WARRIORS THRILLER ENDS IN LEAGUE FIRST DRAW – A TALE OF TWO HALVES

(Salt Lake City, Utah) – The Utah Warriors made history tonight by being host to the first match in the nascent Major League Rugby to end in a draw, 26-26. The Warriors came out blazing on a night that saw temperatures drop below 32 degrees. By the 42’ minute, Utah had opened up a 16-0 lead over Glendale and took that into halftime, looking very much in control. Gannon Moore scored a try early in the second half and Glendale matched within minutes for their first try of the game. Gannon scored again in the 57’ minute to take the score to 26-5. However, the Raptors took over the final 20 minutes of the match scoring 21 unanswered points which led to the final score of 26-26.

This marks the first draw for the Utah Warriors and Major League Rugby. The Warriors move to (1-1-1) on the season and the Raptors move to (1-2-1). Two points are awarded for ties in Major League Rugby. The Warriors are currently seventh in the league point standings with six and the Raptors are at fifth place with ten total points.

“This was a tale of two halves” said Warriors Head Coach Alf Daniels. “We had an almost perfect first half, however Glendale made the right adjustments and we did not. This was a great match if you love rugby, but not the outcome we wanted. We will turn our focus to New Orleans this week. Our fans were amazing, we are proud of how many showed up in this weather, it’s a message of the passion for rugby here.”

The Warriors were led by the Rockwell Man of the Match, Gannon Moore who scored two tries and was demonstrative on both sides of the ball. Ara Elkington scored a try and team captain Tim O’Malley started the scoring for the Warriors with three penalty kicks and an extra point in the first half.

Final attendance for the match was 2,139.

The Warriors take on New Orleans on Saturday, March 2nd at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah starting at 7:00pm. Tickets are available online and the match can be viewed on KMYU, ESPN+, and Facebook Watch.

Play by Play

12:13. T. O’Malley Penalty Kick – 3-0 (UTAH)

15:53 T. O’Malley Penalty Kick- 6-0 (UTAH)

20:40 A. Elkington try  (Utah) 11-0

22:00 T. O’Malley Conversion (UTAH) – 13-0

35:12 T.O’Malley Penalty Kick (UTAH) – 16-0

41:48 Gannon Moore try (UTAH) –  21-0

47:29 Harley Davidson try(GLENDALE) 21-5

57:10 Gannon Moore try (UTAH) 26-5

60:40 John Ryberg try (GLENDALE) 26-12

67:00 Chad Gough try (GLENDALE) 26-19

71:00 John Ryberg try (GLENDALE) 26-26

UTAH WARRIORS 2019 SCHEDULE

Friday, February 1st at Austin (TX) Elite WON 17-9

Sunday, February 17th at San Diego Legion LOST 21-10

Saturday, March 2nd vs. New Orleans Gold DRAW 26-26

Saturday, March 9th vs. New York United 7:00 pm MST @ ZBS

Saturday, March 23rd at Houston Sabercats 6:00 pm MST

Saturday, March 30th vs. Ontario (Canada) Arrows 2:00 pm MST @ ZBS

Friday, April 5th vs. Seattle Seawolves 7:00 pm MST @ ZBS

Saturday, April 13th at New Orleans Gold 1:30 pm MST

*Saturday, April 20th at Rugby United New York 5:30 pm MST

*Saturday, April 27th vs. Austin Elite 6:00 pm MST @ ZBS

Saturday, May 4th at Glendale (Co) Raptors 7:00 pm MST

Sunday, May 12th at Toronto (Canada) Arrows 12:00 pm MST

Saturday, May 18th vs. San Diego Legion 2:00 pm MST @ ZBS

Sunday, May 26th at Seattle Seawolves 6:00 pm MST

*Saturday, June 1st vs. Houston Sabercats 6:00 pm MST @ ZBS

* Broadcast on CBS Sports Network

Saturday, June 8th MLR Semifinals @ TBD

Saturday, July 15th MLR Championship @ TBD