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HERRIMAN — The start was most of what they wanted, but the ending left plenty to be desired for the Utah Warriors' rugby club.
The club's home opener in Week 2 of the Warriors' sixth season showed promise but also provided plenty of film to review under first-year manager Greg Cooper.
Former BYU fullback Paul Lasike scored a try and set up another, and the Warriors raced to a 21-10 halftime lead before holding off the Dallas Jackals 33-25 on Saturday afternoon at Zions Bank Stadium.
"I think for three quarters we put on a good performance," said Lasike, who recently returned to Utah after a career in England's Premiership with Harlequins. "We had a couple of dropped balls and just mistakes on our part, but I thought we played the way we wanted to play. ... That last quarter got a bit away from us, but it was good to get the win."
Lasike made plenty of plays, including a circus shot-style pass to set up a try by Bailey Wilson in the first half.
"He gave us some incredible go; I thought he was unstoppable," Cooper said of Lasike. "He carried well, he defended well, and I think when we took him off, the reserves that came on played really well. There was a good momentum shift when they came on. ... But again, we just let them back into the game."
Lasike opened the scoring in the seventh minute and finished off a wide-open try from scrum half Connor McLeod to put the Warriors up 7-0. After Dallas pulled one back, Caleb Makene and Bailey Wilson scored back-to-back tries to help Utah to a 21-5 lead before the 30th minute.
First try in Zions Bank Stadium for 2023 🤩#ForTheNation#UTAHvsDALpic.twitter.com/0nbMlbOjHk
— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) February 25, 2023
That included Wilson's try, which was assisted by Mika Kruse and set up by Lasike's no-look left-handed toss back that bumped over a defender's head inside the five-meter line to help set up the 17-point advantage.
"We were motivated, but we kept dropping the ball — almost like everyone was too excited," Lasike said. "We had momentum, and then we'd drop it. That kind of happened throughout the game; and then in the second half, they kept clawing their way back into it. We need to work on that this week, just keeping our foot on the pedal and carrying on for the full 80."
Still, there was plenty of work to do — beginning with a second half that almost got away from the home side.
Joe Mano added a try in the second half, and Zion Going gave the Warriors a 33-15 advantage in the 63rd minute. But Dallas came back and scored two tries inside the final 15 minutes for the final margin.
"We looked really promising at times, but I think we spilled the ball 5-6 times in really good attacking opportunities," Cooper said. "We've got to be a bit more ruthless than that. … If we don't put them away, then we'll let teams back into the game. And I think we let them back into the game."
Joel Hodgson converted three 2-point conversion kicks for the Warriors (1-1, 5 points).
Eric Naposki scored a pair of late tries, and the Jackals (0-2, 1 point) went 0-for-5 on 2-point conversion kicks to send the home crowd away happy and the team with 5 points in the standings.
Scoring tries and lefty hook passes aside, that was Lasike's favorite part of the day.
"I loved it. It was really good to have the fans and family and friends here," he said. "It's just a beautiful place; Utah is a beautiful place, so it's good to be back."
The Warriors hit the road again for back-to-back trips at Chicago and New Orleans before returning home on March 25 against Toronto.
