Warriors win 31-27 to secure a playoff spot in the Inaugural MLR Championship Series

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The Utah Warriors earned their way into the first-ever Major League Rugby Championship Series with a win over the Houston Sabercats by a score of 31-27. The Warriors had a slow first 40 minutes, trailing 17-12 at halftime but came out aggressively in the second half. Alex Tucci scored late in the match to pull the Warriors within 1 and then Tonata Lauti scored the go-ahead and final try.

With the win, the Warriors advance to the semi-finals of the Major League Rugby Championship Series which will be held June 30th in Glendale, Colorado. At the time of this release, the Warriors will most likely face-off against the Seattle Seawolves. However, San Diego plays Glendale tonight and depending on the final outcome of that game, may move the Warriors into fourth place.

“This is the win we needed and although we came out slow, we fought back and controlled our destiny. I am very pleased with our effort and we look forward to the playoffs. We will need to put together our full game to go all the way.” said Head Coach Alf Daniels after the win.

The Warriors have played the last two matches without the leadership of Team Captain Paul Lasike, who has been playing for the USA National Team and Kurt Morath, the team’s leading scorer who is playing for the Tongan National Team. However, both players will be back in action for the playoffs.

Tonata Lauti had a standout game, scoring two tries – the first and the last try of the game. Lauti is currently the league-leader in trys on the season with eight.

The announced attendance for today’s match was 4,176.

For tickets and game information about the Mayor League Rugby Championship Series visit: www.majorleague.rugby