Former BYU All-American in line for pro debut as Utah Warriors prepare for 'storm'

HERRIMAN — Cole Semu was at dinner earlier this week with his wife and family when he noticed a missed call from the Utah Warriors' coaching staff.

The Warriors rookie dialed back a little under an hour later to assistant coach Brendan O'Meara, who essentially told him three words: Pack your bags.

Semu had made the 23-man travel roster for the Warriors' upcoming road game at RFC Los Angeles, putting him in line for his professional debut as Utah opens the first of at two-match road trip Saturday in the City of Angels (8 p.m. MDT, KJZZ/ESPN+).

"He asked if I had plans this weekend, and asked me how I felt about getting my pro debut," Semu told KSL.com, before laughing. "I'll drop whatever."

It's all hands on deck as the Warriors gear up for seven games in 35 days, including four of them away from home. That includes Semu, the All-American rookie from Auckland, New Zealand out of BYU who was drafted No. 28 overall in this Major League Rugby college draft last fall.

In the next 35 days, the Warriors (4-2, 23 points) will play seven matches, four of them on the road, and three of them in an eight-day span from April 26 through May 4. The club is calling that grouping "Storm Week," and billing it as the "toughest stretch in MLR history" that kicks off Saturday in Los Angeles.

Hyperbole or not, it's a brutal stretch of the 2025 campaign that could decide Utah's league fate for the team that currently sits fourth in the west and just 6 points out of first place following its second bye week.

"We know it'll be tough on the body to play three games in eight days, and more," said Semu, the center half who credits both fly halves Joel Hodgson and D'Angelo Leuila for bringing him up to speed in his first season in MLR. "So we just have to have guys ready to step up when they are needed, and then just trusting the process and everything that coaches have set up to help us succeed, in our strength coach to help us recover, and get whatever preparation we need to attack the next half of the season."

Utah starts the run at Wallace Annenberg Stadium in Los Angeles, where RFC Los Angeles improved to 4-3 most recently with a 24-22 win over a Houston Sabercats side that handed the Warriors a 37-17 loss earlier this season.

"They're on a roll and they're a very good side," Utah coach Greg Cooper said RFC LA. "They've had very good wins against both Houston and Seattle, so we know this is going to be a big challenge for us. We've been very good on the road this season, so far, and hopefully we can continue that this week."

Beyond the 40-man roster playing for the Warriors in the first half of the season, Utah also welcomed back former fan favorite Lance Williams.

The U.S. international who played college football at Hawaii was a Warriors' original who joined the national team to try to make the Sevens squad for the Paris Olympics prior to being welcomed back to the home where he racked up over 5,000 minutes, 18 tries and 90 points in 71 appearances from 2018 through 2022.

"He is a Utah Warrior to the core and with his experience and talent, he will add much-needed depth as we had into a demanding stretch of games," Cooper said of Williams.

"Warrior No. 19" is back — and not a moment too soon, either, as the club embarks on its toughest stretch of the season. Again, it's all hands' on deck, from the rookies to the vets.

"We haven't been doing anything new, really," Semu said. "I think preseason and this first half of the season, the preparation has been getting all 40 of us ready rather than just 23. We want to be sure that anyone on the team is ready when they're called."

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