Utah Warriors embrace 'ohana' home culture amid 2-0 start to Year 8

HERRIMAN — Dalton Harris started coming to Utah Warriors games a few years ago with 2-3 of his friends, a cheap alternative to the state's professional sports scene based primarily on the limited time he spent playing rugby at Herriman High to stay in shape for football season.

By the Warriors' 2025 home opener Saturday, Harris' group had expanded to close to 20 people — their own small section of the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium.

Like the sport of rugby in the United States, he only sees the group getting larger.

"It's a blast, man," Harris told KSL.com before Saturday's match while grilling bratwursts out of the back of his truck. "My brothers started (playing in) the U-23 league, and I'd go watch them play as my love for the game grew.

"We don't have a lot of physical contact sports here. I played football my whole life, but I also love the family and passion for rugby. It's one big family — even if you're rooting for the opposing team."

Warriors fans like Harris went home happy Saturday after Utah came home with a 55-21 win over NOLA Gold.

Joey Mano continued his impressive run of form to start the season with three tries for a match-high 15 points, and Joel Hodgson came off the bench for 9 points for the Warriors (2-0, 10 points).

Before the match, Harris stood across a small lot on the edge of the parking lot at Zions Bank Stadium, where a few feet away Ashley Aardsma and the Warriors' official ohana supporters' section were hosting their own tailgate.

The group's president said "ohana" was intentional — remember, ohana means family, if Lilo and Stitch taught us anything — because the group wants to showcase the club's family-like atmosphere, both in Utah and across Major League Rugby's 11 teams that stretch from Miami and Boston to Los Angeles and San Diego.

"It was a space for fans to support the team, but not just to root on the games," Aardsma said. "We wanted to be here for the players, too; they all come from different places, and sometimes they come here without any families. That was the purpose of ohana, and where it started.

"We're here to be there for the guys, their family in Utah, if they need it."

Aardsma's own journey to rugby has also brought her into a new family. The Chicago native played non-contact football every Sunday after church with a bunch of friends, and when the time came to go to college, her father told her to look into Eastern Illinois and one of the first varsity women's programs in the country.

Aardsma was instantly hooked, and the fifth-year wing who eventually moved to Utah to go to graduate school in physical therapy has been a part of the rugby family ever since. She was even part of the group of supporters that met every international newcomer at the Salt Lake Airport after they signed with the Warriors.

In an offseason that included nearly 20 new additions between the waiver wire, international signings and the surprise departure of former breakout star Michael Manson back to his native New Zealand, that meant a lot of new faces.

"After traveling for ungodly amounts of hours and being exhausted, we greeted them with leis and Warriors gear, saying, 'welcome to your new home,'" Aardsma recalled. "You could tell there was a warmth involved. And to be able to establish that support early, through thick and thin, that this is your family, it's what we loved the most."

Several of the new signings were a shock, as complete overhauls often are. But the same new additions made a big impression in the Warriors' Week 2 opener, a 45-31 road win over the Chicago Hounds led by 15 points from newly acquired flyhalf D'Angelo Leuila and a pair of tries from returning wing Joe Mano.

"We lost a lot of good, key players that have been great for us, like Caleb Makene," Harris said. "He was our favorite, and we were in shambles seeing him and all these players leaving. We were skeptical.

"But after that first game, watching our reserves play, it was so amazing that now I'm really excited to see what the rest of these players brought in can do."

Between the fans and the new players, the Warriors have tried to continue the same spirit of ohana that filled the stadium in Herriman on Saturday afternoon.

"From the moment we first came in as season ticket holders, we were embraced like family," Harris said. "The first time we sat in our seats, we were invited to all these tailgates and dinners with the players. Everyone is just so family oriented."

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