Utah Warriors excited about first home playoff game

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HERRIMAN, Utah (ABC4 Sports) - The Major League Rugby playoffs are coming to Utah for the very first time.

The Warriors will host the Seattle Seawolves Saturday night at Zions Bank Stadium in the team's first ever home playoff game.

From missing out on the playoffs entirely the last three years, to now being the #1 seed in the Western Conference, it's been quite a turnaround for the Warriors this year.

"I think the boys came together really quickly as a team, especially off the field," said Warriors fullback Jordan Trainor. "All the boys are close, and I think that's what's helped us pull that off field chemistry onto the field, and it's going to see the results from there."

"It started in preseason," said center Paul Lasike, a former BYU running back. "It's been a whole 18 weeks of rugby. The preseason was tough, and we just built from there. We started out with a couple of really good games and then we've been slowly trying to build throughout the season."

After an 11-5 regular season, the Warriors earned the most points of any team in MLR with 58. They'll have to step up the intensity even more, as they are now three wins away from their first Major League Rugby championship.

"Playoff rugby is pretty intense," said head coach Greg Cooper. "This is one that can go either way. We've got the home field advantage, we've got the crowd who are fantastic, so we're confident we can win this game."

The Warriors have played Seattle twice this year with Utah winning in Seattle by just three points while the Seawolves beat the Warriors in Utah by just four. So they're expecting another tight game on Saturday.

"I think it'll be a really close game," said Trainor. "They bring a real good intensity with their forwards and backs, so we have to be switched on if we want to come away with a win."

"It's an intense game, it's a knockout game," Cooper said. "But we can't change the way we prepare. We just got to do it better than we've done before."

Warriors fans have showed up all season long, and it should be another electric environment as they get to watch the first playoff game ever at Zions Banks Stadium.

"It's going to be unreal," said Utah's Bailey Wilson. "Our fans have stuck with us through thick and thin, even in the seasons that we've lost games. So, it's about time that we reward them with with a home playoff game."

"They are fantastic," Cooper said about the fans. "I've been around the world and around a lot of crowds. This is as good as it gets. They help us so much, and we're going to need that again this week."

A win over Seattle, and Utah would host the conference championship game next week against either Los Angeles or Houston.

"It would be massive if we can do it," Lasike said. "Hopefully we'll get the job done this weekend and then we'll bring the fans a Western Conference finals."

Utah and Seattle will kick off at 8:00 p.m. Saturday at Zions Banks Stadium. Tickets can be purchased here.