Warriors sign former BYU All-American and current USA Eagle, Matthew Jensen

Salt Lake City, December 8, 2017: The Utah Warriors announce the signing of former BYU All-American and current USA Eagle Matthew Jensen.

“I’m looking forward to making history by being a part of Major League Rugby,” said Jensen. “This kind of opportunity, with the television exposure and plans for growth, is something we’ve never seen locally. I can’t wait to start training with a talented team and learn from some great coaches. Seeing the turnout at the combine, I think we have the players here to do some big things.”

Jensen is a native of Scranton Pennsylvania but spent time living in Utah and Wyoming. In High School, Jensen was a team Captain for the Pocono Mountain East High Football team and made All-Star teams for both the offensive and defensive line. Jensen also lettered in track and field, specializing in Javelin.

“Matt Jensen is all of that and is still continuing to progress. He’s still got plenty of years ahead of him. Obviously, Matt is great in the set piece, but his work rate around the field is phenomenal”

After High School, Jensen moved back to Utah and played rugby for the first time under Coach Larry Gelwix at Highland. The following year Jensen attended Brigham Young University and was a preferred walk-on for the Cougars Football team. After a two-year service mission in Paraguay Jensen returned to BYU and made the decision to play Rugby over Football.

While playing at BYU, Jensen won two National Championships and made the All-Americans tour to Australia in 2016 where he made his mark as someone to watch. Jensen continued to impressed national selectors and got the call-up to the Eagles squad as a reserve against the NZ Maori All Blacks.

In February 2017 Jensen became Eagle number 506 earning his first cap with the Eagles against Uruguay and has continued to be a part of the Eagles and USA Selects side being capped five times and scoring against Georgia and Chile.

“Young, 6’8” quality locks with international experience are hard to come by,” said Warriors Head Coach, Alf Daniels. “Matt Jensen is all of that and is still continuing to progress. He’s still got plenty of years ahead of him. Obviously, Matt is great in the set piece, but his work rate around the field is phenomenal. He’s one of those players who just keeps going and turns up when you need him to. At the combine, I was impressed with his conditioning and agility. He leads from the front and we expect him to do the same this season.”