Utah Warriors (rugby union)
Encyclopedia
The Utah Warriors are an American rugby union
team based in Salt Lake City, Utah
. They joined the Rugby Super League beginning in the 2011 season.
The RSL, after due consideration and extensive talks with the relevant parties, has agreed to and accepted their participation for the upcoming season.
This new team will be made up of rugby players who currently play for clubs within the state of Utah as well as some players who play in other parts of the country.
Rio Tinto Stadium in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy
is to be the home to this new entry and will be used for all their home league games. There is some contention about Rio Tinto being the home field, as Real Salt Lake responded to a City Weekly article that Rio Tinto would be the home field, "Selling you bill of goods - MIGHT play A game at RTS!" Rio Tinto Twitter response
Jon Law will be the head coach and local Utah entrepreneur Sean Whalen will oversee the teams operations.
“I’m excited at the level of talent that we’ve attracted to this team,” added Law. “With the strength in local talent, and the vision and motivation of this staff, we have created a top-notch team that can rival any team in the league. We are expecting great things from the Utah Warriors.”
Whalen and Law have attracted key players to the team such as US national players Mike Palefau and Jason Pye who is too injured to play on the national team. The team will have an active roster of more than 35 players.
The RSL are very excited with Utah’s addition to the league as it heralds a new chapter in terms of membership to the RSL. Up to this the RSL has been made up of clubs with an established history so this is a major turning point for the league and Rugby in the United States.
, and Jason Pye.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. They joined the Rugby Super League beginning in the 2011 season.
History and formation
The Rugby Super League (RSL) has received a formal request from a team representing the Utah Rugby Union to be part of the RSL for 2011.The RSL, after due consideration and extensive talks with the relevant parties, has agreed to and accepted their participation for the upcoming season.
This new team will be made up of rugby players who currently play for clubs within the state of Utah as well as some players who play in other parts of the country.
Rio Tinto Stadium in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy
Sandy, Utah
Sandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah....
is to be the home to this new entry and will be used for all their home league games. There is some contention about Rio Tinto being the home field, as Real Salt Lake responded to a City Weekly article that Rio Tinto would be the home field, "Selling you bill of goods - MIGHT play A game at RTS!" Rio Tinto Twitter response
Jon Law will be the head coach and local Utah entrepreneur Sean Whalen will oversee the teams operations.
“I’m excited at the level of talent that we’ve attracted to this team,” added Law. “With the strength in local talent, and the vision and motivation of this staff, we have created a top-notch team that can rival any team in the league. We are expecting great things from the Utah Warriors.”
Whalen and Law have attracted key players to the team such as US national players Mike Palefau and Jason Pye who is too injured to play on the national team. The team will have an active roster of more than 35 players.
The RSL are very excited with Utah’s addition to the league as it heralds a new chapter in terms of membership to the RSL. Up to this the RSL has been made up of clubs with an established history so this is a major turning point for the league and Rugby in the United States.
Roster
The team will have an active roster of over 35 players. So far they have signed Mike Palefau, John van der GiessenJohn van der Giessen
John Van Der Giessen is an American rugby union player. He plays lock for the USA Eagle XV side. He was selected to tour with the USA Eagles squad for the Autumn 2010 tour of Europe. Van Der Giessen plays his club rugby for Bath Rugby.-Career:Van der Giessen's debut for his country was in 2008...
, and Jason Pye.