Lyons and North Stars primed for rugby battle
Mackenzie Lyons got the upper hand in what was expected to be a preview of the North Region senior boys rugby championship.
The visiting Lyons downed the two-time defending league champion Newtonbrook North Stars 24-5 on May 12.
For Newtonbrook, which was playing its final regular season contest, the loss was its first in six games this year. Mackenzie improved to 5-0 with the win, but perhaps more importantly, the Lyons guaranteed top spot in the seven-team league.
North Stars’ coach John Giuga was stunned with the outcome of the match, especially since his side had not allowed any points in its five previous contests while scoring a whopping 237 points.
“It’s a huge, huge shocker,” he said.
But Lyons’ coach Carla Mancini didn’t seem to agree.
“I think we’ve been training really hard for this,” she said, adding the Lyons have a rather veteran squad this season.
Mackenzie’s 27-player roster features about 20 grade 12 players, with many of them play club rugby outside of the school.
Newtonbrook and Mackenzie have met in the North Region final in each of the previous two years and both coaches believe they are heading for a third straight meeting.
Despite the regular season loss to Mackenzie, Giuga is hoping the setback was a blessing in disguise.
“It’s exactly what the boys needed,” he said. “The boys came in rather overconfident. And the next thing you know Mackenzie was giving us a game and we couldn’t adjust in time.”
Giuga noted the Lyons also beat Newtonbrook in their regular season matchup two years ago. The North Stars avenged that defeat by downing Mackenzie in the league championship.
While Newtonbrook scored its lone try in the opening half, the Lyons made their mark on the scoresheet with two tries in each half.
“I know we can play much, much better,” Giuga said, adding his charges had a half-hour talk following their loss to Mackenzie. “It was a very sombre talk and very introspective. And it was definitely a wakeup call for us.”
Giuga is confident his side will have a different approach should it indeed face Mackenzie in the league final.
“These guys are made up of some pretty tough stuff,” he said. “Hopefully they can regroup quickly.”
Newtonbrook has plenty of leadership, especially from some of its grade 12 players. These vets include Saaz Mariani, Brian Brewster, Omar Thomas, Allen Garber and Adam Joudry.
“They are the foundation of our team,” Giuga said.
Mackenzie is led by captain Steven Pittelli. Other key players – who all scored tries versus Newtonbrook – are Cheng Li, Egor Aruvtin, Ruben Slam-Sheppard and Andrew Quan.
The Lyons closed out their regular season with a 46-0 thumping of Martingrove Bears on May 14.
**UPDATE**
The Lyons defeated the North Stars in the North final on May 22 to advance to the city championship.
