Big second half sees Warriors past Anthem

A big second half performance saw the Utah Warriors take a 44-19 victory over Anthem Carolina on Friday night. It was the visitors who held the lead after 40 minutes but the home side recovered to score 29 unanswered points including four tries in the final quarter to secure the win.

Utah got on the board first when Nic Souchon broke from a maul to an unguarded short side to score an easy five points. Anthem got a response when Te Rangatira Waitokia fended off Dylan Nel to break the line, fixing the last defender to send Shane Barry in for the score.

Simple hands from Utah allowed Michael Manson to show off his pace with an arcing run to the outside that was too much for Cael Hodgson. Again the visitors fired back and again Waitokia was the creator. The outside center charged down a clearance attempt from Paul Lasike and then sold a dummy to set up David Still in the corner.

The Warriors got a gift when a Lasike pass deflected off Barry into Anthem in-goal. Three defenders were in position but nobody dove on the ball and instead Mika Kruse grounded it for the easiest try of his career. Soon after the visitors turned down a shot at goal but their driving maul was held up over the line.

A 50-22 from Oscar Koller with the wind behind him put Anthem back on the front foot. Waitokia was at it yet again, this time picking out Junior Gafa on a scything run against the grain for a third Carolina try. It was very nearly a fourth just before halftime when Souchon was binned for repeat infringements. Jake Turnbull breached the line but couldn’t touch ball to grass and the score stood 19-15 to the visitors.

Just before Souchon returned to the pitch Anthem had another chance to score points. They again spurned the uprights in favor of an attacking throw-in, and though the drive put them over the line for a third time they were held up and Utah cleared their lines.

The turning point came shortly after when the Warriors summoned reinforcements from the bench. Joel Hodgson brought a sense of urgency to the attack, and he found the corner with a touch-finder from a breakdown penalty. Utah succeeded where Anthem had failed and Souchon crossed for a double on the end of a driving maul. Hodgson’s kick hit the right post but the home side were now in the lead.

A miss-out pass from Hodgson put Manson into space and again he showed a clean pair of heels to the defense, but the try was waved off due to a dangerous clearout in the build-up. Manson would not be denied his brace, however, with quick hands again putting the speedster clear into the corner.

The final minutes of the match were all Utah. Anthem’s scrum crumbled and Dylan Nel crossed from close range. Braemar Murray saw yellow for a tip-tackle, and Frank Lochore struck for two tries before the final whistle sounded – the first from in tight and the second after the lock had ripped away possession from a Carolina ball carrier.

Both teams are on the road next weekend. It’s another Friday night fixture for Utah, who head to Arlington for a clash against the Dallas Jackals. Anthem have until Sunday to prepare for their date with the Chicago Hounds.

 

SCORING

UTAH 44
Tries (8) – N. Souchon 2 (3′, 53′), M. Manson 2 (18′, 60′), M. Kruse (25′), D. Nel (72′), F. Lochore 2 (76′, 80’+2′)
Cons (2) – R. Povey 0/3, J. Hodgson 2/5 (73′, 77′)
YC (1) – N. Souchon (40’+2′)

CAROLINA 19
Tries (3) – S. Barry (12′), D. Still (21′), J. Gafa (38′)
Cons (2) – O. Koller 2/3 (13′, 39′)
YC (2) – J. Rivers (17′), B. Murray (77′)

LINEUPS

UTAH WARRIORS
1 Paul Mullen (17 Franco van den Berg 50′), 2 Nic Souchon (16 Tyler Wong 73′), 3 Angus MacLellan (18 Tonga Kofe 61′), 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Matt Jensen (20 Jonah Dietenberger 67′), 6 Onehunga Havili (16 Tyler Wong 45′-50′) (19 Kalisi Moli 61′), 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Zion Going (21 Kieran McClea 61′), 10 Robbie Povey (23 Joel Hodgson 50′), 11 Joe Mano, 12 Paul Lasike (22 Alesana Pohla 61′), 13 Mika Kruse, 14 Sione Mahe, 15 Michael Manson

ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Jake Turnbull (capt.) (17 Dan Hanson 56′), 2 Declan Moore (20 Braemar Murray 67′), 3 Joe Apikotoa (18 Ivan Pula HT), 4 Reagan Leslie (19 Logan Weidner 17′-19′, HT), 5 James Rivers, 6 Shneil Singh, 7 Joe Basser (16 Jack Manzo 56′), 8 Sione Latu, 9 Siaosi Nai (21 Sean Yacoubian 67′), 10 Oscar Koller, 11 David Still (22 Tyren Al-Jiboori 48′), 12 Junior Gafa, 13 Te Rangatira Waitokia, 14 Cael Hodgson (23 Ulu Niutupuivaha 61′), 15 Shane Barry

MATCH INFO

Date: Friday, April 5
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 43°F (6°C), wind S 10-15mph (16-24km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Kahlil Harrison (USA) & Mike Lawrenson (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)

HIGHLIGHTS