Arrows hold on to beat Warriors in Utah thrilller

The Toronto Arrows held on to take a 27-24 road win over the Utah Warriors in a thrilling contest at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday. A stiff breeze affected kicking for both sides, and it was the visitors who did just enough in the second half to secure a vital bonus point.

Utah nearly had a try just minutes into the match. Caleb Makene sliced down the left sideline early to put the Arrows back on their heels. The Warriors won a penalty and opted for an attacking lineout, but James O’Neill took away the scoring opportunity with a turnover at an ensuing breakdown.

Dennon Robinson-Bartlett was a late addition to the starting lineup, and the New Zealander made an immediate impression on debut. His line break set Toronto in motion and he connected with Sam Malcolm, who in turn unleashed Ueta Tufuga. The midfielder bashed his way to within a meter of the line but Jurie van Vuuren went off his feet and was summarily sent to the bin.

The Warriors couldn’t clear their lines after an Arrows knock-on, and instead the visitors won an attacking scrum. A set move saw Ronan Foley crossing on a simple loop-around that caught the defense unawares for the opening try. It was a routine conversion for Malcolm as the Arrows took a 7-nil lead.

Cliven Loubser got Utah on the board with a penalty goal and then moments later the home side would take the lead. Lance Williams hit Malcolm just as he was passing the ball, and it instead landed in Mika Kruse’s hands. Mikey Te’o was there to take a quick pass and sprint 40 meters for a try under the sticks.

Early in the second half Robinson-Bartlett touched the ball twice on an attacking move to put the Warriors on the retreat. Isaac Salmon ran an inside line off a ruck, and then popped off the deck to a charging Brock Webster with the winger winning the race to the corner. Malcolm’s conversion attempt bounced off the left upright.

With the wind now in their face, Utah’s ability to make ground with the boot was severely limited. The Arrows took full advantage of the field position. Robinson-Bartlett found a gap and swerved around the cover to score Toronto’s third try. This time Malcolm’s kick rang off the right post.

Olive Kilifi came as close as one can get to scoring, but the Warriors prop was instead penalised for playing the ball after he was held on the deck. At the other end Webster mimicked his earlier try, but this time it was the winger offloading from ground to Jack McRogers for the try. Will Kelly nailed the conversion from wide out as Malcolm was receiving attention behind the play.

The fullback recovered and slotted a long-range penalty to push the score out to 27-10 for the visitors. Loubser reduced the gap with a searing break through a gap in the midfield,  converting his own try. Tomasi Tonga combined with Loubser to free Connor Burns down the right sideline for another score moments later, with Loubser adding the extras to make it a three-point game.

With time winding down the Warriors worked their way back into Toronto territory. They won a penalty in front of the posts, but opted for a scrum. The gamble didn’t work out, as a knock-on brought the attacking move to a close with the relieved Arrows celebrating the victory.

The Warriors stay at home next Saturday with the Houston SaberCats their guests. Toronto will make the short trip to New Jersey on Sunday to play Rugby New York.

 

SCORING

UTAH 24
Tries – M. Te’o (24′), C. Loubser (72′), C. Burns (74′)
Cons – No kick (24′), C. Loubser 2/2 (73′, 75′)
Pens – C. Loubser 1/1 (23′)
YC – J. van Vuuren (9′)

TORONTO 27
Tries – R. Foley (12′), B. Webster (43′), D. Robinson-Bartlett (50′), J. McRogers (64′)
Cons – S. Malcolm 1/3 (13′), W. Kelly 1/1 (65′)
Pens – S. Malcolm 1/1 (68′)

 

TEAMS

UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg (17 Olive Kilifi 60′), 2 Tuvere Vugakoto (16 Chad Gough 51′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Angus MacLellan 51′), 4 Thomas Tu’avao (20 Mike Gieselman 60′), 5 Jamie Lane, 6 Lance Williams (19 Puna Vuli 73′), 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Jurie van Vuuren, 9 Niall Saunders (21 Danny Christensen 68′), 10 Caleb Makene, 11 James Vaifale (23 Connor Burns 51′), 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Mika Kruse (22 Tomasi Tonga 60′), 14 Mike Te’o, 15 Cliven Loubser

TORONTO ARROWS
1 Cole Keith (17 Rob Brouwer 60′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Jack McRogers 55′), 3 Isaac Salmon (18 Tyler Rowland 70′), 4 Mike Sheppard (capt.), 5 Paul Ciulini (19 Adrian Wadden 55′), 6 Lucas Rumball (23 Ollie Nott 73′), 7 James O’Neill (20 Tomás de la Vega 51′), 8 Ronan Foley, 9 Ross Braude (21 Chris Bell 70′), 10 Sam Malcolm, 11 Brock Webster, 12 Ueta Tufuga, 13 Dennon Robinson-Bartlett, 14 Mitch Richardson, 15 Conor McCann (22 Will Kelly 60′)

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mike Lash (New Zealand)
Assistants: Paulo Duarte (Portugal) & Kahlil Harrison (USA)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)