The UM Wolves RFC Men’s Team ended their calendar year on a high, as they battled to another clinical victory, this time against reigning champions Falcons RFC.
It promised to be a well-fought encounter, particularly after the Wolves edged to a 34-26 win over Falcons earlier in the season.
What transpired as a commanding performance from the Wolves and a rock-solid defence, with four tries – two in each half – going unanswered by the final whistle.
It was what has become the standard starting formation for much of the season which hit the pitch for Wolves, with the only shift being Connor Muir donning his more suited inside centre role and Virain Hariramani shifting to full back.
It was a physical start, with Benjamin Johnston having to come on after just six minutes to replace Simon Borg due to injury. Wolves were controlling much of the possession but were yet to make any impact on the scoreboard. A penalty kick from Muir sailed uncharacteristically wide, keeping the score at a stalemate into the first quarter of the match.
Things unlocked soon after though: clean ball from the lineout saw George Strickland make metres with a trademark strong carry, being brought down on the halfway line having made a gain of some 10 metres.
Cody Schmidt let rip a 20 or so metre pass wide to Philippe Ioffe who identified the space in front of him and sent a deft chip kick over the Falcons defence for Virain Hariramani to chase. The pick-up was good, and Hariramani went over to score the first try of the match. Muir obliged with the conversion from out wide, making the score 7-0.
The pressure was mounting on Falcons, and their stout defence was unlocked again towards the end of the half. Gareth Blundell stole a Falcons lineout on their five metre line and, after a couple of phases, the ball was shipped wide to Johnston out on the wing who went over to score.
No conversion followed, and it was 12-0 to Wolves going into half time.
It was Johnston’s first try in a Wolves shirt: he first pulled on the green jersey as a University of Malta student back in 2022.
A strong start in the second half as key to keep the momentum, and that’s what happened with three minutes on the clock: Ioffe made significant metres as he ran from the Falcons 22 metre line right to the try line before being brought down, and Keegan Weintraud scored off the next phase to make it 19-0 after Muir’s conversion.
Weintraud’s try was a significant milestone for the club: it was the 100th try scored in Wolves history in competitive matches.
It was Weintraud who secured the win mid-way through the half: a good half-break by Hariramani drew in the last defender, and his final pass out wide allowed the South African to score a walk-in try, which was converted by Muir.
The score remained 26-0 – enough for a bonus point win to extend the Wolves’ lead at the top of the league table with maximum points from the first five matches of the season.
Starting 15: Michael Galea, Jonathan Pace, Sven Camilleri, Kurt Aquilina, Mikel Dominguez, Gareth Blundell, George Strickland, Keegan Weintraud, Cody Schmidt, Gabriel Seychell, Simon Borg, Connor Muir, Philippe Ioffe, Axel Jeffers, Virain Hariramani
Subs Used: Kurt Sciberras, Agustin Rabini, Federico Diaz, Isaac Scerri, Benjamin Johnston, Francesco Pace Parascandalo, Ryder Croft
Subs not used: Leonard Schembri
