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It’s taken eight seasons… but Utah will finally host a Major League Rugby postseason game at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday night. The Warriors finished in top spot overall during the regular season and now face an old rival for a spot in the Western Conference Final. It’s fair to say that this version of the Seattle Seawolves is not as imposing as last year’s side that reached the grand finale, but their win at Herriman just a month ago shows they are still very much in the fight.
| REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS |
11-5-0 (W3) West 1st
8-7-1 (W1) West 4th
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Matt Jensen | Gavin Thornbury |
| 13 | Kyle Brown | Cole Semu |
|
IN | OUT |
| 7 | Devin Short | Siaosi Mahoni |
| 11 | Toni Pulu | Lauina Futi |
| 12 | Eddie Fouché | Dan Kriel |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Seiuli, Leuila (Samoa), Coltman (New Zealand), Jensen, Wilson, Mano, MacLellan, Lasike (USA), Jones, Benn (Canada), Vugakoto (Fiji)
(12) – Kotze, Mackail (Canada), Zeiss (Argentina), Noa, Iona (Samoa), Hattingh, Smith, Wenglewski, Mahoni, Boyer, Futi (USA), Rossouw (Namibia)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Gavin Thornbury (LO)
– Rhyno Herbst (LO), Dan Kriel (CE), Mika Kruse (CE/WI)
| PREDICTION |
The Seawolves have proven themselves in Herriman already this season, and conditions look to be favorite for running rugby. Working against their favor is the loss of second row Rhyno Herbst to suspension and midfield stalwart Dan Kriel to injury. The Warriors meanwhile will have to front up again with regular skipper Gavin Thornbury, though in Matt Jensen they have a very capable replacement. They also feature a fully-fit backline for the first time in weeks, and can bring on D’Angelo Leuila and Paul Lasike as high impact subs. Utah are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Aki Seiuli (capt.), 2 Liam Coltman, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Lance Williams, 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Zion Going, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Kyle Brown, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Tuvere Vugakoto, 17 Emerson Prior, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Reid Davis, 20 Kalisi Moli, 21 Logan Crowley, 22 Paul Lasike, 23 D’Angelo Leuila
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 5 Olajuwon Noa, 6 Charles Elton, 7 Devin Short, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Toni Pulu, 12 Eddie Fouché, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Jade Stighling, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Jesse Mackail, 17 Chance Wenglewski, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Pago Haini, 22 Nick Boyer, 23 Lauina Futi
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, June 14
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 20:00 local (19:00 Pacific, 22:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 81F (27°C), wind W 5-7mph (8-11km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fox 13 Seattle, KJZZ, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia)
Assistants: Mike Lawrenson (USA) & Alex Nunnally (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (14) – Seattle 9, Utah 4, Draw 1
2025-05-12 – Utah Warriors 24, Seattle Seawolves 28 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2025-03-22 – Seattle Seawolves 27, Utah Warriors 30 (Starfire Stadium)
2024-06-09 – Seattle Seawolves 68, Utah Warriors 29 (Starfire Stadium)
2024-03-16 – Utah Warriors 13, Seattle Seawolves 23 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2023-06-04 – Seattle Seawolves 27, Utah Warriors 20 (Starfire Stadium)
2023-04-15 – Utah Warriors 41, Seattle Seawolves 35 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2022-04-23 – Utah Warriors 14, Seattle Seawolves 20 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2022-02-10 – Seattle Seawolves 20, Utah Warriors 17 (Starfire Stadium)
2021-06-06 – Seattle Seawolves 28, Utah Warriors 29 (Starfire Stadium)
2021-04-10 – Utah Warriors 15, Seattle Seawolves 20 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2020-03-07 – Seattle Seawolves 31, Utah Warriors 33 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-05-26 – Seattle Seawolves 27, Utah Warriors 27 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-04-05 – Utah Warriors 36, Seattle Seawolves 48 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2018-05-21 – Seattle Seawolves 41, Utah Warriors 32 (Starfire Stadium)
