Game Preview: Utah Warriors face Houston Sabercats at home

Herriman, Utah — The Utah Warriors will face the Houston SaberCats at home this weekend. The Saturday match in Zions Bank Stadium will kick off at 7:00 p.m. MDT and will be the first time the two teams have met since the 2019 Major League Rugby (MLR) season. Both of their 2020 MLR season matches were canceled due to COVID-19.

Both the Warriors and the SaberCats head into this weekend with a 2-3 record for this season so far. Despite both teams being 2-3 in the Western Conference, the Warriors currently sit in third place (fifth place in the MLR overall) for the conference and the SaberCats at fifth (tenth place in the MLR overall). Their standings are on account of the Warriors’ six bonus points on the season to the Sabercats’ two bonus points.

“We’re really looking forward to Houston and the challenges they present on the field,” said Utah Warriors head coach Shawn Pittman. “We’ve focused hard on a couple key areas that will make a positive impact on the field this weekend.”

Utah will be looking to improve their play this weekend and to get a win at home after losing three straight games by eight cumulative points. Utah Warriors assistant coach Shaun Davies said the players are excited to return to Utah for tomorrow’s match.

“As a group, the boys are extremely excited to go after another home game after a few disappointing weeks,” Davies said. “Houston has found some form recently and will be a good test for us.”

Overall, the Warriors, who in previous seasons have been known as a first-half team, have shown their ability to close out games strong. The Warriors have topped the MLR in points scored and aggregate points scored-allowed in the final 20-minutes of the game through the first four weeks. 

Despite their proven closing abilities this season, the Warriors are looking to tighten up their performance over the full 80-minutes of play to increase their chances of coming away with a win this weekend. 

“We’ve been playing some really good rugby for about 67-minutes throughout the games,” Davis said. “However, it’s that 13-minute patch that is hurting us. If we can stay engaged, play our rugby and limit the turnovers, we’ll put ourselves in a really good place.”

Davies called out the scrum-half position as a key matchup to watch for, with Utah’s Michael Baska and Houston’s Nick Boyer starting. He also called out former Utah Warriors flyhalf Robbie Povey as a strong performer for the SaberCats.

“Houston has some strong performers, in the likes of Sam Windsor, Robbie Povey and Nick Boyer,” Davies said. “I’m especially excited to see the matchup between Boyer and Baska at nine. Both scrum-halves are playing some fast-paced exciting rugby.”

UTAH WARRIORS VS. HOUSTON SABERCATS

Date: April 24, 2021

Time: 7:00 p.m. MDT

Where: Zions Bank Stadium (Herriman, UT)

Broadcast: KSLSports.com, KSL TV App, The Rugby Network (Internationally)

Radio: ESPN 700 and ESPN 960

Utah Warriors Gameday Roster:

1. Ollie Kalifi
2. Ratu Vugakoto
3. Angus MacLellan
4. Aston Fortuin
5. Matt Jensen
6. Thomas Tu’avao
7. Bailey Wilson (C)
8. Jurie Van Vuren
9. Michael Baska
10. Hagen Schulte
11. Joe Mano
12. Calvin Whiting
13. Tyler Fisher
14. Mika Kruse
15. Mikey Te’o (VC)
16. Chad Gough
17. Alex Tucci
18. Paul Mullen
19. Mike Gieselman
20. Saia ‘Uhila
21. Danny Christensen
22. Derek Ellingson
23. James Vaifale