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Utah earned a convincing 28-12 victory over Rugby ATL on Saturday night. A Zions Bank Stadium record of 4,560 watched as a last-minute try from Tomasi Tonga earned a vital bonus point to keep the Warriors just ahead of Houston in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The visitors were under pressure immediately as a Joel Hodgson touch-finder put Utah on the doorstep. ATL would hold out initially and cleared to just beyond halfway, but Mika Kruse replied with a 50-22 to keep the Warriors on the front foot. Joe Mano went looking for work on his opposite wing and it paid off as he broke free and stepped the last defender to score the opening try.
Mano took the playmaker’s role on the second. His chip ahead down the left sideline resulted in an attacking scrum. Zion Going attacked the line and dished off to Mano, who in turn offloaded to Hodson on his right for the finish. Caleb Makene added his second conversion and with 18 minutes played it was 14-nil to the home side.
Makene lined up a penalty kick from straight in front of the posts but struck it wide. Ryan Rees then drilled the ball into the corner for a 50-22. Will Leonard found a half-gap with an inside line and then Rees sniped up the middle. The scrumhalf spotted Jack Shaw wide open on the left side and when the ball was recycled a wide pass directly from Rees sent the winger into the corner.
The Warriors caught a break in the second half when a certain try was blown up by the officials. A searing outside break from Rewita Biddle opened up the defense and the fullback flicked a backhanded pass to an on-rushing Martini Talapusi. Before he could ground the ball the play was blown dead as the assistant referee incorrectly ruled that Biddle had stepped into touch before passing the ball.
Not long after a mistake by Rees handed an attacking lineout the Warriors. After a few short phases Calvin Whiting cut through the midfield and outstripped the cover to score. The conversion from Makene made it a three-score game, but ATL found a reply in no time.
Hilsenbeck matched Hodgson’s earlier effort with a superb kick to touch on a penalty that had the Warriors defending their goal line. The forwards hammered away until Justin Basson had the power to breach the wall with Hilsenbeck tacking on the extra two.
That would be as close as ATL would get. The final half-hour was an arm-wrestle with a furious assault from the visitors stymied by a Tuvere Vugakoto turnover. Connor McLeod and Jurie van Vuuren combined to make ground upfield and then Tonga broke free, fending and diving into the corner just as the clock ticked over into the red. Hodgson landed the sideline conversion for good measure.
It’s a short turnaround for ATL as they host the New England Free Jacks in a must-win game. Utah will get an extra day’s rest to prepare for their road trip to Seattle on Sunday.
SCORING
UTAH 28
Tries (4) – J. Mano (6′), J. Hodgson (18′), C. Whiting (47′), T. Tonga (80′)
Cons (3) – C. Makene 3/3 (7′, 19′, 48′), J. Hodgson 1/1 (80’+1′)
Pens (0) – C. Makene 0/1
ATL 12
Tries (2) – J. Shaw (30′), J. Basson (51′)
Cons (1) – C. Hilsenbeck 1/2 (52′)
TEAMS
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Emerson Prior (17 Olive Kilifi 52′), 2 Henry Bell, 3 Angus MacLellan (18 Paul Mullen 52′), 4 Jamie Lane, 5 Onehunga Havili, 6 Bailey Wilson (capt.) (16 Tuvere Vugakoto 55′), 7 Lance Williams (20 Jurie van Vuuren 61′), 8 Thomas Tu’avao (19 Saia Uhila 52′), 9 Zion Going (21 Connor McLeod 55′), 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Tyler Fisher (22 Tomasi Tonga 61′), 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Caleb Makene (23 Logan Tago 72′)
RUGBY ATL
1 Will Burke (16 Alex Maughan 52′), 2 Sidney Tobias (17 Lincoln Si’i 76′), 3 John-Roy Jenkinson (18 Wikus Groenewald 57′), 4 Justin Basson (20 Daemon Torres 72′), 5 Nahuel Milán (19 Johan Momsen 52′), 6 Connor Cook (21 Ross Deacon 59′), 7 Matt Heaton (capt.), 8 Vili Helu, 9 Ryan Rees (22 Niall Saunders 52′), 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck, 11 Jack Shaw (23 Austin White 72′), 12 Martini Talapusi, 13 Will Leonard, 14 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 15 Rewita Biddle
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Marquise Goodwin (USA) & Justin Canova (USA)
TMO: Nick Hannon (USA)
Attendance: 4,560
