Utah Warriors Look To Bounce Back Against The Free Jacks.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Round 2 of Major League Rugby happens this weekend from Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas as part of the MLR Weekend. The Utah Warriors will look to bounce back against MLR debutants, the New England Free Jacks, after falling to Rugby ATL in last weekend’s season opener.

The Free Jacks will attempt to keep the momentum going after grabbing a convincing win last weekend against Rugby United New York.

Warriors’ head coach, Chris Latham is looking forward to the challenge of bouncing back after a tough loss.

“As a group we are really looking forward to this weekend we feel we let ourselves down in particular the last 20 minutes,” Latham explained in regards to last weekend’s loss. “This week we have really focused on making sure as individuals and as a team we stay focused on our executing our roles and our responsibilities within the team.”

After having a week to iron out play on both sides of the ball, and analyzing film, Coach Latham is confident that his team will understand their roles and responsibilities going into week 2.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the response from our guys both physically and mentally within the game,” Latham said in response to training this week. “If we can improve those things, I’m sure will go a long way to get the result they were after.”

The Warriors will need to put up a strategic attack against the Free Jack’s stifling defense as their defense held RUNY to 14 points. The Warriors’ defensive improvements will be critical this week as the Free Jacks found success last weekend with kicks to the corners and a ball swinging ground attack to put 34 points onto the board.

With many positive takeaways from last weekend in the first half, the Warriors will look to build upon those in Las Vegas. This will also be an opportunity for the team to play off of the energy of Warrior Nation for the first time.

MATCH DETAILS

Date: February 15, 2020
Time: 11:30 AM MST
Stadium/City: Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada
Expected Weather: Clear with variable light winds 68°
Viewing/Broadcast Options: KMYU (local), FTFNEXT.com, MLR Facebook Live

Roster

1. Franco Van Den Berg
2. Ratu Veremalua Vugakoto
3. Angus MacLellan
4. John Cullen
5. Matt Jensen
6. Bailey Wilson
7. Thomas Tu’avao
8. Jurie Van Vuuren
9. Dwayne Polataivao (C)
10. Hagen Schulte
11. Fetu’u Vainikolo
12. Blake Hohaia
13. Calvin Whiting
14. Gannon Moore
15. Josh Whippy
16. Ricky Tu’ihalangingie
17. Huluholo Mo’ungaloa
18. Kalolo Tuiloma
19. Puna Vuli
20. Saia ‘Uhila
21. Michael Baska
22. Tyler Fisher
23. Rob Povey