The Utah Warriors host the Houston SaberCats in a clash of two of Major League Rugby’s founding teams in the 2025 Western Conference Final!

The #1 team in the west during the regular season, the Utah Warriors survived a spirited comeback by the Seattle Seawolves to take a 23-21 victory in their Western Conference Semifinal, securing their first ever postseason victory. The Houston SaberCats, who finished 2nd in the west in the regular season, eventually recorded their first ever playoff victory as well . Emerging as 27-21 victors over a tough Rugby FC LA side after their game was delayed by a day due to inclement weather. That was the 4th playoff game in team history, and finally they manage a win, in front of a home crowd, too.

This is the first time these sides have met in the postseason. They have met 14 times in the past, with the SaberCats holding an 8-6 lead in the head-to-head series. The most recent meeting was a comfortable 40-19 victory for Houston back in Round 14. That was at SaberCats Stadium however. The Houston SaberCats have had the Utah Warrior’s number all season and unfortunately for the hosts, that stayed the case in this game. Almost straight away, the SaberCats were on the front foot. They opened the scoring after only 3 minutes through Andre Warner and the Warriors didn’t seem to have any response. Things got worse as Warriors Fullback Jordan Trainor was helped from the pitch 16 minutes in, but Utah veteran Lance Williams crossed for the Warriors’ first points of the afternoon. Joel Hodgson’s missed conversion meant that the SaberCats still led 5-7, and at this point there was some controversy. Utah looked sure to score another try through Joe Mano, but he was taken out by Houston winger Drake Davis about 5m out. On the replay, it looked like Davis had absolutely no intent to wrap, was upright, and made contact with Mano’s head, which would have been a clear red. However, TMO Derek Summers quickly ruled it a fair tackle, to the surprise of the commentary team and many watching. Following this and with 10 minutes to go until the break, Houston exploded. A score from AJ Alatimu extended their lead to 9, before Tautalatasi Tasi intercepted a Utah ball to go the length and stretch the lead to 16 with a half-time score of 5-21 to the visitors. Was that ‘non-call’ the defining moment of the match?

The 2nd half started similar to how the first ended. AJ Alatimu tried extending the lead with a penalty, but was unsuccessful. The Utah Warriors looked to be finding their rhythm in attack, but out of nowhere Drake Davis (who arguably should not have been on the field) read an interception well and ran the length for the SaberCats’ 2nd interception try of the afternoon. This visibly shattered the Warriors’ confidence, and nothing was going right for them. 10 minutes after Davis’ interception, the Houston forwards got to work and Seth Smith crossed from close range to give  Houston an almost insurmountable 5-33 lead with 15 minutes to play. The Warriors, to their credit, didn’t give up. In the 75th minute, Warrior #1 Paul Lasike smashed through a handful of Houston defenders for his first MLR try since 2023 in his final game of professional rugby, much to the delight of the home crowd. On the final play of the game, the SaberCats’ Marno Redelinghuys received a yellow card and Tu Vugakoto was able to cross for Utah’s 3rd of the game, but it was too little too late. The final score of 19-33 to Houston somewhat flatters a Utah side that were comprehensively beaten.

The Houston SaberCats claim their first ever Western Conference Title, and will face the New England Free Jacks for the 2025 MLR Shield next weekend in Rhode Island!

The Utah Warriors host the first of two Western Conference Semifinals as the 4th seeded Seattle Seawolves come to town!

The top team in the regular season, the Warriors finished with an 11-5 record and 58pts to take the 1st seed in the West. They snap the longest active playoff drought in MLR and are in the post-season for the first time since 2021, hosting for the first time ever. They will be looking for their first playoff victory on their 3rd attempt. The Seattle Seawolves squeaked into their sixth MLR Postseason as the 4th seed with a bonus point win in their last game of the season, beating their rivals the San Diego Legion but a single point. With 6 playoff appearances and 4 finals under hteir belt, the Seattle Seawolves are not to be underestimated, even as the 4th seed.

