After starting the season with two straight wins on the road, the Parkland Mavericks have now lost two in a row at home.
The latest set back came at the hands of the Manitoba Wombats, 34-24, Saturday, at Mavs Fest in Dauphin.
Ronin Mouck had two tries and two converts and Julien Lopez, playing his first game ever with the Mavericks, also had two tries.
The Mavericks were shorthanded for most of the game after losing a player to a red card late in the first half.
“Considering we played down a man the whole game, we played really, really good. They were starting the get tired in the second half and we did come back pretty close. But playing 14 on 15 stopped us from getting an even shot,” said captain Jordan Campbell.
The Wombats have always been one of the top teams in Rugby Manitoba’s Premier Division, with 60 players to choose from.
“And they’re a really competitive group and we were neck-and-neck with them. So I’m very happy with the way we performed, for sure,” Campbell said.
Campbell feels the Mavericks need to work on being more conservative in how they play with aggression.
“We need to stop getting penalties. That definitely is the big thing. Penalties kind of butcher us,” he said, adding the Mavericks are also missing some of their main starters.
“And I thought we played really good for what we had,” he said.
The Mavericks don’t play again until they host the Winnipeg Wasps Division 1 team, July 4, at 1:30 p.m.
Campbell said it will be good to have a two-week break.
“We’ve got about eight new players coming to practice, so we’re pretty excited to have some new faces. And back-to-back home games, we get the Premier Wasps and then the Div. 2 team, so it will give us a nice little break and build some team chemistry, so we can let them have it,” he said.
The Parkland Lady Mavericks hit the pitch for the first time, hosting the Winnipeg Brumbies, Saturday.
The Brumbies took advantage of a team which hadn’t even practiced together yet, scoring a 66-29 win over the Lady Mavericks.
Desiree Lariviere had three tries and Halie Garlinski had two tries. Kateri Mills had two converts.
Coach Cassandra Kostelnyk was pleased with how the team played.
“A lot of the girls had never played together before and they actually didn’t have a chance to get together to practice as a team before the game. So all things considered, I think they did a good job,” she said.
Kostelnyk was most impressed with how quickly they started playing as a team.
“It was almost hard to tell that they haven’t even practiced together, let alone play together,” she said.
The Lady Mavericks will travel to Brandon, June 23, to play the Lady Barbarians, a game rescheduled from May 30.
The Lady Mavericks practice Tuesdays and Thursdays at Kin Field from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and are still looking for players.
“Anybody is welcome. We’re always accepting new players. And if you’ve never played before and you’re interested, we’ll teach you everything you need to know,” Kostelnyk said.
Practice will see the Lady Mavericks go back to the basics.
“And making sure that we continue to grow our dynamic as a team and start running as a team more often and just build off what we did on Saturday,” Kostelnyk said.
“We’re excited for the next game and for what the rest of the season will bring.”