The Utah Warriors were an American professional rugby union team based in Herriman, Utah, that competed in Major League Rugby (MLR). The team was founded in 2010 as the Utah Warriors of the Rugby Super League and re-founded in 2017 by Rugby Utah Ventures. On November 4, 2025, the team announced they had withdrawn from the 2026 Major League Rugby Season and suspended operations.[1]
| Union | USA Rugby | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | |
| Disbanded | 2025 | |
| Ground(s) | Zions Bank Stadium Herriman, Utah (Capacity: 5,000) | |
| CEO | Kimball Kjar | |
| Most caps | Angus MacLellan (106) | |
| Top scorer | Joel Hodgson (329) | |
| Most tries | Joe Mano (39) | |
| League | Major League Rugby | |
| 2025 | Western Conference: 1st Playoffs: Conference runner-up | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| warriorsrugby | ||
Home field
editThe Utah Warriors played 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 shared the venue with Real Monarchs, an MLS Next Pro team affiliated with Real Salt Lake.[3]
Broadcasts
edit2019 home games were shown on KMYU, a CBS affiliate station owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Jarom Jordan and Jonny Linehan were the on-air talent.[citation needed]
Sponsorship
edit| Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | XBlades | Nui Social |
| 2020–2021 | Paladin Sports | None |
| 2022 | Intermountain Healthcare | |
| 2023 | None |
Players and personnel
editHead coaches
edit
Alf Daniels (2018–2019) [4]
Chris Latham (2020)
Shawn Pittman (2021–2022)[5]
Greg Cooper (2022–2025)
Captains
edit- Paul Lasike (2018)
- Tim O'Malley (2019)
- Dwayne Polataivao (2020)
- Bailey Wilson (2021–2025)[6]
Honorary members
edit- Josh Pray (2019–2025)
Records
editSeason standings
edit| Season | Conference | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Pld | W | L | F | A | +/− | Result | |||
| 2018 | - | 4th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 269 | 274 | –5 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 34 | -13 | Lost Semifinal (Glendale Raptors) 21–34 | |
| 2019 | - | 8th | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 381 | 517 | −136 | 9 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
| 2020[a] | Western | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 125 | 134 | -9 | 2 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Cancelled | |
| 2021 | Western | 2nd | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 506 | 464 | +42 | 17 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 17 | -4 | Lost West Conference Final (LA Giltinis) 13-17 | |
| 2022 | Western | 6th | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 424 | 395 | +29 | 6 | 33 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
| 2023 | Western | 4th | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 445 | 421 | +24 | 10 | 50 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
| 2024 | Western | 5th | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 424 | 471 | -47 | 15 | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | - | Did not qualify | |
| 2025 | Western | 1st | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 529 | 443 | +86 | 14 | 58 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 54 | -12 | Won West Conference Eliminator (Seattle Seawolves) 23-21 Lost West Conference Final (Houston SaberCats) 33-19 | |
| Totals | 109 | 48 | 3 | 58 | 3,079 | 3,119 | -40 | 83 | 288 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 105 | -29 | 3 postseason appearances | |||
Notes
edit- ↑ 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Honors
edit2018 season
edit| 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
editExhibition
edit| 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
edit| 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
editOn March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] It was cancelled the following week.[8]
Regular season
edit| 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 | Cancelled |
| March 27 | San Diego Legion | Home | Cancelled |
| April 4 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Cancelled |
| April 11 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Cancelled |
| April 18 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Cancelled |
| April 25 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Cancelled |
| May 3 | Old Glory DC | Away | Cancelled |
| May 8 | Colorado Raptors | Home | Cancelled |
| May 16 | Rugby United New York | Home | Cancelled |
| May 25 | San Diego Legion | Away | Cancelled |
| May 30 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Cancelled |
2021 season
editRegular season
edit| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 20 | Austin Gilgronis | Away | Won, 30–28 |
| March 27 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Won, 39–24 |
| April 3 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 21–22 |
| April 10 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Lost, 15–20 |
| April 17 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost 29-31 |
| April 24 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Won, 50-43 |
| May 8 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 34-33 |
| May 15 | LA Giltinis | Away | Lost, 27-38 |
| May 22 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Lost, 29-24 |
| May 29 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Won, 45-24 |
| June 6 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Won, 29-28 |
| June 12 | San Diego Legion | Home | Won, 45-41 |
| June 19 | Rugby United New York | Away | Won, 29-28 |
| June 26 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 24-5 |
| July 10 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 31-41 |
| July 17 | LA Giltinis | Home | Won, 34-29 |
Post season
edit| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 25 | LA Giltinis | Away | Lost, 13-17 |
2022 season
editRegular season
edit| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 6 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 31-29 |
| February 10 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 17-20 |
| February 19 | Austin Gilgronis | Away | Lost, 10-24 |
| March 5 | Dallas Jackals | Home | Won, 69-22 |
| March 13 | LA Giltinis | Away | Won, 28-19 |
| March 19 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Lost, 24-27 |
| March 26 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Lost, 12-28 |
| April 1 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 25-40 |
| April 15 | Old Glory DC | Away | Lost, 21-22 |
| April 23 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Lost, 14-20 |
| April 30 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 17-33 |
| May 7 | Rugby ATL | Home | Won, 44-26 |
| May 14 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Lost, 27-31 |
| May 21 | Austin Gilgronis | Home | Won, 22-8 |
| May 28 | LA Giltinis | Home | Lost, 32-39 |
| June 4 | Dallas Jackals | Away | Won, 33-5 |
2023 season
editRegular season
edit| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 19 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 17-33 |
| February 25 | Dallas Jackals | Home | Won, 33-25 |
| March 5 | Chicago Hounds | Away | Won, 14-10 |
| March 18 | NOLA Gold | Away | Lost, 37-14 |
See also
edit- Utah Warriors (Rugby Super League) – defunct rugby union team of the same name that played nationally in the United States in 2011.
References
edit- ↑ "Utah Warriors withdraw with Major League Rugby ahead of 2026 season, suspend operations".
- ↑ "Utah Warriors Announce Home Venue for the Major League Rugby Season". Utah Warriors. 2018-01-25. Archived from the original on 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
- ↑ "Zions Bank Real Academy new home for Real Salt Lake development pyramid". Real Monarchs. May 24, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Utah Warriors Names Alf Daniels Head Coach". djcoilrugby. 2017-10-18. Archived from the original on 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
- ↑ "Utah Warriors announce resignation of head coach Chris Latham". OurSports Central. January 14, 2021.
- ↑ "Warriors Hand Captaincy to Former USA U20 Captain & Vice-Captaincy to Veteran Eagle". Utah Warriors Rugby. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ↑ "MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS". www.majorleague.rugby. March 12, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ↑ "Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign". Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.