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The Utah Warriors defeated a stunned LA Giltinis side 28-19 at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. It was a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Final, but this time the visitors were the better side with two late tries securing the victory.
LA dominated possession in the early goings but it took 20 minutes to crack Utah’s line. Sustained pressure nearly resulted in a try for Jordan Trainor but the potential scoring pass was too low and came forward off the fullback’s fingertips.
They would get another opportunity straight away, and this time it would count. Billy Meakes hurled himself into the Utah defense and with a little help from Adam Ashe, he stretched out of the tackle to ground the ball. The conversion from Orene Ai’i rang off the upright and over the bar.
On the other side of the hydration break Utah finally got possession in LA territory. They earned a penalty which was duly slotted by Cliven Loubser to get the Warriors on the board.
The two sides crashed into each other for several minutes with neither team willing to give an inch. A kick in behind LA’s line was cleaned up by Tas Smith, who stepped his way out of trouble and deftly fired the ball back into Warriors territory.
Utah would take the lead on the last act of the half. Tyler Fisher barged through the line during a long attacking sequence, the big center stopped just short of the line. Two phases later and Loubser would find Lance Williams in space on the right side for a try. Loubser nailed the conversion from wide out to make it 10-7 at the intermission.
The Giltinis wasted no time in the second half, jumping back out in front with a try just three minutes after the restart. Trainor nearly crossed himself and Dave Dennis was on hand to crash over from short range. Ai’i’s kick was pushed wide but the home side was 12-10 ahead.
Two penalties conceded by LA gave the lead back to Utah. The first came at scrum, in what would be Paul Mullen’s final action of the day. Angus MacLellan entered the field for the lineout that followed, and the Giltinis were pinged for playing the jumper in the air. Loubser was spot on with the kick.
Another scrum penalty saw Loubser stretching the lead to four points, but LA fired back with a try. Meakes wrestled his way to within a meter of the line and Smith sold a dummy to slip through on the side of the ruck. Five became seven points with the successful kick from Ai’i.
Nathan Den Hoedt went too high into a tackle on MacLellan, and Utah were quickest to react. Niall Saunders tapped before the defense was settled and won the race to the corner for what proved to the the game-winning try. Loubser’s first miss of the day rebounded off the left post.
The final blow came as LA were caught trying to play out of their own end. A loose pass was scooped up by Williams, who stepped back inside the cover to grab a double. Loubser’s kick made it a two-score game and one last attack from the Giltinis would close with a knock-on.
Both teams will play at home next weekend. Utah put their two-game winning streak on the line against the Toronto Arrows on Saturday. LA have now dropped two in a row and face another tough challenge in the San Diego Legion on Sunday.
SCORING
LA 19
Tries – B. Meakes (20′), D. Dennis (43′), T. Smith (67′)
Cons – O. Ai’i 2/3 (21′, 68′)
UTAH 28
Tries – L. Williams 2 (40′, 74′), N. Saunders (71′)
Cons – C. Loubser 2/3 (40′, 75′)
Pens – C. Loubser 3/3 (25′, 54′, 63′)
TEAMS
LA GILTINIS
1 Luke White (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 56′), 2 Andrew Tuala (16 Joe Taufete’e 48′), 3 Charlie Abel (18 Marco Fepulea’i 48′), 4 Dave Dennis (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (21 Zach Bonte 76′), 6 Angus Cottrell, 7 Christian Poidevin (20 Hanco Germishuys 51′), 8 Adam Ashe (19 Corey Thomas 51′), 9 Tas Smith, 10 Orene Ai’i, 11 Ryan James, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Will Chambers, 14 Cristian Rodriguez (23 D’Montae Noble 76′), 15 Jordan Trainor
Not used: 22 Kahanu Koi
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg (17 Olive Kilifi 66′), 2 Tuvere Vugakoto (16 Chad Gough 66′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 53′), 4 Saia Uhila (19 Thomas Tu’avao 21′), 5 Jamie Lane, 6 Lance Williams, 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren (20 Mike Gieselman 60′), 9 Niall Saunders, 10 Caleb Makene, 11 Mika Kruse (23 James Vaifale 76′), 12 Tomasi Tonga (22 Calvin Whiting 45′), 13 Tyler Fisher, 14 Mike Te’o, 15 Cliven Loubser
Not used: 21 Danny Christensen
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Austin Reed (USA) & Tim Lew (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