These teams have met 14 times across the years, but never in the postseason. The Seattle Seawolves hold a 9-4 series lead with 1 tie, and took the most recent meeting by a score of 24-28 back in Round 13.

The Utah Warriors host their Western Conference rivals Rugby FC LA with both teams wrapping up their 2025 regular season’s at Zion’s Bank Stadium. It is a battle of 1st v 2nd in the West, with the winning team taking the lead. With a Utah victory, the Warriors will clinch first place in the Western Conference for the first time, and a RFCLA bonus point victory would give them the 1st place spot and clinch a home semifinal. The Warriors are coming off of a comfortable victory over Anthem RC, while RFCLA are fresh off clinching their first ever playoff spot with a win over Old Glory DC on the road.

These teams have met 3 times in the past, with RFCLA holding a 2-1 series lead. The Warriors took the most recent meeting between these sides however, with a 28-45 victory back in Round 9 and following another high-scoring game, the Utah Warriors even up the all-time series with a 48-33 victory at home to wrap up their 2025 regular season. The Warriors clinch 1st place in the Western Conference with a 11-5 record, and will face either the San Diego Legion or the Seattle Seawolves at home in the Western Conference Semifinal. Rugby FC LA finish with a decent 8-7-1 record, and will face the Houston SaberCats in the WCSFs. They will need to wait until the result of the Houston SaberCats match tomorrow to find out if they will be playing at home, or on the road.

The Utah Warriors host Anthem RC in a cross-conference clash at Zion’s Bank Stadium during Round 15 of the 2025 MLR season!

Long eliminiated from playoff contention, Anthem RC are playing for pride and are still looking for their first ever victory as a franchise. The USA’s rising stars are coming off of a 19-33 home defeat to the Chicago Hounds in which they showed glimpses of promise, but struggle to put it together for longer than 30 minutes. On the other hand, the Utah Warriors are fighting for first place in the Western Conference and are coming off of a nailbiting road win in New Orleans. A victory in this game would guarantee the Warriors their first playoff berth since 2021.These teams have met just the once in the past, with the Utah Warriors taking a big 44-19 victory back in Round 6 of the 2024 season.

It was the Utah Warriors that came out on top in this game as well, with a 5 try bonus point victory and a healthy scoreline of 31-10. Taking the full 5 points, the Utah Warriors become the first team in the Western Conference to secure their place in the 2025 post-season. For Anthem RC, they fall to 0-31 all time and have just one more chance to pick up their first victory in 2025, or record two back-to-back winless seasons.

The Utah Warriors host the Seattle Seawolves in a Monday night Western Conference match-up between the two founding teams. This is the Utah Warriors’ 3rd game in 13 days, and their 2nd mid-week match since Round 12. The Warriors are looking to retake the lead in the Western Conference, and are looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat to Old Glory DC in their 2nd match of Round 12. The Seattle Seawolves are coming off a draw with Rugby FC LA 10 days ago, and are the slightly more rested side. It’s just as well, as they need every win they can get to keep their playoff hunt alive.

These two MLR founding clubs have met 13 times in the past, with the Seattle Seawolves holding a 8-1-4 series lead. The Warriors were a minute away from clawing one back in the head-to-head series, but a last minute score from Rhyno Herbst snatched a Seattle victory from the jaws of defeat. The Seawolves now sit just 2pts back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, while the Warriors stay on top thanks to the 2 bonus points they salvaged in this game.

The Utah Warriors host the San Diego Legion for a Wednesday night clash, the first of two games in Round 12 for both the Warriors, who will travel to face Old Glory DC on May 4th, and the Legion, who will return home to California to host the NOLA Gold, also in 4 days time. The Warriors are flying high after a come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Hounds, and will be looking to assert themselves over their Western Conference rivals, the San Diego Legion. The Legion are looking to build some confidence after snapping a 4 game losing streak and retaining the Cali Cup against Rugby FC LA.

