NEWS

Western Conference Final Preview | Utah Warriors vs Houston SaberCats | June 21 at 9PM ET ESPN2

Written by Joe Harvey

There will be no shortage of intrigue when the Utah Warriors host the Houston SaberCats in the Western Conference Final on Saturday night. Buy tickets to the Western Conference Final here.

Both teams enter the winner-takes-all clash fresh from registering their first-ever victories in the Major League Rugby Playoffs, presented by Sportsbreaks.

Now, each team wants another if they are to advance to the Championship at Rhode Island’s Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, June 28, and lift the MLR Shield.

The Utah Warriors beat the stubborn Seattle Seawolves 23-21 at Zions Bank Stadium to advance to the final four.

After a four-year wait for their knockout rugby return, Greg Cooper saw Jordan Trainor cross the whitewash twice, and the accuracy from the kicking tee of Joel Hodgson and D’Angelo Leuila contributed to their advancement.

Second-half yellow cards to Trainor and Spencer Jones allowed Seattle back into the contest, as two late Lauina Futi tries brought the scoreline within two points.

With 14 players on the field and the clock approaching the full-time mark, it was only when Utah’s replacement front-row held steady at a scrum five meters out that the game was ultimately won, and Hodgson was able to kick the ball into the stands filled with veracious support to end the game.

“We knew it was going to be a fight for the full 80 minutes,” Trainor, who was awarded Player of the Match against Seattle, said.

“To have our bench come on and play as they did seal the game for us. We made it hard for ourselves but got there in the end.”

From their first outing against the Chicago Hounds in Week 2, the Warriors have consistently been among the top performers in MLR throughout 2025.

On average, the team has scored the most points per game (34.5), completed the most successful tackles (2792) compared to the 10 other teams, had the competition’s most effective scrum (99%), or won the most turnovers (140).

Trainor was one of several new signings for the 2024 season to help Utah return to the top.

The New Zealander has plenty of MLR experience after time spent with the NOLA Gold and LA Giltinis and has starred at altitude in the #15 jersey.

Part of an electric backline that boasts the talents of Joey Mano, Nic Benn, Zion Going, and Kyle Brown, the 29-year-old has contributed significantly to taking the team from fifth place in the Western Conference to the top in a short space of time.

Now, with another opportunity to play in front of home support and the desire to reach the Championship Final for the first time, Trainor is anticipating a high-class affair.

“Boys have bought into the culture from day one,” Trainor said. “We’re all a tight group, not only off the field but off it.

“It feels unreal to do it in front of our home support. They’re the best fans in the comp.

“Home support is like having an extra player for us. They keep us going for the whole game.

“It (progression to the Conference Final) would mean a whole lot. But for us, we are just focusing on this week and controlling what we can.”

The SaberCats had the most agonizing wait to reach the Western Conference Final.

Initially scheduled to play Rugby Football Club Los Angeles on Sunday night in Texas, inclement weather delayed the game by just short of 24 hours.

When the clash eventually got underway on Monday evening, the SaberCats had to recover from trailing 14-12 at half-time to win 27-21 thanks to a Pita Anae-Ah Sue brace and additional scores from Rufus McLean and Max Schumacher.

Into the postseason for a fourth consecutive season, Houston felt relieved to finally progress to the next round of the Playoffs after such heartbreak.

“It feels absolutely incredible to be part of this historic moment for the Houston SaberCats,” Marno Redelinghuys said.

“This win wasn’t just about one game; it was the culmination of years of hard work, belief, and dedication from everyone involved – the players, coaches, staff, and, especially, our fans.

“It’s a proud day for Houston rugby, but we’re not done yet. We’re hungry, united, and ready for the next challenge.”

Redelinghuys was undoubtedly Houston’s star man in victory. On reflection the 32-year-old believes that the delays to the game underlined the SaberCats’ unity and determination in their aim of getting to the next level.

The key way Pote Human’s team is different from anyone else is their physicality.

Houston likes to pummel its opponents into submission and apply more pressure by kicking the ball more than any other MLR team.

This intention is no more apparent than when you look at the stature of the locks and back-row forwards used in the Semifinal, where Emmanuel Albert is the shortest player among those positions at 6’4” tall.

In many ways that style was possibly the best way to subdue an RFCLA team that top the charts for carries and meters made in 2025.

Against the Californians, Redelinghuys was the tip of the spear in his team’s pursuit of the first-time postseason squad.

Over his 76 minutes on the rain-battered SaberCats Stadium turf, the South African made 21 tackles (only bettered by Johan Momsen’s 25) and made eight carries for a total of 70 meters. Those are man-mountain numbers.

A trip to Utah is the reward for all those endeavors, and the SaberCats will be feeling confident.

In the 2025 regular season, Redelinghuys and his teammates beat the Warriors twice. While knockout rugby does not always follow track records, it does suggest that there is a roadmap to Rhode Island at hand.

“Utah is always a tough place to play,” he said. “Zions Bank Stadium has a passionate crowd, and the altitude adds a physical edge that can test even the fittest squads.

“The Warriors are a disciplined, hard-running team with a lot of firepower across the park.

“We know we’ll need to be clinical, smart with our kicking game and rock-solid defensively. It’s a challenge we’re excited about.

“Moments like this, on the road with a place in the Final on the line, this is what Playoff rugby is all about. We’re embracing it.”