Penalties, miscues snap Utah Warriors' 2-match win streak with loss to Houston

HERRIMAN — Hanging with some of the top teams in Major League Rugby is no longer the goal for the Utah Warriors.

After three wins in the last four matches propelled the Warriors back to .500 in the competition, the game plan has changed. Moral victories were no longer the answer, if they ever were. Winning, and especially winning at home, no matter the opponent? This is the way.

Or at least, that's what head coach Greg Cooper expected.

The Warriors failed to take advantage of a handful of early chances, and a devastating takeaway midway through the second half snapped a two-match winning streak en route to the Houston Sabercats' 29-24 victory at Zions Bank Stadium.

Frank Lochore, Matt Jensen and Phil Bradford each scored a try for the Warriors, who fell to 4-5 on the season with 24 points after salvaging a bonus point with a late try to end the evening with a single-digit loss.

"We were confident we could beat these guys; there was no doubt in our minds we could beat them," Cooper said after the match. "But we just didn't take advantage of the elements in the first half. I think if we had gotten the momentum, then we could have come home stronger.

"They're a good side; there's no question about that. But there's no reason why we couldn't haven won the game today," the second-year head coach added. "It's a credit to them. They played well, and took their points into the wind. And in the second half, we came back strongly. But we didn't come here to be competitive against a good side. We came here to beat a good side."

The Warriors carried the ball inside of five minutes four times in the first 22 minutes, but couldn't dot down the opening try through a combination of penalties and Sabercats defense.

Houston (8-1, 38 points) needed less. Moments after AJ Alatimu opened the scoring with a penalty conversion, Seth Smith dotted it down in the 33rd minute against a short staffed Warriors side to lift the Sabercats to a 10-0 advantage.

Joel Hodgson pulled one back via penalty in the 39th minute to help the hosts within 10-3 at halftime.

"We didn't take advantage when we had the wind (in the first half)," Cooper said. "I think it came down to too many penalties — penalties cost us — and mistakes in crucial times. But even saying that, I think we had a chance there."

Houston opened the second half with back-to-back tries, and Drew Wild's finish gave the Sabercats a 22-3 advantage in the 47th minute.

But Utah didn't quit. Quite the contrary, the home side's ball movement was significantly improved after the break.

The Warriors used their scrum to score in the 52nd minute, with Lochore dotting it down. By the hour mark, Jensen kept possession during a wild run through the middle and pushed it over the line to pull Utah within 22-17 with a two-man advantage.

Everything changed a moment later, what had to feel like less than 12 parsecs in a Kessel Run. Dom Akina intercepted an offload pass from Utah's Zion Going and sprinted in to touch to pull the undermanned Sabercats back in front, 29-17 a minute later.

To add insult to injury, Michael Manson — the Warriors breakout wing from New Zealand — had to be helped off the pitch with an apparent lower leg injury suffered prior to the play.

Bradford pulled one back in the 74th minute, but it wasn't enough to spark a new hope for hosts.

"It's one of those games where we put ourselves under pressure and had to fight back," Cooper said. "We did fight back, which was great, but we shouldn't have put ourselves under that pressure. I just go back to the penalties and the errors that proved costly."

After back-to-back home matches, Utah will hit the road Saturday, May 11 to face MLR newcomers Miami Sharks. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MST.

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