'Best supporters in the nation': What's next for the Utah Warriors after 5-11 season?

HERRIMAN — With every pass, spin and turn upfield, the Utah Warriors had a group of fans on baited breathe.

So it should come as no surprise that when the Warriors wrapped up their fifth season in franchise history with a 33-5 road win over the expansion Dallas Jackals late Saturday afternoon, a crowd of a couple dozen patrons at Redemption bar and grill in Herriman collectively gasped, whooped and cheered on every move over 1,200 miles away.

The season was hardly idyllic for Utah, which finished the season at just 5-11 and the second-worst record in the seven-member Western Conference of Major League Rugby. But through it all, there was one thing the Warriors always knew they could count on.

The fans.

"The support has been unreal," said Danny Christensen, the Olympus High product who started at scrum half and scored three tries against the Jackals. "I think we were something like 2-9 at one point, and still almost selling out our stadium. We still have far and away the most fans in Major League Rugby. We are so grateful for the fans; they make all the difference in the world. Zions Bank Stadium is one of the most difficult places to play, predominantly because of those fans.

"We couldn't be more grateful for the guys who are so loyal."

Christensen's hat trick is only the third in team history — all in the last two years, including two against the Jackals, who finished winless in their inaugural campaign (0-16). It came as the former University of Utah standout who spent three years on the Warriors' practice squad before being pressed into competition was coming off a lengthy run off the bench.

But on Saturday, Christensen started in place of standout scrum halves Niall Saunders and Zion Going, and the 32-year-old former Highland rugby youth player made the most of his minutes.

"Honestly, it was a dream come true," Christensen said. "I'm a lucky guy. My teammates set me up, I got these cheeky little five-meter off-load tries. But No. 9s get those sometimes; I'm just lucky I got three of them today."

It was as if Christensen could feel the fans chanting for him, either the handful inside Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas, or back home via television broadcasts, livestreams and watch parties across the Wasatch Front.

And maybe, in some ways, he did, because the Warriors have noticed their fans all year — even when they struggled, losing as many as six games in a row during a stretch that included a winless month of April.

Still, the fans kept coming. The club's 3,608 fans counted during the March 5 against the Jackals currently ranks as the highest-selling match of the season in a league where attendance figures aren't always reported.

The numbers don't compare to established sports like the NFL, NBA or even college football in Utah. But neither does rugby, whose popularity in the United States is only just beginning with less than a decade before the country will host the Rugby World Cup in 2031.

If nothing else, the Warriors proved through a 5-11 finish — the second-most wins in franchise history, oddly enough for a team that has qualified for the four-team playoffs twice in its history — that the support for rugby in the Salt Lake area is real.

"Our fans have been unreal. We've got the best supporters in the nation, seriously," said Warriors flanker Bailey Wilson, an Australia native who played at Lone Peak and Utah Valley University. "They've stuck by us through thick and thin, when times have been good, and when they've been bad.

"I'm just really grateful for them and the support they've shown. Warrior Nation has shown every single week, no matter the result. They always have our backs. I can't say enough for how grateful I am, and for their support this season."

Meanwhile, down the stretch, the Warriors gave their fans plenty to cheer on. They won three of their final five games, including a 22-8 victory over then-league leading Austin with two losses by a combined 11 points.

There's plenty to build on for next season. Of course, that's if the momentum of the past month carries over a full year into what would be the 11-team Major League Rugby's sixth season.

The first step is to find a new coach after last year's MLR Coach of the Year Shawn Pittman was fired midseason. Then, the work begins on the roster — who stays, and who else comes in?

"A lot of it depends on how many boys are back next year," Christensen said. "We understand, this is a professional sport; some people will get contracts, some won't get contracts. But if a lot of our core guys come back, then we can absolutely build on this momentum. I think that this season has been funky for a lot of reasons, but if we get a lot of the boys back, I think this momentum builds."

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