Warriors Put on Dominant Performance on the Road to Defeat San Diego Legion

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MLR Utah Warriors

Warriors Put on Dominant Performance on the Road to Defeat San Diego Legion

April 22, 2025 - Major League Rugby (MLR)
Utah Warriors News Release


The Utah Warriors have logged several satisfying wins over the course of the season, with Saturday night's 31-18 win over the San Diego Legion as satisfying as any, all factors considered.

As they've done so often this season, the Warriors set the pace early, overcame rally attempts from the opponent and then ended strong to push their record to 6-2 on the season with 31 points in the standings.

It was probably one of the more satisfying performances, I think, said Warriors Coach Greg Cooper. For me, this was a very desperate San Diego team. They had to win this game.

But despite the urgency shown forth by the Legion, Utah answered every blow dealt, proving solid throughout the match's 80 minutes.

I just like what I'm seeing from this team, Cooper said. We're not worrying about what's going wrong. We just fix things and find solutions, and we're seeing it in the games now. We get good leads, the opposition comes back at us, and then we find solutions to come back at them. So the big satisfying part is that we're finding solutions. We're working together and we're getting the results.

Setting the pace for Utah early was once again Joey Mano, scoring a try in the game's seventh minute courtesy of an offload from D'Angelo Leuila which was set up by an impressive run up the middle from Liam Coltman.

San Diego responded with a penalty kick in the 12th minute before the Warriors scored two straight tries in the 14th and 20th minutes, respectively.

The second try came from Jordan Trainor, who effectively faked an offload to dice through the defense and dot the ball down in the try zone. Six minutes later saw Trainor offload the ball to a streaking Kalisi Moli to give Utah a 19-3 lead midway through the first half.

The Legion came back strong, however, scoring tries in the 24th and 31st minutes to close to just a 19-15 deficit at the break.

But Utah snatched back momentum in a big way during the final 40 minutes, holding San Diego to just a penalty kick to come away with another big win on the road.

I think we're becoming far more capable in finding solutions when things aren't going well, Cooper said.

Coltman started off the scoring in the second half, effectively scoring a try off of a maul in the game's 51st minute to push the lead to 24-15. San Diego kicked through a penalty kick in the 59th minute to close the lead to 24-18 before Zion Going topped off the scoring just two minutes later to increase the lead to 31-18, which proved to be the final.

The game's final ten minutes saw the Legion furiously attempt to rally in order to etch out at least one bonus point, but Utah thwarted every attempt, aided by some effective replacements. Long-time veterans such as Saia 'Uhila and Paul Lasike were inserted late and helped to maintain the Warriors' dominance in preventing San Diego from acquiring a single bonus point.

These guys are really putting their bodies on the line and they're enjoying it, Cooper said. This is an opportunity for those who have been around for a while and have had some great moments and some moments that haven't been so greatIt's an opportunity to put their performance on the field and enjoy something special.

With regards to preventing San Diego from securing a single bonus point, Cooper felt other facets proved even more important.

It's more about them fighting for each other than the actual points themselves, Cooper said. It's a Utah-built attitude about trying to get across the line and we're going to fight like brothers. We're going to fight as one. That's what I saw during the last few minutes.

As mentioned, Utah improved its record to 6-2 on the season with 31 points in the standings with the win. The Warriors will work to continue their strong play on April 26 when they return home to take on the Chicago Hounds.

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