Western Conference Semifinal Match Preview

June 13, 2025 - Major League Rugby (MLR) News Release

Motivation is easy when it comes to the Major League Rugby Playoffs presented by Sportsbreaks.

This weekend, the best of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference will battle it out to advance to the Championship in a fortnight's time.

The first leg of getting to Centreville Bank Stadium is the Semifinals, where the Utah Warriors, Seattle Seawolves, Houston SaberCats and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles are contending to be best of the west.

UTAH WARRIORS (1) V SEATTLE SEAWOLVES (4) | Saturday 14 JUNE, 10PM ET

On Sunday night, the Western Conference top seed, the Utah Warriors, will host the Seattle Seawolves at Zions Bank Stadium.

After a strong regular season, the home team has returned to the Playoffs as a force to be reckoned with.

Just 12 months ago, Greg Cooper's team ended its season after a fifth-place finish in its division. Their 5-11 record ruled them out of any knockout rugby fun.

Now, the men from Salt Lake are Conference toppers, have an 11-5 record, and will bring postseason rugby home for the very first time.

Since his arrival at the Warriors ahead of the 2023 season, Joel Hodgson has strived to take the team further than it has ever been.

Having started 13 of the 15 games he has played this season and formed a formidable midfield partnership with D'Angelo Leuila, the 32-year-old relishes the opportunity ahead of him this weekend.

"It's a pretty big thing to play at home," Hodgson said. "Zions Bank is one of, if not the loudest atmospheres in MLR. It can be pretty hostile at times.

"We will take every advantage we can in these Playoffs. It's also nice to be able to reward the Warrior Nation with a home playoff after their awesome support throughout the regular season.

"Boys are proud of their achievement in reaching the Playoffs. It was one of our goals for the year. We are delighted to achieve that, but we are not taking our foot off the gas."

While the Warriors had wrapped up postseason in Week 15 the Seattle Seawolves had a longer wait.

Allen Clarke's team had to wait until the final game of the regular season to secure their place in the last eight, knowing they had to get a bonus point win against the Miami Sharks and knock their Western Conference rivals, the San Diego Legion, out of contention in the process.

After a closely fought opening 40 minutes in the Pacific Northwest, the Seawolves rallied in the second half to win 42-17.

Duncan Matthews scored two tries in the contest and contributed to lifting the anxiety of supporters wondering if last year's runners-up were going to contend for the Shield in 2025.

"I had confidence in the boys to win the game," Matthews said. "For me, it was a matter of killing the habits that had caused us to be in that position.

"In the first half, we went into our shell, just trying not to lose the game, and then in the second half, we went back to what makes us good."

With their place secure in the postseason, the Seawolves will take on the challenge wholeheartedly.

In the regular season, these two teams have played one another twice, and each has picked up a road win.

Safely with, the knowledge that Seattle can compete on the road and at altitude against the Warriors offers belief for this weekend's visitors, who have won on four of their past five outings.

"Boys are starting to believe that we can go all the way," Matthews said. "We know Utah are going to be physical. We have beaten them in Utah once before this season, so we take confidence from that.

"That being said, we know this is Playoffs rugby. Everyone is going to have to pitch up on the day.

"We have been our own worst enemies by doing the same stuff over and over again, expecting different outcomes.

"I believe winning this weekend will require us to completely go away from our old habits, and that in itself would be a win too."

All season long, Utah made it clear that its intention was to end its knockout rugby drought.

Last in the playoffs four years ago, the side slowly built under Greg Cooper to become a Western Conference and Shield contender.

Utah's opening game this season saw them dispatch the Chicago Hounds in Illinois, a week after their hosts' mightily impressive road win over the Houston SaberCats, and it created a clear message of intent for 2025.

"This group has connected on a higher level than anything I have experienced," Hodgson said.

"There is a real brotherhood here and togetherness. We want to go as far as we can knowing that it'll be the last time this group is together. To progress to the Western Conference Final would mean the world to us."

HOUSTON SABERCATS (2) V RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB LOS ANGELES (3) | SUNDAY 15 JUNE, 8:30PM ET

Playoffs rugby is a little bittersweet for the Houston SaberCats.

After four seasons without bringing postseason rugby to Texas, Pote Human's team now play knockout rugby for the fourth year in a row. They are still yet to win a game.

In 2024, when they entered the Playoffs with the best record of any MLR team, the side were shocked on home soil by the Dallas Jackals and left shell shocked as the New England Free Jacks eventually won it all for consecutive seasons.

It is a statistic that the team will want to overcome at the fourth time of asking with Rugby Football Club Los Angeles coming to visit SaberCats Stadium this weekend in the Playoffs Semifinals finale.

Photo by Sofia McMaster

"It was devastating to go out the way we did last year," SaberCats captain Nathan den Hoedt said.

"For those of us that played in that game, it still stings.

"But this is a different season and a different group of players, so we're very much focused on this weekend.

"It's obviously great to get the chance to play in front of our home fans, particularly in a Semifinal.

"It really gives the boys an extra boost hearing them cheering."

Over the course of the 2025 regular season, the SaberCats recaptured plenty of last season's form.

Their physicality and abrasiveness is married with a creative electricity in the backs that has allowed the likes Dom Akina, Tautalatasi Tasi and Drew Wild to thrive.

In the regular season, Houston has already met RFCLA twice and picked up a road win in Week 2 to kickstart its season.

Houston are all too accustomed with the fact that anything before the Playoffs was for nothing unless they keep winning. That has been a driving force already in 2025 and is not going to stop any time soon.

"It's do or die this weekend," Den Hoedt said. "The mood is really good and we're excited and focused on LA.

"We have worked hard all season long, so it (progression to the Western Conference Final) would be a massive reward and something we would be very proud of"

While the SaberCats are old friends with the Playoffs, this is the first time that LA has been introduced.

Into their second year as a franchise, the side have benefitted hugely from a coaching change last summer and an influx of talent.

Christian Leali'ifano was one of those players. At 37 the playmaker has packed plenty into his career and is certainly enjoying life on the west coast.

Having played 14 games this season already and registered 87 points in the process, the former Australia and Samoa international certainly has the nous to help his team succeed in knockout rugby.

Bruised from a 48-33 loss to the Utah Warriors in the final game of the regular season he maintains that the team are on track for a successful debut in the postseason.

"The mood within the team is probably a little disappointed with how we finished the regular season," Leali'ifano said.

"But we are super excited about being in our first Playoff game. The team's ready and taking all the learnings, and we'll try to put in a good performance on Sunday.

"We are feeling confident in our game and what we have done. So (we must) continue to believe in our game, and hopefully, it holds us in good stead for the Playoffs."

RFCLA knows that they have the capability to beat Houston in their backyard. They completed the feat in April, as tries from Gonzalo Bertranou, Rory van Vugt, Will Leonard, and Billy Meakes stunned the home crowd.

That knowledge will be held closely to every LA player ahead of this weekend.

"It is really exciting for RFCLA to be in the Playoffs for the first time," Leali'ifano said.

"It would mean a lot for the group to reach the Western Conference Final. We've worked super hard this year and given ourselves this opportunity.

"It'll be great to get there and keep achieving some success.

"For now, we're looking forward to Sunday night and putting in a real solid performance that we can be proud of."

Major League Rugby Stories from June 13, 2025

• Eastern Conference Semifinal Match Preview - MLR
• Western Conference Semifinal Match Preview - MLR
• The Return of Lance Williams - Utah Warriors

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