UTAH WARRIORS TO FACE DEFENDING CHAMPS SEATTLE SEAWOLVES

Seattle, Washington – The Utah Warriors head to the pacific northwest this weekend to challenge the two-time defending Major League Rugby (MLR) champs, the Seattle Seawolves at Starfire Stadium for a Saturday 7pm MT kickoff.

The Warriors look to get back on track after a 22-14 late-game surge wasn’t enough to top the Colorado Raptors last weekend. The Warriors’ defense continues to show improvement in spurts as they were able to hold the Raptors to 8 points in the first half.

Ensuring that defensive effort is sustained for a full 80 minutes seems to be the next step for the team, and will be key for this season as results across the league have shown that teams are not shy about putting points onto the board.

One key difference in training this week for the Warriors? The full roster is now available with the arrival of Vatemo(Pat) Ravouvou, and this has head coach Chris Latham optimistic.

“Our exciting 7’s star Vatemo Ravouvou arriving last week, allows us to start him this week at fullback,” Latham stated. “With all our signings on deck, we are now able to create a competition within the squad which should see us creating a healthy, competitive environment.”

Ravouvou is most notably recognized as one of the Fiji 7’s standouts and earned multiple victories on the HSBC 7’s Series’ circuit. He also earned a gold medal for Fiji in the 2016 Summer Olympics when Rugby 7’s made its Olympic debut.

The team to face the Seawolves has Josh Whippy returning at wing which will move Tyler Fisher to outside center. John Cullen will return to starting lock, moving Puna Vuli to reserves. Cullen will also assume the role of captain with Dwayne Polataivao on reserve this week.Michael Baska will mix things up by running as starting scrum-half. “This gives Baska a well earned reward for great performances,” explained Latham.

The Seawolves have had a slow start to their season with a record of 1-3. They will face the Warriors with momentum after earning their first win of the season last weekend against the New England Free Jacks, 29-44.

For more information on the Warriors and Major League Rugby visit www.WarriorsRugby.com. Be sure to buy your home opener tickets for March 13th at www.WarriorsRugby.com/tickets/.

UTAH WARRIORS TO FACE SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1. Franco Van Den Berg
2. Ratu Veremalua Vugakoto
3. Angus MacLellan
4. John Cullen (C)
5. Matt Jensen
6. Bailey Wilson
7. Arawa Elkington
8. Jurie Van Vuuren
9. Michael Baska
10. Robbie Povey
11. Josh Whippy
12. Calvin Whiting
13. Tyler Fisher
14. Gannon Moore (VC)
15. Vatemo Ravouvou

RESERVES
16. Sama Malolo
17. Huluholo Moungaloa
18. Kalolo Tuiloma
19. Saia Uhila
20. Puna Vuli
21. Dwayne Polataivao
22. Dom Toluono
23. Jared Whippy

MATCH: UTAH WARRIORS vs. SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
Date: March 7th, 2020
Time: 7:00 PM  MST
Stadium/City: Starfire Stadium, Seattle, WA
Expected Weather: Showers 46°
Viewing/Broadcast Options: KMYU (local), ESPN+, MLR Facebook Live (International)