It was as close as one can get to a perfect start to the new season for the UM Wolves RFC Men’s Team on Saturday, as they produced an 87-5 thrashing against Overseas RUFC in the MRFU Cup Prestige Preliminary Round.
The excitement and nerves characterising the build-up to the first match of the season were palpable – but they were put to bed almost immediately as the Wolves raced into a 19-0 lead with three tries in the first eight minutes of the match.
The first one was dotted down less than a minute after kick-off, as Simon Borg was released into space on the wing before looping a 10-metre pass inside to Cody Schmidt who went in unopposed for the score. Philippe Ioffe obliged with the conversion.
The second try came soon after as new arrivals Sven Camilleri combined with Connor Muir through a deft pull-back, who in turn released Virain Hariramani who then passed out wide to Axel Jeffers who zipped in for the score.
Simon Borg would open his seasonal account soon after as he picked up a loose ball, shrugged off a defender and scored down his wing, and he soon doubled his account for the afternoon, scoring off a set play from a five-metre scrum.
The next try came after an excellent break from Jeffers, who was brought down a few metres from the line in a last-ditch effort. Agustin Rabini was first at the scene, and he picked the ball up and found Jonathan Pace, who had the simplest of jobs to score.
For Pace, it was his first ever try in a Wolves shirt as he, together with Gareth Blundell, may become the first people to hit 30 caps for Wolves next weekend.
Captain Gabriel Seychell was having an imperious game, directing the team and eyeing the gaps as his charges ran Overseas around the pitch. It was he who in fact put Ioffe through a gap, allowing the outside-centre to streak through, beat the full back and score.
Young George Strickland, now in his second season in green, was also having an exceptional game, and he managed to beat off three defenders to crash over the line before the half time whistle.
With Muir pinning every conversion since the third try, the score at half time stood at 47-0 in favour of the Wolves – a score scarcely believed by those watching.
The second half followed much the same pattern: within four minutes Schmidt had added another try after Seychell put Ioffe through, who made the final pass to the scrum half, and Hariramani also got his name on the scoresheet having been put through a gap around the halfway line by Seychell.
Simon Borg then put the icing on the cake that was a near-enough end to end try, with the action starting with a Wolves scrum in their 22m and ending with the winger securing his hat-trick.
It’s the first time that a Wolves player has scored a hat-trick of tries in a competitive match, and it’s an excellent start to the season for the man who was voted as MRFU’s Most Promising Player in the 2023/24 season.
Daniel Ghirlando added his name to the scoresheet after coming off the bench and it was now with the score at 75-0 that Overseas broke their duck with a try courtesy of a chip kick behind the defence.
But this wasn’t going to spoil the party as Seychell nabbed two well deserved tries for himself: one off a turned over scrum and another finishing off a coast-to-coast breakaway by Keegan Weintraud.
Muir nailed all but one of his 11 conversion attempts, with Philippe Ioffe contributing to the score with one of his own.
It is a win which makes history in many ways for the Wolves: but the chief way is that it paves the way for a first ever MRFU Prestige Cup Semi Final in March, where the men will face top seeds Falcons in a bid to go all the way.
Starting 15: Michael Galea, Jonathan Pace, Sven Camilleri, Kurt Aquilina, Agustin Rabini, Gareth Blundell, Isaac Scerri, George Strickland, Cody Schmidt, Gabriel Seychell (Captain), Axel Jeffers, Virain Hariramani, Philippe Ioffe, Simon Borg, Connor Muir
Subs Used: Leonard Schembri, Nick Xuereb, Federico Diaz, Keegan Weintraud, Mikel Dominguez Agirre, Daniel Ghirlando, Alex Apap Bologna, Adam Muscat Pitre