These MLR Founding Members have faced each other 12 times in the past, with the Legion holding a dominant 9-3 lead. The Warriors took the previous meeting though, with a 18-31 road victory just a few weeks ago in Round 10 of the 2025 season.

The Utah Warriors host the Chicago Hounds in a cross-conference clash at Zion’s Bank Stadium! The Hounds are looking to bounce back after a road loss in Seattle with a much-changed roster, while the Utah Warriors are coming off of a comfortable away victory over the San Diego Legion to continue their march up the Western Conference!

These teams have met 4 times in the past, with Utah leading the series 3-1 including the last meeting between these sides, a 31-45 victory in Round 2 of the 2025 season.

The Utah Warriors host the reigning champion New England Free Jacks in a cross conference clash during Round 7 of the 2025 MLR season!

The Warriors are flying high after improving to 4-1 thanks to a 27-30 road victory to celebrate their 100th MLR game, and face a Free Jacks team that is still struggling to find their feet under Head Coach Ryan Martin. New England are coming off of a 28-14 defeat at the hands of their rivals, Old Glory DC. These teams have met 5 times in the past with the Free Jacks holding a 3-2 series lead, which includes the last meeting between these teams, a 37-27 New England victory at home in Round 16 of the 2024 season. The roles are almost completed reversed this time around, will the scoreline do the same?

The Utah Warriors host the Houston SaberCats in a Western Conference Clash at Zion’s Bank Stadium! The Utah Warriors are flying high after a convincing 55-21 victory over the NOLA Gold, and are looking to go 3-0 for the first time in their history. The Houston SaberCats are also coming off a victory, having squeaked past the Seattle Seawolves with a 24-21 win, and sit at 2-1. These two MLR founding teams have met 12 times prior to this game, and split the series 6-6 heading into this game. Their last meeting saw the SaberCats walk away with a 24-29 victory, also at Zion’s Bank.

This is the 100th MLR game played by the Houston SaberCats, and they celebrated by showing the rest of the league that the Utah Warriors are mortal after all, with a convincing 17-37 victory on the road to claim a bonus point victory over a Utah side that were flying high!

The NOLA Gold visit Zion’s Bank for the Utah Warriors’ 2025 Home Opener. The Gold are looking to bounce back after a tough loss in Miami, while Utah are coming off a great win up in Chicago!

These teams have met 6 times, and the Utah Warriors have never defeated the Gold, currently at 0-6. Their most recent meeting came in Round 12 of 2024, a 21-14 NOLA victory in the Gold Mine.

It looked as thought it would be a hard fought contest judging from the first 20 minutes, with the Gold taking an early lead from the boot of Luke Carty, before the Warriors were awardede a penalty try, and the sides exchanged both tries and yellow cards. The Warriors led 14-11 after 26 minutes, before Liam Coltman dotted down for Utah’s 3rd, and the Warriors took a 21-11 lead to the sheds.

There was a stalemate to begin the 2nd half before Luke Carty added another 3pts to bring the score to 21-14 and shortly after this, the Warriors decided to step on the gas. Scoring twice through Jordan Trainor and Joe Mano’s 2nd of the game, with Joel Hodgson adding the extras both times as well as a penalty to extend the Warriors’ lead to 38-14. The Gold would hit back and grab their 3rd right on the hour mark, but this game was wrapped up as the Utah Warriors comtinued to capitalise on NOLA mistakes, adding 3 more tries including a 3rd for Joe Mano to complete the hat trick in front of a home crowd. It seems that the 7th time is hte charm for the Utah Warriors, who earn their first ever victory over the NOLA Gold, by a convincing score of 55-21.

With 55pts scored to add to their 45pts from their first game, the Utah Warriors have equalled an MLR record for the fastest team to score 100pts, equalling the Austin Gilgronis 100pt effort in their first two games of the 2022 season. Additionally, Joe Mano’s hat trick is the 2nd of his MLR career, becoming just the 4th player in league history to score multiple hat tricks in the competition.