Utah built: Warriors' second-half resilience stuns Seattle for 4th straight win

HERRIMAN — It might be time for clubs around Major League Rugby to take the Utah Warriors seriously.

Flyhalf Joel Hodgson helped pace a 13-0 second-half run with a pair of crucial conversion kicks as the Utah Warriors pulled away from the Seattle Seawolves 41-35 for their league-best fourth consecutive win Saturday night at Zions Bank Stadium.

"I think we're just slowly finding our groove, finding what the Utah brand of rugby is," Hodgson said. "It's a lot of heart, a lot of determination, and this team's always been about attack. It always has had that bit of flair about them. … But I think, now, we're backing that up with defense week in and week out. Our big men and our forwards are putting in some unbelievably big shots. They say championships are won by defense, and the Utah defense is certainly going the right way to start pushing for that."

Utah forced a turnover just over a minute into the match, and Thomas Tu'avao secured it for a try underneath the post to give the hosts a 7-0 lead before most fans had found their seats — a fast start that proved crucial toward securing the final result.

"That start was really important to us," Warriors coach Greg Cooper said, "because, obviously, this has been the No. 1 team in the conference until last week. We knew it was going to be tough, and we did enough to come home strong, and enough to win."

The Seawolves (6-2, 29 points) scored back-to-back tries to take a 14-7 lead on Duncan Matthews' try in the 22nd minute. But every time Seattle came back, the Warriors refused to fold.

Mika Kruse scored a try five minutes later, dotting it down in the corner before Hodgson's conversion kick from the right wing tied it up at 14-14, and Hodgson converted an automatic seven for a 21-14 halftime advantage.

Ina Futi opened the second half with a try to knot the match at 21-21, but Joe Mano dotted it down in the corner to put Utah ahead 28-21 in the 48th minute with his eighth try of the season.

"I keep using the word heart, and that's really important," Cooper said. "Utah built is about the courage of the past, the fight, the sacrifice — and we believe in that. It's important that we not only talk about 'Utah built,' but that we demonstrate it, too."

Conner Mooneyham's third try of the season kept Seattle in the track meet at high altitude with a try in the 50th minute. But Cliven Loubser took a pass from Kruse to score a try following a penalty conversion by Hodgson, and Lance Williams' dived over the try line to cap a 13-0 run for a 41-28 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.

The Seawolves pulled one back in the final moments, clinching a bonus point for scoring four or more tries and another for losing by 7 points or fewer.

That extra bonus point kept Seattle just ahead of the fourth-place Warriors (6-2, 27 points), but the win also keeps Utah — who improved to an unbeaten 4-0 at home — within 4 points of Houston at the top of the table.

In a league that prioritizes points as much as the win-loss record in the league standings, those key bonus points can be crucial — or crucially missed for a club like the Warriors. But for a club that was just 5-11 a year ago and sixth in the Western Conference, bonus points can be considered a luxury amid the turnaround of a first-year head coach from New Zealand brought in from Japan.

"We defended unbelievably well with 13 men, and then we gave a few soft tries away," Cooper said. "It's just little things that we know we can fix up.

"It's great to get our own bonus point out of these guys; this is the best offensive team in the competition," he added. "We clearly were able to score many tries against them. … I'm really proud of them. They played courageous rugby, attacking rugby, and I think it's really good for the game of rugby."

The Warriors hit the road next Saturday, April 22 to face Old Glory DC at 1 p.m. MDT on KMYU and The Rugby Network. The club returns home May 6 against the San Diego Legion.

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