Warriors back at home to face DC

HERRIMAN — The Utah Warriors  (3-4) return home this week to take on Old Glory DC (2-3-2) in hopes of building off the momentum gained from their historic win over San Diego last Sunday.

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Last week’s win saw the Warriors show off their potent attack in taking a thrilling 33-32 win for their first ever win on the road against one of Major League Rugby’s premier franchises. While many things went right in the win, Utah Warriors coach Greg Cooper is focused on the few things that went wrong, and has worked ardently this week to fix those issues.

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“We have to look at what we can do better,” Cooper said. “We were in a position to absolutely put (San Diego) away, and we should have put them away…So that’s two weeks in a row where we’ve let teams back in when I clearly believe we were the better team. That’s the learning for us. We need to be a bit more ruthless.”

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Indeed Utah hopes to showcase its potent back line, which is healthy as it’s been all season, with standouts such as Joel Hodgson, Joe Mano, Paul Lasike, Michael Manson, Mika Kruse and Caleb Makene able to play together effectively for the first time this season.

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“I want to give some credit to Brendan O’Meara, our attack coach, because it hasn’t been the easiest start with all the injuries. That’s never been easy,” Cooper said. “I think the preparation for last week paid dividends, and Brendan has done a superb job with the backs and with the attack overall.”

While the Warriors want to unleash their attack in full this week, and improve on the electric play set forth during last week’s win, Friday’s conditions may dictate a more cautious approach. Heavy rains are forecasted throughout the day, causing Cooper to adjust his game plan accordingly.

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“We have a core gameplan, and we’ve definitely discussed what happens if it gets wet. We have a strategy around that,” Cooper said. “You’re slightly more conservative without being ridiculously conservative. We still have to play rugby.”

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It can be a delicate balance, but one that Cooper is confident his team can manage in taking on an Old Glory DC team that possesses certain strengths that could cause problems. Those strengths include a superior ability to tackle and in utilizing a maul, which could prove even more effective than normal in adverse conditions.

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“You respect every team you play and DC — there’s a lot of heart with how they play,” Cooper said. “They’re the biggest mauling team in the competition…so we know they’re going to maul, and we know they work (well) together. So we’re going to have to diffuse the maul and we need to be patient with our attack, because DC isn’t going to go away.”

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Utah will undoubtedly receive a boost from what is traditionally one of the best home field advantages in the MLR, if not the best. After two weeks playing on the road, players and coaches are excited to play in front of a home crowd that they feel lends them a significant advantage, regardless of the weather conditions.

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“We’re proud of our home record and we don’t want to lose another game at home,” Cooper said. “DC is a team that beat us last year, and we hope to turn that around this time.”

UTAH WARRIORS VS OLD GLORY DC: get tickets here.

WHEN: Friday, April 26

TIME: 7 P.M. MST

WHERE: ZIONS BANK STADIUM, Herriman

BROADCAST: FS1

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