HERRIMAN — First in the Western Conference of Major League Rugby and with a playoff berth already secured, the Utah Warriors had everything to play for Saturday night at Zions Bank Stadium.
At one point, visiting RFC Los Angeles nearly took it all away.
But the Warriors took it back.
Joel Hodgson notched a match-high 18 points, Liam Coltman scored two tries, and D’Angelo Leuila converted a key second-half penalty goal as the Utah Warriors clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in the West with a 48-33 win over RFC Los Angeles at Zions Bank Stadium.
“This result here is a reflection of the hard work that went in July and August of last year,” said Utah coach Greg Cooper, whose team was fifth in the West with a 5-11 record a year ago. “It’s pleasing, and a good position to be in.”
In celebrating the retirement of former BYU and NFL fullback Paul Lasike — the Warriors’ first-ever player signing when the franchise launched with MLR eight years ago — as well as the 50th cap of scrum half Zion Going, Utah (11-5, 58 points) did something it had never done in franchise history: earn the No. 1 seed in the postseason, with a franchise-record 11 wins
The club broke a three-year playoff drought with last week’s 31-10 win over Anthem Rugby Carolina. That 2021 playoff group finished second in the West with a 10-6 record, which was tied for the highest postseason seed in club history.
So there was still plenty on the line against LA (8-1-7, 51 points).
“We’ve got a really good connection,” Cooper said of this year’s squad. “It’s a demanding season, and we’ve had a demanding schedule. But we’ve fought really hard, and we might have a few wee moments throughout the season — but that’s a tough season.
“Ultimately, where you end up on the scoreboard is where you end up in the game, and where you end up on the championship is where you end up. And we ended up No. 1.”
The league’s leading try scorer wasted little time putting the home side in front when Joey Mano dotted down his 14th try of the season in the ninth minute.
Coltman scored his first try off a maul six minutes later, and Jordan Trainor gave the Warriors a 21-0 lead before the 20th minute.
After Los Angeles responded with back-to-back tries by Reece MacDonald and Christian Lealiifano, Utah responded again.
Coltman finished off his second try of the first half in the 32nd minute, and Hodgson returned from the locker room following an injury check to score in open space and give the Warriors a 35-12 halftime advantage.
But Los Angeles came back in the second half. And, boy, did they.
The visitors outscored the Warriors 14-3 to open the second half, and Seth Purdey dotted one down in the 67th minute that would’ve pulled the Angelenos within a single possession.
But video review overturned the try on a held-up penalty, and Leuila converted a monstrous penalty goal from close to the halfway line seven minutes later to help Utah pull away for good.
“We knew that was a crucial moment,” said Leuila, who was brought in during an offseason overhaul to help turn the program around. “But there was no pressure; I’ve done it so many times in my rugby career, I think it just came second nature to me. I can’t say I didn’t have some nerves when I kicked it, but I’m glad it went over.”
Major League Rugby will announce dates and kickoff times for next week’s playoff opening round after Sunday’s matches.
But Utah will open the playoffs either Saturday or Sunday, and they’re guaranteed to do so at home in the single-elimination tournament that runs through June 28 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island.
“I believe that we’ve got the best fans out here, especially at our home games,” Leuila said. “I know they’re supporting us when we’re away as well. But the fans have been great this season, and it’s a credit to them.
“It’s so nice to give the crowd a performance they can be proud of and cheer for.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
