The Utah Warriors are set to take the field this Saturday following their second bye week of the 2025 season, and will do as much with a lot of necessary optimism. The Warriors are off to a positive 4-2 record on the season as they travel to take on a formidable RFC Los Angeles team.
RFCLA (4-3) are fresh off of an impressive 24-22 win over the Houston Sabercats, the same Houston team which dealt Utah a 37-17 loss earlier in the season.
“They’re on a roll and they’re a very good side,” said Warriors Coach Greg Cooper. “They’ve had very good wins against both Houston and Seattle, so we know this is going to be a big challenge for us. We’ve been very good on the road this season, so far, and hopefully we can continue that this week.”
Indeed Utah has scored impressive road wins this season versus Chicago, Miami and Seattle, leading to a lot of confidence heading into Saturday night’s game.
The Warriors will also come off of the bye week with an exciting and familiar name added to their roster. Lance Williams, who has been a fixture with the team since its founding in 2018 has rejoined the team after sitting out the last two seasons to compete with Team USA Sevens.
“Lance reached out to see if he could join back up with the team and he did as much with the great attitude he’s always shown. So we of course welcome him back,” Cooper said. “He’s been a big part of what Utah has done and we’re excited to have him as part of the team again.”
Although Williams has played a big role in every season he’s been part of the Warriors, he’ll join this year’s team with no expectations.
“He understands that he has to earn his spot, just like everyone else,” Cooper said. “He has no expectations and is willing to put in the work and help us out where he can. I love his attitude and we’re definitely stronger with Lance Williams being part of the team.”
Williams will join a Warriors team that has shown a lot of promise, but still has some issues to fix as they head into the second half of the season. Chief among those issues is working to finish teams off effectively while not allowing adverse moments snowball into allowing unlikely comeback efforts, much like what New England was able to forge in taking a 33-26 win over Utah just prior to the bye week.
“It wasn’t just New England, but we’ve allowed teams like Chicago to come back, although we had enough in that one to still win,” Cooper said. “But we’ve got to be better in stopping teams momentum. We recognize there’s going to be momentum swings, but the key is to turn it around and understand that it doesn’t have to be a sudden thing. That’s a big thing that we’ve addressed over the bye week.”
The good news is it’s not a formidable fix.
“We feel we’ve matched up very well with teams with regards to physicality, structure and most other things, it’s just not allowing those moments that have worked against us,” Cooper said. “But even if we allow those moments, which will happen in rugby, we’ve got to learn to change it back our way.”
Utah also comes back to the field on Saturday in good shape injury-wise.
"The bye week came at a good time because we had some key players banged up who really needed a week off to recover," Cooper said. "So we're feeling good, but we know Los Angeles is a high quality opponent and we'll need to play great rugby to get a win."
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