
Most Starts: Lance Williams (67)

Single Season

Top Scorer: Tim O’Malley (134pts) – 2019
Top Try Scorer: Joe Mano (14) – 2023
Top Tackler: Frank Lochore (221) – 2024
Top Meter Eater: Mikey Te’o (1,518m) – 2021

Historical performance

2018: 3-0-5 (-5) – 22pts: 4th (Semi-Finalist)
2019: 2-2-12 (-136) – 21pts: 8th
2020: 2-1-2 (-9) – 12pts: 2nd in Western Conference
2021: 10-0-6 (+42) – 57pts: 2nd in Western Conference (Conference Runner-Up)
2022: 5-0-11 (+29) – 33pts: 6th in Western Conference
2023: 10-0-6 (+24) – 50pts: 4th in Western Conference
2024: 5-0-11 (-47) – 35pts: 5th in Western Conference

Overall Regular Season Record: 37-3-53
Overall Championship Series Record: 0-2
Championship Series Appearances: 2 (2018, 2021)

head coach & Captain

head coach
captain

logo & Jersey

The Warriors unveiled a unique logo & emblem for the 2022 season, marking the 5th anniversary of the club (see left)

5yr Anniversary Logo
2018-2021, 2023-Present

The Warriors logo has barely changed through the team’s time in Major League Rugby. It depicts the painted face of a warrior in front of a horizontal rugby ball. The Warriors have traditionally played in a black home kit with red accents, and the reverse for their away, occasionally incorporating a white or grey away kit. Every Utah Warriors jersey has featured 4 stripes, representing community, family, tradition, and respect. The Warriors have also honoured the State’s Pacific Islander population, as the Warriors play in white and light blue for the first time.

venue

Unusually for an MLR team, the Utah Warriors have played their home games out of Zions Bank Stadium for their entire history through the 2024 season. Zions Bank Stadium is a 5,000 seater artificial turf Stadium in Herriman, south of Salt Lake City, and also hosts the Collegiate Rugby Shield and Crossroads Cup competitions as mentioned above. They have played a game at America First Field in Sandy, UT, but this was a one-off to accommodate ‘WarriorsFest’, an end-of-season send off in 2024 that saw over 10,000 attend.

Zion’s Bank Stadium

 

