Utah Warriors to host Major League Rugby's west final after holding off Seattle 23-21

HERRIMAN — The ending left more to be desired, but the first-ever home playoff game in Utah Warriors history finished with a burst, a boom, and a celebration unlike anything the eighth-year franchise has experienced on home turf at Zions Bank Stadium.

Jordan Trainor scored a pair of tries and D'Angelo Leuila converted two critical second-half penalty kicks as the Utah Warriors held off the Seattle Seawolves 23-21 in front of more than 4,000 fans.

The host fans left happy Saturday night — if not without some nerves.

"We've got the best fans in the comp," Trainor said. "To have them come out for us and to get a win for them, to put on a show for them, we're stoke for them. ... Having those home fans is like another player out there."

Lauina Futi scored two tries for Seattle, but it was Trainor's brace — and a crowd that included everybody's favorite Uncle Phil, actor Ty Burrell, and Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson — that launched the top-seeded Warriors to a 17-0 halftime advantage.

"We were happy with the first half," Trainor said. "I think we just stuck to our game plan and our systems, and came away real happy in the second half. ... But we knew Seattle was going to stay in it, which they did. We're just happy to get a win and move on to next week."

Warriors coach Greg Cooper credited Trainor for sparking the first-half flash — as well as Kyle Brown, the 22-year-old New Zealand center who returned from a nearly two-month injury to start at outside center and spark the offense.

It was Brown's offload pass that set up Trainor's first try, and the youngster played a critical role in each of Utah's three first-half scoring plays that also included Joel Hodgson's penalty-goal conversions.

"We're really lucky to have JT; our back three is really solid," Cooper said. "And it was a tremendous performance from Kyle Brown. We gave him 40 minutes because that's all we thought we'd get out of him today; and I thought it was an outstanding 40 minutes."

The Warriors also held up another try to close the first half, which — when considering the final score — proved crucial, both mathematically and in momentum.

After a penalty try to open the second half, Futi dotted it down twice between the 58th and 71st minute to pull the Seawolves within 2 points.

But it was a pair of penalty kicks from Leuila — including one from distance in the 66th minute — as well as an illegal lineout by Seattle in the final minutes of the match that helped Utah advance to next week's conference championship.

"I thought our defense was outstanding today," said Cooper, who (somewhat cheekily) admitted his side hasn't played a complete game yet. "We came under a lot of pressure, but I thought our first-half defense was superb. We didn't chase rucks, we had chased rucks, and we put ourselves under pressure.

"Some of our attack was outstanding. But we probably left 3-4 tries out there."

The Warriors will host the winner of Sunday's match between Houston and Los Angeles next Saturday, June 21, at Zions Bank Stadium.

The winner will advance to face the Eastern Conference champion June 28 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island.

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