Utah Warriors Travel To Tame The Hounds in Chicago - Game 1 Preview

HERRIMAN — The Utah Warriors 2025 Major League Rugby season begins this Sunday afternoon when they travel to take on the Chicago Hounds.

‍

For longtime fans of the team, they’ll be introduced to an overhauled roster that will present at least 10 new faces to a lineup in hopes of showing forth more competitive play. It’s no secret that the Warriors have failed to reach the postseason for three straight seasons, which necessitated a pretty dramatic overhaul of the roster in the mind of Warriors Coach Greg Cooper.

‍

“A lot has gone on during the offseason and it had to,” Cooper said. “After last year’s disappointment we had to find solutions on how to move forward…We’ve worked very hard.”

‍

Cooper aimed to bring in players that not only were skilled and who matched the style of play he wanted to set forth, but players that brought strong leadership abilities, and feels he’s done as much. Leading the way in this regard is team captain Gavin Thornbury, who was named as much immediately following Utah’s preseason 49-14 over San Diego.

‍

“He’s a quality person and he’s dominant in his position,” Cooper said of Thornbury, who has vast experience competing professionally on the front line in his native Ireland, but also in England and New Zealand. “To me, that’s really important. The captain needs to be someone who you want to be on the field as much as they possibly can.”

‍

Joining Thornbury are Vice Captains Aki Seauli (New Zealand), Dylan Nel (South Africa) and Jordan Trainor (New Zealand.) Of all  the four captains named, only Nel was part of the team last year, which is unusual with regards to how Cooper usually prefers to operate, but necessary in promoting strong work ethic and complete buy-in.

‍

“Leadership was crucial,” Cooper said. “As you can see we have a totally new leadership group this year. It’s the first time I’ve ever done it…but we decided to bring in a lot of players with leadership experience, get them to understand what Utah Warriors Rugby is all about, and then get them to help other players understand as well.”

‍

Other new faces that fans can expect to provide strong contributions include Blake Makiri (New Zealand), who scored three tries in Utah’s preseason game from his Wing position, Logan Crowley (New Zealand) who will aid the critical Scrum-half position. Another significant newcomer is D’Angelo Leuila (New Zealand), whom coaches hope will take some of the burden off of last year’s standout Joel Hodgson (England) at the Fly-half spot.

‍

That’s not to say the Warriors will completely or even mostly rely on new faces this season. The aforementioned Hodgson will be looked on to reprise his central role along with returners like Joe Mano, Bailey Wilson, Paul Lasike and Saia ‘Uhila, among several others.

‍

For Cooper, retaining a strong local presence is important and is proud of the Warriors including more local players on their roster than any other team in Major League Rugby.

‍

“We’re a local team that includes international players. That’s how we look at it,” Cooper said.

‍

TAKING ON THE HOUNDS

‍

While Utah will take the pitch for the first time in official play this Sunday, it will already be a week behind the MLR competition, which includes a Chicago Hounds team that defeated the Houston Sabercats 25-22 last week. It was a win that certainly gained Cooper’s attention for several reasons.

‍

“Chicago was very good in round one. To beat Houston in Houston is quite an achievement,” Cooper said. “So we’re obviously expecting a physical battle. They destroyed the Houston lineout and their scrum was very good..and they scored some very outstanding tries when the opportunity presented itself.”

‍

As for his team, Cooper fully understands the challenge of being a week behind schedule.

‍

“We probably drew the short straw by getting the bye in week one,” Cooper said. “A lot of the teams will improve and be better in round two while their round two is our round one, so we’ve had to work pretty hard.”

‍

But Cooper is optimistic despite the challenge presented this week and for the rest of the season —  believing in his complete reconstruction of the roster which coalesced well during the team’s impressive preseason win over the San Diego Legion.

‍

“I like the work ethic I’ve seen in preparation for the season and that’s really what it’s all about,” Cooper said. “If we don’t work hard then we won’t reap the rewards, but I think we’ve worked hard and will continue to do as much.”

‍