Warriors show improvement but still fall to Seattle, 20-14

HERRIMAN — The Utah Warriors dropped their fifth straight game on Saturday with a 20-14 loss to the visiting Seattle Seawolves, although this one felt marginally different than the prior four.

Both coaches and players didn’t express the same frustrations in postgame interviews, and for good reason.

“For the first time, despite the result, I feel we played for 80 minutes and that we played for each other,” said Warrior half scrum Danny Christensen. “It was a really come-together game. Despite the mistakes in execution, we played decent rugby…and caught the vision of what kind of rugby we can play.”

Indeed the game featured tighter execution throughout as the Warriors dictated the play early before incurring a 13-0 deficit early off of two successful Seattle penalty kicks and a try.

But instead of fold up, Utah responded with rookie Connor Burns providing an electrifying run through the Seawolf defense, scoring a try to end the half and cut Seattle’s lead to 13-7.

More of this, please.#ForTheNation pic.twitter.com/2X6JaQoW6M

— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) April 24, 2022

Burns’ effort, on top of efforts from other relatively new players like Emerson Prior and others, was well-noted by their senior teammates.

“We got some of these young guys who are really stepping up and doing some really, really good things,” Christensen said. “It’s super exciting to see things like that…We are quite a bit deeper than some thought.”

The second half saw Utah take the lead in quick order, with Lance Williams successfully crossing the try line in the 42nd minute to give his team a 14-13 lead following the conversion kick from Calvin Whiting.

Seattle took back some momentum from there, but were held short on multiple occasions, most notably when Christensen caused a turnover in the 56th minute just inches away from the Utah try line.

But minutes later the Seawolves did manage to cross the try line and take a 20-14 lead, which proved to be the final.

Losses are never ideal, but considering the strength of the opponent, on top of several other factors, Warriors forwards coach Robbie Abel came away impressed with the effort.

“There was a little improvement, especially in physicality and breakdown,” Abel said. “We’ve been able to implement a few things that we’ve worked on in training. We need to understand the moment (better) and where we’re at, and show a bit more maturity in our game.”

With the loss Utah falls to 2-8 on the season with any hope of postseason play looking extremely grim. But for Abel, the remainder of the season still holds a lot of purpose that the team will work to realize.

“For us, it’s not really about coming out and getting the wins, it’s about the process,” Abel said. “We’re looking to play our best and we’re just going to continue with that — to play our best rugby and we know if we do that the wins will come.”

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏.#ForTheNation pic.twitter.com/pl7VCPjKt2

— Utah Warriors Rugby (@utwarriorsrugby) April 24, 2022

Saturday’s game also marked 50 caps gained by both Williams and Mika Kruse, both of whom earned praise from Abel for their continued efforts.

“They’ve been crucial for us on and off the field. They’ve been massive for us,” Abel said. “So it’s great to see them get (recognized.)”

Next up for Utah will be a game versus the New England Free Jacks (8-1) next Saturday. Seattle (6-5) will head into a bye week before taking on the Austin Gilgronis.

Brandon Gurney is the Utah Warriors Team Reporter. With nearly two decades of experience covering BYU Football in print and on radio, Gurney brings a wealth of experience to the Utah Warriors beat. You can read all of Gurney’s stories on the Utah Warriors throughout the 2022 Season at WarriorsRugby.com