Update: Lance was named to the USA Eagles Sevens Team for the HSBC World Sevens Series in Dubai and Cape Town which took place in December 2022.
The Utah Warriors re-signed Lance Williams for the 2023 Major League Rugby season. The 29-year-old back-row (30 in February) is 6’2″ and 230 lbs.
Lance played in all 16 matches, starting 15, for the Utah Warriors in 2022 and has 55 caps for the Warriors. He also played in the Rugbytown 7s and in the Premier Rugby Sevens in 2022.
Lance played 924 minutes in 14 starts, scoring 3 tries, for the Utah Warriors in 2021. Lance played rugby sevens for the Denver 7s at the 2021 Rugbytown Sevens, as well as for the Loggerheads during the inaugural professional Premier Rugby Sevens in Memphis, Tennessee on October 9. He also played for the Warriors Selects in the Fall.
Lance suffered a season-ending injury during the truncated 2020 MLR season. He also played with the Warriors Selects during their Fall 2020 season.
Lance has been a key contributor for the Warriors since 2018. In 2019 he played 1195 minutes, starting in all 16 matches. He scored 4 tries, made 154 carries for 843 meters, made 212 tackles, and had 27 lineout takes with 1 steal. In 2018 he played 568 minutes, scoring one try, and starting 8 of the 9 matches he played.
Following the 2019 season, Lance played with the Park City Haggis at the USA Club 7s Nationals and for the Denver 7s team at the Rugbytown 7s.
Lance was born in Hawaii and his family moved to Samoa and then back to Kalihi, Hawaii when he was 12. He was a multi-sport athlete at Wallace Rider Farrington High School, graduating in 2011. He then went to the University of Hawaii where he played linebacker in football and he became the captain and all-time leading tackler.
Lance played rugby league in the 2016 Ohana Cup for the Hawaii Chiefs. He joined the Utah Warriors in 2017 and has played with the team since then.
Lance works as a special needs preschool teacher, loves working with young children, and spends his evenings training youth athletes at Laione Fitness Gym. Lance is also multilingual, speaking English, Samoan, and Māori languages.
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