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HERRIMAN — Saturday's Utah Warriors home opener in Herriman will be a little more special for Joel Hodgson.
In addition to the usual crowd of 5,000 fans that will be on hand at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, the British-born rugby union standout from Newcastle, United Kingdom will also be scanning the crowd for a special patron: his father, Steve.
"He just got to town, all the way from the UK. He's going to stay with us for a few weeks," Hodgson said. "He was in Houston , and he's going to be in the stands against Chicago as well.
"He's probably been my biggest supporter through my career," he added. "He got me into rugby, and he's always followed me where ever I go. It means a lot that he would make the trip over, and I think mom's going to follow him soon, as well (next week). It's great having family here."
After a whirlwind of an offseason and a 22-15 loss to the Houston Sabercats in Week 1 of the 2024, the Utah Warriors return to Zions Bank Stadium for the home opener of their sixth season in Major League Rugby.
A lot has changed for second-year coach Greg Cooper's side since the Warriors (0-1, 1 point) were last at home, with several faces departing the club and competition, a few retirements, and new teams in the 12-team MLR.
But one thing hasn't: Utah, which boasted one of the largest week-to-week crowds in the league last year, still has a passionate crowd filling the 5,000-seat stadium at the Real Salt Lake Academy in Herriman as it prepares for a two-match homestand beginning Saturday against the Chicago Hounds (2 p.m. MST, KMYU)
"We pride ourselves in playing at home and in our conditions, so we are looking forward to getting a strong performance against a very good Chicago side on the weekend," Cooper said. "Then obviously we have to back that up against Seattle on the following week."
Here's a look at what has changed since the last time out.
New faces
Utah's roster overwent a small overhaul after finishing last year with a 10-6 record and three points outside the league playoffs.
Several familiar faces return, including former BYU star Paul Lasike and Lone Peak graduate Bailey Wilson, who have been named captains, along with Hodgson, leading scorer Joe Mano, and team fixtures Mika Kruse and Caleb Makenne on the back line, and Zion Going at scrumhalf.
But the squad will look to rely on several newcomers, including preseason standout Jesse Hamilton on the wing and 24-year-old flyhalf Sione Mahe, who grew up in Herriman before attending Snow College in 2021 and playing football and rugby while receiving his associate's degree.
Mahe, who will start in the backfield Saturday, is among a handful of local Utah products that have trickled through the Warriors' developmental pipeline that has the MLR side crafting a veritable "path to pro."
"Sione Mahe is playing his first game, and he's a quality young man and I'm really looking forward to seeing him play in front of his home crowd of friends and family, along with Tomasi (Tonga, Warriors center), one of his good mates," Cooper said. "When I first got here in 2022 and saw the Crossroads Cup and some of the players coming through here, I thought we had a great feeder to this team in the local community. Some of these boys are getting an opportunity this weekend."
New teams, new places
Major League Rugby enlarged to 12 teams ahead of the 2024 season, but not every team from last year is in the same city.
After adding the expansion Miami Sharks to the competition, clubs in Toronto and New York City folded following sudden death in ownership groups, and Rugby ATL in Atlanta moved to Los Angeles as part of another restructuring.
The league also added Anthem Rugby Carolina for the 2024 season, an expansion side built on the foundation of USA Rugby's USA Hawks U-23 developmental side that was based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The new club is a partner of MLR, World Rugby and USA Rugby, predominantly made up of young American players earning their first professional environment.
"The new club is a gamechanger for American rugby and will create new pathways for player development and grassroots participation, building on the outstanding foundation our teams have forged during the past seven years," MLR commissioner Nic Benson said in a statement from the league.
Houston, Dallas, San Diego, Seattle and relocated Rugby FC Los Angeles will join Utah in the six-team western conference, while Carolina will be in the east alongside Chicago, Miami, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and New England. Each team will play 16 matches over 18 weeks,
New broadcast schedule
Fox Sports returns as the official national broadcast partner of the league, with select matches airing on FS1 and FS2. In addition to local matches available on KMYU, Utah will be featured April 21 on FS2 against San Diego, April 26 on FS1 against Old Glory DC, June 16 on FS1 against the New England Freejacks, and June 28 on FS2 against RFC Los Angeles.
Here's a full list of the national broadcast schedule. Local coverage will be provided on KMYU, and streamed online on The Rugby Network.
