The Utah Warriors added Mike Payne for the 2020 season. The 25-year-old tighthead prop/hooker is 6’0″ and 245 lbs. Mike is from Murrieta, California and attended Murrieta Valley High School. He played football as a defensive end and running back and was also on the track and field team, specializing in the shot put. Mike attended Brigham Young University from 2013-2019 where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Wellness. He played rugby for BYU from 2017-2019. “During 2014 and 2015, he served a two-year service mission to Boise, Idaho for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”…

The Utah Warriors added Dominik Toluono for the 2020 season. The center is 6’1″, 215 lbs. and is from Taylorsville, Utah. Dominik attended Taylorsville High School and played rugby during high school with Lowland Rugby Club, Wasatch Rugby Club and for the Utah Lions Rugby’s 15s and 7s teams. He also played in the Pioneer 7s with Mana Rugby Club in 2015. The Utah Warriors team profile indicated that “his father played club rugby in Western Samoa and in Utah, which inspired Toluono to give it a try his freshman year of high school.” Other ArticlesDJCoil Rugby articles by Doug…

The Utah Warriors added Jaggar Tauvao-Wall for the 2020 season. The 25-year-old flanker is 6’5″ and 248 lbs. Jaggar is from West Valley City, Utah and is on Tongan heritage. He attended Hunter High School and helped the Hunter Rugby team win the state championship during the 2013-2014 season. He went on to play football at Snow College and also played rugby for Park City Haggis and Mana Rugby Club. Other Articles DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.

The Utah Warriors added Danny Christensen for the 2020 season. The scrum-half is 5’9″, 170 lbs. and is from Salt Lake City, Utah. Danny attended Olympus High School and played rugby for the Highland Rugby Club. In 2008, the team won the high school national championship and he was named the MVP. He then attended the University of Utah where he also played rugby and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He was a Collegiate All-American 15s and 7s in 2014 and 2015. According to the Utah Warriors player profile, from 2009-2011, he served a two-year service mission to…

The Utah Warriors added James Vaifale for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The wing/fullback is 6’0″ and 210 lbs. James is from Chandler, Arizona and attended Corona del Sol High School. He played football at Mesa Junior College and then at  Western New Mexico University on a football scholarship where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology. He played rugby with the Tempe Old Devils, played with the Boys High school All-Americans at the Rosslyn National School Sevens and for the USA U20s in the 2014 Hong Kong World Rugby Under 20 Trophy. While with Tempe, the…

The Utah Warriors re-signed Alex Tucci through the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The 28-year-old prop is 6’3″ and 255 lbs. Alex played 175 minutes in 14 matches for the Warriors in 2019. He carried 15 times for 103 meters and made 34 tackles. He is recovering from an injury that has left him unable to play until later in the 2020 MLR season. Alex played football at Colorado State and West Texas A&M as a defensive tackle. Tucci was born in New York City in the Bronx and moved to South Florida as a teen to concentrate on sports…

The Utah Warriors added Sosaia Hynie Leaaetoa or Haini, as he prefers to be called, to the team for 2020. He plays for the Rugby Utah Selects and the 34-year old flanker is 5’11” and 220 lbs. Haini was born in California and raised in Mu’a, Tonga until he was 16. He attended Tonga College, Beulah College, and St. Andrew High School and then Jefferson High School when he moved to Portland, Oregon. While at Jefferson, he won the State High School Championship for the Eastside Monkeys in 2004. He also played football in high school. He went on a…

The Utah Warriors added Sama Malolo for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The 21-year-old hooker is 6’0″ and 245 lbs. Sama is from Auckland, New Zealand and attended Auckland Grammar School before moving to Australia and attending Sydney Boys High School. He also attended the University of Wollongong. Sama played for the Western Force Academy in 2017 and for the Perth Spirit National Rugby Championship side prior to playing Super Rugby with the Melbourne Rebels in 2018. He played for the junior Wallabies in the World U20 Championship In both 2017 and 2018 and then joined Suntory Sungoliath in…