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News Apr-30-2025

ANGUS MACLELLAN – THIRD IN LINE TO REACH 100 MLR APPEARANCES

Written By Joe Harvey | Photos by Davey Wilson

On Sunday evening, the Utah Warriors’ Angus MacLellan became the third player to reach 100 Major League Rugby appearances.

Prior to that landmark, team CEO Kimball Kjar described the 32-year-old tighthead prop as the definition of their “Utah Built” motto.

A player who balances his time on the pitch with a full-time role in construction, MacLellan is the Warriors’ longest-serving player alongside second-row forward Saia’ Uhila.

Until recently, MacLellan did not even know he’d scored three tries for the Warriors or missed only four games in the team’s history. 

But he did know that a landmark appearance in black and red was coming.

As the build-up to last Sunday night’s encounter with the Chicago Hounds grew more intense, the various statistics and throwback posts on social media came thick and fast.

“I knew they were going to make a big deal of it,” MacLellan smiled. “From the beginning (of 2025) people have brought it up, but I had eight games to play. That’s a lot of games.

“I knew it was coming, and they were going to make a big deal about it. Don’t get me wrong, I had been looking forward to it.

“I don’t see myself as being a super impressive player. Consistent, I would say. I did enjoy the fact that I’ve put in the work to play that long.

“While I was looking forward to it, and I knew people were going to make a big deal out of it, all I really cared about was winning. No one wants to lose on that day.

“I don’t want to lose on any day, despite having played in this league for eight years and rugby long before that, I’m not a good loser. 

“I’m not a huge fan of being the center of attention. I told the guys that I was really appreciative but to focus on winning the game, and we could talk about it afterward. And they did.”

Having trailed the Hounds 31-12 at half-time, the Warriors rallied to end the game as 41-31 winners and maintain second place in the Western Conference.

In addition to his search for victory against Chicago, MacLellan also had time to reflect on the journey to that milestone.

The 32-year-old did not miss a game across the first five years of MLR’s existence and was the first player to reach 50 appearances in the league three years ago.

Now the first US-born player to hit a century of outings, the Michigan native also saw last Sunday night as an opportunity to reflect on his individual journey.

“Probably the most impactful thing from that night is any sort of rugby achievement. To me, it is one of those things that is most enjoyable after you have achieved it,” MacLellan said.

“Up to that point, you’re just grinding and working so hard. My achievements have been something that I really enjoyed in reflection.

“This one, I don’t want to say it was disappointing, but by the time we got to the week, I’d really enjoyed the journey and the chase. It wasn’t really about the 100th game, it was about the 99 games leading up to it.”

Part of what makes MacLellan’s journey to 100 appearances is that he still balances full-time work with his rugby-playing commitments.

The 32-year-old marries his time managing construction sites across Utah, representing the state’s professional rugby team at the weekend.

He is one of just two Warriors to achieve that feat, with fellow long-term Utah player Matt Jensen the other to juggle the two commitments.

Some of his daytime work colleagues were even in attendance at Zions Bank Stadium to cheer MacLellan on when he started against the Hounds on Saturday night.

That desire to work and provide for his young family almost led the prop to initially opt out of signing his first MLR contract nearly a decade ago.

“When MLR started, I wasn’t really planning on playing,” MacLellan said. “I had my daughter and was focused on building a career and looking out for my family.

“Then I started to get FOMO as everyone else started signing for teams, and I was lucky that the Utah Warriors reached out to me.

“It happened to be a place with a group of people that I would really get along with, and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any other team. 

“There are teams that have won championships multiple times, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed rugby any more than I have enjoyed it here.

“Rugby is my free time. I work all week, and I get to training and that’s my lunch break. That’s the time I get to relax.

“In the first year of the league, there was a lot of guys that worked full-time, and nowadays, they’re mostly all professional. I’m just so grateful to be allowed to work hard and shoot my shot to try and make the team each week.”

Perhaps the Warriors will likely mount a postseason challenge for the first time since 2021.

Utah has talent among its ranks, but it has only ever reached the postseason twice.   

Their last foray to knockout rugby was years ago, when the side saw their Shield hopes dashed by two late Ryan James tries, and the LA Giltinis progressed to the Championship Final.

Entering Week 12, the club is second in the Western Conference and one point off the top spot.

Playing two games this week, MacLellan and his teammates will take on the San Diego Legion on Wednesday night before visiting Old Glory DC on Sunday night.

“I know this is the team that could do it,” MacLellan said. “We have it in us. On any day, it’s anybody’s game.

“This is the team that’s been putting together the most consistent performances that I’ve been a part of.

“Early on with the Warriors, we had some of the most amazing individual players, but we never quite got the discipline or consistency to pull it together.

“To this day, we have amazing players who don’t have huge pedigrees or egos, but everybody that the Utah Warriors have brought into this team comes in with the same humility.

“Here in Utah, some of the best players we have got are local to Salt Lake City. 

“I want to win, everyone else on the team wants to win, if we win the Championship this year, I’ll be most satisfied by the fact of knowing that we have proved what we should have already done.

“It’s disappointing that we haven’t won seven of them so far with that background, so I want to win this year to prove that Utah is the best rugby state in the US across the board.”

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