After offseason of change, Warriors put new face forward in Major League Rugby's 8th season

HERRIMAN — Joel Hodgson remembers the offseason as clearly as he can.

He remembers the cold, hard ground on the rugby training pitch at Utah Valley University where he was coaching; the early mornings with Utah Warriors head coach Greg Cooper after he had helped run practice at 6 a.m.; and the repetition of kicks as the 32-year-old flyhalf entering his third season with Utah's professional rugby outfit reworked what turned out to be his biggest struggle of of the Warriors' 5-11 campaign in 2024.

Hodgson knew he needed a change — and so did Cooper, even if the two had come to the conclusion independently. So they worked on his kick, tweaked a few things about his style, made changes to his run-up, point of contact, speed — all of that.

And now, Hodgson is ready to debut his new look during the new-look Warriors' 2025 season opener Sunday at Chicago (12 p.m. MST, KJZZ).

"Kickers are similar to pitchers, to quarterbacks, where after you do it for so many years, it becomes part of you," the native of Newcastle, England, told KSL.com during the Warriors' preseason. "It wasn't an easy thing to change, but hopefully I've risen to it.

"I've certainly enjoyed it; it's something different. It still needs work, but I'm putting the hours in and hopefully I can see the improvements and start kicking like I used to be able to."

Plenty of changes hit the Warriors during the offseason, though none of them came from the coaching staff. Cooper opted for consistency there, though the former New Zealand international made sweeping changes across the roster.

Gone is top try scorer Michael Manson, bringing in several international signings including New Zealand's Liam Coltman, Ireland's Gavin Thornbury and four Utah-born homegrown additions.

They'll pair with the core of returners that include Hodgson, former BYU standouts Paul Lasike and Matt Jensen, one-time Warriors captain Bailey Wilson, and sixth-year starting prop Angus MacLellan.

There are also changes to how fans can view the game. After four years with FOX Sports, Major League Rugby announced a multiyear broadcasting deal with ESPN that will see every match streamed on ESPN+ and select matches on ESPN2.

The Warriors also made a switch locally, pivoting its local broadcasts from KMYU to KJZZ. Replays will be available online through the league-owned Rugby Network.

Many of the changes are aimed at providing a better fan experience, those that pack the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman for each home match and record-setting crowd of 10,914 that showed up for Utah's regular-season finale last year against Los Angeles.

"We owe them something," Cooper said of the Warriors' fans. "They give to us all the time, and last year wasn't good enough for them. But they still remained loyal to us. ... I'm into accountability, to responsibility, and if people come to watch us play then we've got to deliver something.

"I don't think we should expect them to turn up to watch us. I believe they should want to turn up to watch us because we are doing it for us. That's our responsibility this year."

Cooper also added New Zealand-born, Samoan-international flyhalf and center D'Angelo Leuila to the same room as Hodgson, whether for depth, competition or — as is often the case — a bit of both.

The precision-driven playmaker with a 90% kicking accuracy most recently played for Moana Pasifika in New Zealand's Super Rugby, but he's most known for scoring 35 points during a match for Waikato against Hawke's Bay that went viral around the rugby world.

"That was a good accomplishment," a sheepish Leuila said about the scoring outburst. "But at the end of the day, I've always put it down to not being a one-man team. When I did score all those points, I had 14 other boys on the field to help me do that.

"Anyone can do it, here in Utah as well. We've got a good bunch of boys. It's just about how well we are connected and if we are truly one heart."

Whether it comes to scoring 35 points from the back field or being a reliable leader in the Warriors' locker room, the 29-year-old center and fly half who has played with the senior Samoan national team since 2016 just hopes to make an impact with his new club and its fans.

"I think at the end of the day, I can say so much. But I try to make sure that my actions back up what I'm saying," Leuila said. "I've heard a lot about the fans in Utah, and I'm excited to get out there for a home game and see the fans. I think our fans are going to probably have to wait and see what I'm all about. … But I'm the type of person who isn't over until it's over, from the first whistle to the last, it's never over."

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