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The Utah Warriors will have the honor of breaking in the brand new Zions Bank Stadium on Friday evening as they host the Prairie Wolf Pack of the Canadian Rugby Championship. It’s the final warm-up match for the Warriors before they open their Major League Rugby account next weekend at Torero Stadium against the San Diego Legion.
Head coach Alf Daniels is back after a short stint home in New Zealand and he has opted to freshen up the lineup without showing his full hand. Alex Tucci moves back to loosehead prop after having a torrid time as a tighthead against the Ontario Arrows at Rio Tinto and he is joined by first choice pair Lote Tu’ipulotu and Angus MacLellan. Co-captain Saia Uhila slides back to No8 with Lance Williams dropping to the bench and Kory Olsen recalled at lock.
Ben Nicholls replaces Don Pati at scrumhalf with brother Joseph providing cover on the bench. New arrival Kurt Morath will skip this match so Jared Whippy continues at flyhalf and his brother Josh will line up outside Paul Lasike in the midfield. Josh Anderson returns on the right wing and Tonata Lauti will get a run at fullback.
The Wolf Pack had sadly been unable to bring their first choice side, in fact far from it. Five players will be making their debuts for the regional side and another four put on the jersey for the first time last weekend in a closed scrimmage against the Seattle Seawolves.
Riley Fahlman was a standout in last year’s CRC and is joined by Australian recruit James Blanchard in a sizable second row combination. The loose forwards also have a bulky look to them with Connor Gilbert on the blindside and South African import FJ Bronkhorst at No8.
With Nick Blevins, Ben LeSage, and Duncan Maguire all added to the unavailable list this week there is only one Canadian international present in once-capped scrumhalf Jake Robinson. He headlines a back division that includes versatile Irish halfback Ruairi O’Farrell and a handful of CRC veterans.
The Warriors are 0 for 2 so far in their preseason endeavors but that will surely change on Friday. Had the Wolf Pack been able to bring a truly representative side this might have been a compelling match-up but as it is the most likely scenario is a big win for Utah with plenty of tries to entertain those in attendance.
Kick off is set for 7pm local time, 9pm Eastern. UPDATE: A live stream is available on YouTube and Facebook.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Alex Tucci, 2 Lote Tu’ipulotu, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Matt Jensen, 5 Kory Olsen, 6 Kendrick Scott, 7 Wineera Elkington, 8 Saia Uhila (co-capt.), 9 Ben Nicholls, 10 Jared Whippy, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 12 Paul Lasike (capt.), 13 Josh Whippy, 14 Josh Anderson, 15 Tonata Lauti
Replacements: 16 Ray Forrester, 17 Maika Hafoka, 18 Peni Pahulu, 19 Lance Williams, 20 Ara Elkington, 21 Joseph Nicholls, 22 Paki Afu, 23 Vernon Ale, 24 AJ Tu’ineau
PRAIRIE WOLF PACK
1 Gareth Brown, 2 Gabriel Kajdy, 3 Logan Jones, 4 Riley Fahlman, 5 James Blanchard, 6 Connor Gilbert, 7 Kyle Morrison, 8 FJ Bronkhorst, 9 Jake Robinson, 10 Ruairi O’Farrell, 11 Jake Bentley, 12 Derek Arnold, 13 Adam Bontus, 14 Liam O’Hallahan, 15 Evan Thomas
Replacements: 16 Anthony Battistone, 17 Simon Miller, 18 Robert Blunden, 19 Jacob Horton, 20 Mark Discombe, 21 Richard Migneault, 22 Ian Shoults
Date: Friday, April 20
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Broadcasts: YouTube, Facebook
