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HERRIMAN — Whether playing openside or blindside flanker, or occasionally moved to the No. 8 position, Sione Latu is keen one one thing about rugby — a sport he's only been playing for 3-4 years but has already risen through the professional ranks.
"I'm willing to hit and I'm willing to to get hit," he told KSL.com, "and just keep on playing."
His next hit will come in front of a home crowd.
The 21-year-old flanker who prepped at Mountain Ridge signed with Utah's Major League Rugby side Monday after spending the 2024 season at Anthem Rugby Carolina. Latu was one of five new signings announced by the Warriors on Monday, a group that includes two Americans, two Canadians and another New Zealand international to go along with four veterans of the NPC who announced moves stateside last week.
But for Latu, a return to the Wasatch Front where he learned the game and eventually joined Utah's pathway program at age 18 means a little bit more.
"It definitely does (mean more)," Latu said. "I'm very honored to represent this state that I grew up in, and I get to show the MLR that there's talent in Utah. It's just hidden; all you've got to do is given everyone a chance."
In addition to Latu, the Warriors added Fred Apulu, a 6-foot-2, 298-pound prop from Apia, Samoa, who spent last year with Chicago; Nic Benn, an Australian center who spent time in MLR with now-defunct sides in Toronto and Dallas; Gabe Casey, a 6-foot-3 center from Ottawa, Ontario, who spent the last two seasons with league champion New England; and Jordan Trainor, a New Zealand-born fullback and wing who previously played for Los Angeles and New Orleans before spending the past two seasons with Northland in the NPC.
"After the last MLR season, I really wanted to come back and see if I could get a chance," said Latu, who was a member of the USA Rugby Academy side before joining Anthem as a first-year expansion team. "All I needed was a foot in the door and for them to see I could actually play.
"I was offered the opportunity, and I took it. I was just trying to show out so I could come back and represent it."
Trainor is the fifth New Zealand-born signing by the Warriors in eight days, joining scrum half Logan Crowley, prop Remsy Lemisio, back row Tamarau McGahan and center Kyle Brown, who all played last year in New Zealand's NPC, as well as four international players to Major League Rugby for the first time.
"The style of game played in Utah has similarities with that of New Zealand," Utah coach Greg Cooper said of the new arrivals from his native country. "The Maori and Polynesian influence has helped shape New Zealand's national game and the style of play at the Warriors over the years also reflects that."
The moves come as the Warriors reshape their roster following a controversial decision to release 16 players, including a number of fan favorites such as Franco Van Den Berg, Paul Mullen, Kieran McClea and Mika Kruse, among others.
But the organization has responded with the turnover, including signing five homegrown players to the 2025 roster that include former BYU center Cole Semu and four Utah natives as homegrown signings.
"It's important that the players coming to the Warriors earn the respect of their teammates, the organization and of course, the supporters," Cooper said. "The selection process has obviously been focused on how their talent will fit into and enhance our game, but also a high priority has been understanding them as people to ensure we are all working together to be successful."
