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After a barrage of new signings, the Utah Warriors have confirmed seven returning forwards for the 2020 Major League Rugby season and two additional recruits from the college ranks. USA internationals John Cullen and Matt Jensen headline the announcement, with dynamic flanker Lance Williams also set to continue at Zions Bank Stadium.
It’s an about-face for Cullen, 29, who quietly announced that he was stepping away from the game at the end of 2019. Primarily a second row at international level, he has featured more in the back row for the Warriors. This past season he started 11 games, mostly at No8, and acted as vice-captain.
Jensen hasn’t featured for the Eagles since the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship but has been one of MLR’s best locks across its two seasons. In 2019, the 27-year-old played every possible minute for Utah, one of only two players across the league and the only forward. At 6’7″ (2.01m) he is an intimidating lineout presence.
The steady progress of Williams in his two seasons will not have gone unnoticed by Eagles selectors. Now 26 years old, the former Hawaiian gridiron standout could push for international honors with another step up. He started all 16 games and scored four tries for the Warriors in 2019 while switching between blindside and openside flank.
Fan-favorite Saia Uhila will also return for a third campaign. The Tongan-born second row lined up next to Jensen in every match this past season, his body held together by huge wads of tape. At 32 he still has some gas left in the tank but should see a reduced workload in 2020 with the signings of Jurie van Vuuren and Richard Stanford.
Openside specialist Ara Elkington is back again after starting a dozen matches for the team in 2019. Approaching his 28th birthday, the Hamilton, New Zealand, native has been a workhorse around the breakdown for Utah but with greater depth in the squad faces competition for a starting role in 2020 with Williams eyeing the full-time No7 role.
On the blindside there is a welcome return for Jackson Kaka. His first two seasons have been heavily disrupted by injury, but the 27-year-old will be looking to bounce back into the national conversation having represented the USA Select XV in 2017. Kaka might also be considered at No8 with former All Black regular Adam Thomson also in the back row mix.
Three more players have been added to the front row stocks. The first is a returning player of sorts. Loosehead prop Frikkie de Beer, 28, joined late in the season from the Chicago Lions and made just two appearances off the bench. The South African is US-qualified on residency and will be hoping to show more of what he can do in 2020.
New recruits are hooker Ricky Tu’ihalangingie and prop Michael Payne, 26 and 25 years old respectively. Both have local connections having played for BYU. Tu’ihalangingie has been a utility reserve for the Cougars, also covering loosehead on occasion. Payne was the starting No3 for the past two seasons.
