As Utah Warriors open first playoffs since 2018, Mikey Te'o is just hitting his stride

HERRIMAN — Mikey Te'o could've given up the dream at that moment, and nobody would've blamed him.

The year was 2018 and the 25-year-old fullback from Long Beach, California, was playing for San Diego Legion in the inaugural season of Major League Rugby. In the Legion's very first match, Te'o collided with Austin fullback Sione Fangaiuiha as he went to kick a ball and heard the all-too-familiar for many athletes "pop" from his lower extremities.

The Legion went on to win the match, but tests later confirmed the worst for Te'o: a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and 6-9 painful, grueling months of rehabilitation.

"It was just a long process," Te'o told MLR at the time. "It was very tough."

A long-time rugby sevens player, Te'o was one of the rising stars of the new American rugby league. He had recently broken into the USA Eagles national team just two years prior and was well on his way toward stardom in a sport to which his father introduced him at a USA Sevens match in San Diego in 2009.

Now, he was broken, a knee injury and months of rehab away from doing what we loved.

And he finished it off perfectly. Te'o put in the work, returned to the Legion in time for the 2019 season, and went on to score 40 points in 15 appearances for the side.

Then came 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the league's shutdown after only a handful of games. Te'o was without a club, without a league (at least, temporarily), and forced his way into a contract with London Scottish in the Scottish Rugby Union.

That league, too, shut down in February 2021.

So almost on a whim, Te'o returned stateside. He signed a contract with the Utah Warriors in November 2020, and the rest is history. In his first season with the Herriman-based club, Te'o led the Warriors to new heights, a second-place performance in the Western Conference, tied for the second-best regular season in the league, and their first berth in the four-team championship series playoffs since 2018.

"I signed with Utah, and since the first day I've been here, it's been a blessing," the 5-foot-9 fullback told KSL.com. "The Lord has blessed my wife and I, we have a baby on the way, and we're just so excited to be here and excited for the future."

The Warriors (10-6) will open the playoffs Sunday against the top-seeded LA Giltinis (12-4). Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.

The winner of Sunday's match will face Rugby ATL in the MLR championship Sunday, Aug. 1.

And though Utah is coming off a wild 34-29 win over the Giltinis in the regular season-finale at Zions Bank Stadium, this weekend's rematch will be completely different.

"It's really difficult to play the same opponents multiple weeks in a row," Warriors interim head coach Shawn Pittman said. "They know what we're trying to accomplish and what combinations are going to be difficult for them to defend.

"We tried to play our cards close to the chest as much as possible last week and not give away anything for this matchup, so we should still be able to execute our game plan at a high level, despite back-to-back matches against this same Giltinis squad."

One thing the Warriors found was a dominance in the scrum, an effort that overpowered the Giltinis — or at the very least, their second-choice players.

"In our set piece, we pride ourselves on it," said Warriors breakout homer Sama Malolo, who ended the season with two tries in back-to-back weeks. "We do a lot of work on it in training. Next week, that's going to be the real challenge. We really have to lock down the scrum and the maul."

The Giltinis didn't travel eight starters to the final match of the regular season, having already clinched the No. 1 seed. LA had nothing to play for, many argued, and were just looking toward the future.

The Warriors felt the exact opposite.

An MLR original club, Utah was finally at full strength after sending off Te'o, fellow U.S. internationals Michael Baska, Paul Mullen and former BYU All-American Calvin Whiting from the latest Eagles test match.

And they had a message to send to the expansion Giltinis — a message that, for all intents, was written on the backs of those returning internationals.

"The energy that they bring is second to none," said Warriors captain Bailey Wilson, a Lone Peak graduate from Sydney, Australia, and former flanker at Utah Valley. "They're in that position for a reason, and it definitely shows on the field, in training, in meetings. They're all-around great guys, not just great rugby players."

Of all the returnees, Te'o played a key role. Baska is the team's starting scrum half, and Whiting gives Utah much-needed experience at center. But Te'o is the consummate edge defender, and there are few like him in Major League Rugby.

"Mikey is such a good general," Malolo said. "He really helps us a lot on the edge defense, and helped us get this result (against LA)."

After the way the Utah rugby community embraced Te'o and his wife, he'd love nothing more than to bring a trophy back to his new home — even if it comes at the expense of his hometown Los Angeles.

"One of the stripes on our jersey is community, and having 4,500 people come out to join us in this environment is a blessing," Te'o said. "It's something we want to take advantage of. This is all for them — they get to see someone who is paid to play a sport they love, and we're enjoying it, too.

"Maybe we can inspire them to chase their dreams. If I can do it, maybe they can do it. You've just got to believe and work hard."

How to watch: MLR Western Conference championship

Utah Warriors at LA Giltinis

When: 4 p.m. MT

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV: CBS Sports Network

Streaming: CBS Sports

Radio: ESPN 700

Related topics