Utah Warriors & Ontario Arrows

The Utah Warriors will face the Ontario Arrows on Friday, April 6 at 7 pm MT at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. The Utah Warriors set domestic rugby attendance records with a crowd of 9,186, in their opening pre-season loss to the Glendale Raptors.

The Ontario Arrows opened their season on March 3 with a 28-28 draw against the Houston SaberCats and then lost on March 17 to Rugby United New York 36-19. The Arrows are playing a 2018 schedule against Major League Rugby opponents and against Boston Mystic Rugby, who is a possible future MLR team.

For those wanting to attend the match, tickets are still available. For those who can not attend the match, it will be broadcast live on YouTube on Utah Warriors TV.

Utah Warriors

Head Coach Alf Daniels wants to provide his entire squad with early pre-season playing experience. As such, he has made ten changes and two positional changes from last week’s match against the Glendale Raptors.

Forwards changes include Alex Tucci moving from loosehead to tighthead prop, Maika Hafoka at loosehead prop and Peni Pahulu at hooker. Matt Jensen retains his starting position at lock, while co-captain Saia ‘Uhila moves from No. 8 to lock. Kenny Scott and Wineeka Elkington are the flankers and Lance Williams, the No.8.

In the backs, Don Pati gains a start at scrumhalf and will pair with last week’s starter Jared Whippy at flyhalf. The centers include co-captain Paul Lasike, who will pair with Tongan international, Paki Afu. The back three include wings Fetu’u Vanikola and AJ Tu’ineau, while Alekisa Kalougata is at fullback.

Reserves include Ray Forrester at hooker, Angus Maclellan, and John Martinez at prop, and Kory Olsen at lock. Joe Nicholls is a scrumhalf, Josh Whippy a fullback, centers, Havea ‘Unufe and Misitana ‘Afeaki, and former Utah All-American center or fullback, Tonata Lauti.

The Utah Warriors have Eagles Angus Maclellan, Matt Jensen, Jared Whippy, and Paul Lasike on the squad, along with Eagles 7s player Don Pati. In addition, Paki Afu is a Tongan International. The team also has included numerous players who have excelled playing rugby in Utah, cross-over athletes, and some with rugby league experience.

Utah Warriors: 1 Maika Hafoka 2 Peni Pahulu 3 Alex Tucci 4 Matt Jensen 5 Saia “Uhila (CC) 6 Kenny Scott 7 Win Elkington 8 Lance Williams 9 Don Pati 10 Jared Whippy 11 Fetu’u Vanikolo 12 Paul Lasike (CC) 13 Paki Afu 14 AJ Tu’ineau 15 Alekisa Kalougata 16 Ray Forrester 17 Angus Maclellan 18 John Martinez 19 Kory Olsen 20 Ben Nicholls 21 Josh Whippy 22 Havea Unufe 23 Tonata Lauti 24 Misitana ‘Afeaki + Head Coach Alf Daniels

Ontario Arrows

Ontario Arrows Head Coach Chris Silverthorn has made six changes and three positional changes to his team from their March 17 match against Rugby United New York.

The forwards have seven of the eight starters who played to a draw against the Houston SaberCats. The front row is a very experienced one with Rob Brouwer, who has 9 caps for Canada, at loosehead prop, AJ Quattrin, a former Canadian U20 player, is at hooker, and Tom Dolezel, with 16 caps for Canada, at tighthead. Captain Mike Sheppard, who has played for Canada A, moves from flanker to lock (his position against the SaberCats) and is paired with Paul Ciulini, who continues at lock. Kolby Francis switches from No. 8 to flanker, as Peter Milazzo continues at flanker. Andrew Wilson, who has 1 cap for Canada is at No. 8. He has been a reserve in the previous two matches.

Canadian international scrum-half Andrew Ferguson to make his 2018 Arrows debut. Ferguson played in the first ever match against the Glendale Merlins on Sept. 9, 2017. He will pair with former Canada U20 player Will Kelly, who also assumes the kicking duties. The centers return Jamie Leveridge and Mitch Richardson to starting roles. The back three include Josh Anderson, who switched from outside center to wing with John Sheridan and Aaron McLelland retaining their positions at wing and fullback, respectively.

The Ontario reserve forwards includes Canada U20 hooker Jack McRogers, props Pat Lynott and Mike Smith, lock Tom Van Horne, and flanker Marcelo Wainwright. Reserve backs include previous starters Alex Gliksten at scrumhalf and Shawn Windsor at both flyhalf and center. Kyle Lagasca rounds out the reserves at wing.