Active Warriors Players

All Warriors Players

PlayerPositionGPGSTCPACDGMGTacklesKS/KAPts
AJ Tu’ineauCentre55100002922805
Abe TurpenFlanker00000000000
Aki SeiuliProp00000000000
Alesana PohlaCentre, Wing62000001921700
Alex TucciProp3361000035910405
Alex VorsterHooker200000016000
Angus MacLellanProp9258300001548504015
Ara ElkingtonFlanker252150000854275025
Arthur Bergo104100001796705
Aston FortuinLock161530000465151015
Bailey WilsonFlanker6659700102054660037
Ben Nicholls901500017217515
Blake BurdetteHooker400000015500
Blake HohaiaCentre2210000761805
Blake MakiriWing00000000000
Caleb MakeneFly-half, Fullback444412961033291831598
Calvin WhitingCentre, Fly-half49434271310244051240115
Chad GoughFlanker, Hooker25950000695122025
Cliven LoubserFly-half27198177101905902497
Cole SemuCentre00000000000
Coleson WarnerCentre, Fullback, Wing301000044105
Connor BurnsFullback1172101043524114
Connor McLeodScrum-half16135003030484031
D’Angelo LeuilaCentre, Fly-half00000000000
Danny ChristensenScrum-half1665002029258029
David BeachLock310000050400
Derek EllingsonCentre74000002483400
Dom ToluonoCentre21000007700
Don PatiFullback151450000163652025
Dwayne PolataivaoScrum-half44200009830010
Dylan NelFlanker, Number 8111120000759128010
Elijah HayesProp11000009200
Emerson PriorProp32160000021415000
Fatongia PaeaProp43200001777010
Fetu’u VainikoloWing262290000189671045
Franco van den BergProp6649300001619420015
Frank LochoreFlanker, Lock161650000805221025
Fraser HurstScrum-half113100001411905
Fred ApuluProp00000000000
Frikkie de BeerProp200000025400
Gabe CaseyCentre00000000000
Gabriel Mahu’ingaHooker00000000000
Gannon MooreCentre, Wing151450000132798025
Gavin ThornburyLock00000000000
Hagen SchulteFly-half201822920105317749130
Hank StevensonLock00000000000
Henry BellHooker9920000256140010
Huluholo Mo’ungaloaProp1712000014137010
Ian LucianoScrum-half5300000101300
Iniki Fa’amausili63100001444105
Isaia KruseWing65100003242205
Jackson Kaka63100001456105
James MockeLock5000000321000
James Semple1010100002514205
James VaifaleWing18102000042558010
Jamie LaneLock99000001309500
Jamie LaneLock11110000015210700
Jared WhippyFullback32100001741205
Jeremiah NoaeseFlanker, Number 89100000772300
Jeremy LeberHooker12112000017588010
Jeremy MisailegaluCentre, Wing118100004884705
Jesse HamiltonWing753000026536015
Joe ManoWing383325001028821850127
Joel HodgsonFly-half32315573020138821787233
Joey BackeHooker122000001532900
John CullenLock241930000858177015
John DupreeFlanker, Number 87310000492805
John MartinezProp00000000000
John PowersFullback100000026000
Johnny Ika9940000213104020
Jonah DietenbergerLock400000017700
Jonny LinehanFly-half331800010821821
Jordan TrainorFullback00000000000
Joseph NichollsScrum-half1592000020059010
Josh AndersonWing1664000057935020
Josh ReevesFly-half11111000038312405
Josh WhippyWing282360000153688030
Jurie van VuurenNumber 85143800101636544042
Kalisi MoliNumber 8124000001696700
Kalolo TuilomaProp502000011315010
Kenny ScottFlanker6100000471400
Kieran McCleaScrum-half1695000048275025
Kisa KalougataFullback210000088900
Kory OlsenLock3200000321100
Kurt MorathFly-half66017500118402249
Kyle BrownCentre00000000000
Lance WilliamsFlanker71671800003030790090
Les SoloaiNumber 882100001923405
Liam ColtmanHooker00000000000
Logan CrowleyScrum-half00000000000
Logan DanielsHooker5510000504905
Logan TagoCentre154100005294105
Lopeti AiseaCentre96100003214805
Lote Tu’ipulotuHooker, Prop994000019940020
Louis ConradieLock8300000433500
Maika Hafoka40100001421205
Maikeli NaromaitogaLock300000045800
Maka TameilauProp62000001682300
Mason BarkerFlanker, Number 800000000000
Matt JensenLock5450400101212460022
Metai Tu’imoalaHooker3000000291800
Michael BaskaFullback, Scrum-half, Wing17145001024790027
Michael MansonWing1212140000149145070
Mika KruseCentre, Wing51491800102496233092
Mike GieselmanFlanker264000002259900
Mike PalefauCentre110000017400
Mikey Te’oFullback, Wing32271410302661140178
Niall SaundersScrum-half1073000029530015
Nic BennCentre, Scrum-half, Wing00000000000
Nic SouchonHooker15104000031488020
Noah BainWing11000006200
Nolan TuamoheloaWing82100001112005
Olive KilifiProp391740000669141020
Onehunga HaviliLock2713400001161160020
Paki AfuCentre4010000117805
Papa MatelauFlanker, Number 800000000000
Paul LasikeCentre2924700102117244037
Paul MullenProp57370000061935700
Penalty Try777205000049
Peni PahuluCentre, Prop00000000000
Phil BradfordHooker1233000024356015
Puna VuliLock1780000046110300
Ray ForresterHooker702000013614010
Remsy LemisioProp00000000000
Ricky Tu’ihalangingieHooker200000018100
Robbie PoveyFly-half1250710033241817
Saia ‘UhilaLock8254700102688511037
Sam BuckleyProp00000000000
Sam FaoagaliHooker00000000000
Sam ReimerScrum-half20000000200
Sama MaloloHooker12911002043375059
Siaosi NaiScrum-half00000000000
Siaosi NauerCentre, Wing100000031000
Sione IkaScrum-half55000002482800
Sione LatuFlanker00000000000
Sione MaheFly-half, Fullback3200000901300
Sione Tau’atainaWing10000000400
Spencer JonesCentre2210000581905
Stephan Bernal-WendtProp00000000000
Takaji Young YenProp20000008900
Tamarau McGahanFlanker, Number 800000000000
Taris SchrammFlanker, Number 820000000600
Tesimale NiupulusuProp00000000000
Tevita TameilauNumber 8972000037853010
Thomas Tu’avaoFlanker5843600202369521034
Tielu SagalaCentre, Wing00000000000
Tim O’MalleyFly-half1616238160087714554134
Tino MafiHooker4200000301500
Tom KacorFlanker10000008200
Tomasi TongaCentre1873000060270015
Tonata LautiWing2119100000146871050
Tonga KofeProp6000000841600
Tuvere VugakotoHooker502980020859283044
Tyler FisherCentre4437500002116381025
Tyler WongHooker300000052900
Vatemo RavouvouFullback2100000117200
Vernon AleWing30000005100
Wineera ElkingtonFlanker300000029800
Zak BarkerProp00000000000
Zion GoingScrum-half341640000346157020