Warriors Take On Giltinis At SoFi Stadium

Herriman, Utah — The Warriors face off against the LA Giltinis this weekend in the first ever sporting event held with fans in attendance at SoFi Stadium, the recently opened $5 billion stadium in Inglewood, California and home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers.

“The guys are super excited to play in such an amazing stadium,” said Warriors Head Coach Shawn Pittman. “SoFi will provide an amazing atmosphere that will only fuel our excitement. LA is a talented team and we need to be sharp this weekend on defense to slow down their attack. The first few phases of Defense are going to be key to our success overall.”

The game will be the first-ever matchup between the Warriors and Giltinis, who are in the midst of their inaugural season as a member of Major League Rugby. Los Angeles and Utah will meet this Saturday as the top two teams in Major League Rugby’s Western Division.

The Giltinis, who fell for the first time this season 18-16 to RUNY last week, own an MLR-best 6-1 record and are led by wing DTH Van Der Merwe, who leads MLR with eight tries scored. Additionally, the Giltinis boast MLR’s top scoring offense with 298 points scored and an impressive 44 tries scored on the season.

“We understand that LA is a good defensive team that loves playing off turnovers, so we will have to balance playing in the right areas and not giving LA the ball in hand they desire,” said Utah Assistant Coach Shaun Davies. “This week playing on a narrower football field, we know we will have to be physical in order to open up any space and once the space opens up we will have to be extremely clinical.”

The Warriors hope they can continue to build on recent success as they enter the weekend on a two-game winning streak. Davies hopes that the team’s most recent win over Old Glory DC can give them the confidence to go to LA and upset the Giltinis.

“With [our win over DC], we now have the confidence to believe that we are a good team and we have the confidence to go to the Giltinis, in an awesome stadium, and let’s be honest we have nothing to lose,” said Davies. “So, we can go there with our confidence from [that] game, move the pole around and see how it goes.”

While Davies acknowledged that playing at a venue like SoFi Stadium is a tremendous experience for the coaches and players, the team needs to focus on the task at hand and not get distracted as they prepare to face MLR’s top team.

“As a group we understand this is going to be a special occasion playing in SoFi stadium but we have to approach it like any other game,” said Davies. “This is a special opportunity for everyone involved and we will have to make sure we enjoy the occasion without letting it get the most of us.”

UTAH WARRIORS VS. OLD GLORY DC
Date: May 15, 2021
Time: 8:00 p.m. MDT
Where: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA)
Broadcast: FS2, The Rugby Network (Internationally)
Radio: ESPN 700 and ESPN 960 AM + Apps

UTAH WARRIORS GAMEDAY ROSTER

1 Franco van den Berg
2 Sama Malolo
3 Paul Mullen
4 Jurie Van Vuuren
5 Aston Fortuin
6 Thomas Tu’avao
7 Bailey Wilson
8 Lance Williams
9 Michael Baska
10 Hagen Schulte
11 James Vaifale
12 Calvin Whiting
13 Mika Kruse
14 Josh Whippy
15 Mikey Te’o
16 Ratu Vugakoto
17 Ollie Kalifi
18 Angus MacLellan
19 Saia ‘Uhila
20 Mike Gieselman
21 Fraser Hurst
22 Derek Elingston
23 Chad Gough

*Gameday roster is subject to change