Head Coach Silverthorn indicated that “With three weeks in between matches, all our guys have been really eager to get back out on the pitch. We know Utah will provide us with a great test, and this match will give us a good sense of how we’ve improved throughout this spring season. We’re incredibly excited to play in a facility like Rio Tinto Stadium in front of some pretty raucous fans. The atmosphere will be outstanding, and it should bring out the best in our guys.”

Five squad members are full Canadian internationals: Brouwer (9 caps), Ciulini (6 caps), Dolezel (16 caps), Ferguson (9 caps), Wilson (1 cap). Seven squad members are Canada Under-20 program grads: Ciulini (2015), Ferguson (2011, 2012), Kelly (2017), McRogers (2017), Milazzo (2016), Quattrin (2016), Richardson (2016).

The game can be streamed live on the Arrows’ Facebook page and viewed on tape delay on GameTV (full national carriage, check local listings) on Saturday, Apr. 7 at 11 a.m. EDT / 9 a.m. MDT / 8 a.m. PDT.

Ontario Arrows Release

“The Ontario Arrows will make their first appearance on media platforms when they face Major League Rugby side Utah Warriors at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT on Friday, Apr. 6.”

“The game can be streamed live on the Warriors’ YouTube channel on Friday night at 9 p.m. EDT / 7 p.m. MDT / 6 p.m. PDT, and viewed on tape delay on GameTV (full national carriage, check local listings) on Saturday, Apr. 7 at 11 a.m. EDT / 9 a.m. MDT / 8 a.m. PDT.”

“We are absolutely delighted to be able to showcase our team and our brand to fans across Canada,” said Arrows co-founder Bill Webb. “With the Utah match coming a week ahead of our home opener against Rugby United New York on Apr. 14, this will build momentum for us to make our home debut a great game-day experience.”

“The Arrows opened their 2018 schedule with a 28-28 draw against MLR side Houston Sabercats in Texas, then dropped a 36-19 decision in New York on Mar. 17. The Arrows will feature a more settled side for their upcoming clash against Utah.”

“We had a very good mini-camp last week and have refocused,” said Arrows GM Mark Winokur. “We will be making some adjustments and are very excited about playing Utah in their state-of-the-art Salt Lake City facility.”

“Following their road match against Utah, the Arrows will resume their six-match spring season on Saturday, Apr. 14 (4:30 p.m. kickoff), when Ontario hosts Rugby United New York. The Arrows’ home opener will be played at York Lions Stadium.”

Tickets to Ontario’s home opener can be purchased at a discounted rate online, as well as at the gate on match day.”

Utah Warriors vs. Glendale Raptors Recap – March 30, 2018

The Utah Warriors jumped out to an early 5-0 lead following a penalty on John Quill and a linebreak by Josh Whippy with offloads to Jared Whippy and Joe Nicholls, with the later grounding the ball for a try.

The Glendale Raptors then applied sustained pressure on the Warriors for the next five minutes as Shaun Davies was held up in-goal. Angus Maclellan was also sent to the bin with a front row substitution of Maika Hafoka entering in the 5th minute. A few minutes later, Ara Elkington also left the match after an injury and was replaced by his brother Win.

The Glendale Raptors took the lead in the 18th minute as Mika Kruse evaded tacklers down the wide channel and dotted down with Will Magie converted to lead 7-5.

Discipline issues continued to impact the first half, as Kory Olsen was sent to the bin. Glendale capitalized on the Utah Warriors being down a man, with Harley Davidson finding a gap, offloading to Max De Achaval to John Ryberg for a try. Magie again converted extending the lead to 14-5.

The Utah Warriors had an opportunity to narrow the lead after a Casey Rock penalty for not rolling away, but Jared Whippy’s kick was wide left. Shortly later, Jackson Kaka also was replaced by Lance Williams at flanker.

The Glendale Raptors added a third try before the break by John Quill, with Magie extending the lead to 21-5. The Utah Warriors came right back with Lance Williams making an impact with a try. Jared Whippy continued his kicking woes with a difficult miss and the Utah Warriors were within striking distance of the Raptors at 21-10.

In the second half, De Achaval went blind off the breakdown for a try and after Magie’s conversion, the score was 28-10. De Achaval would add another try and Magie continued to be perfect on the night with his foot, increasing the lead to 35-10.

The Utah Warriors then struck back with a Josh Anderson try in the corner to narrow the lead to 35-15. Will Magie would add a try and the 6th conversion to make the final, 42-15 in favor of the Glendale Raptors.

With the win, the Glendale Raptors moved their pre-season record to 2-0 and travel to New York Athletic Club on Saturday, April 7 for a 3 pm ET match at Travers Island. NYAC was in the USA Rugby Division 1 Club Finals last year and played the Houston SaberCats earlier this year, losing by a point. Sixteen members of the NYAC team are playing for Rugby United New York, with 12 players having had a starting role.