This past Saturday, the Division 1 Mystic River team traveled to the Irish Cultural Centre for an ARP match against the Boston Irish Wolfhounds. The Division 1 side defeated the Hounds 36-16, improving their record to 4-2. Mystic’s Division 2 Barbarians also improved on their record by beating Providence at Pine Banks by a score of 42-10 and improved to 5-1 on the season. It was a rainy day but two strong wins shined some light on the late stages of the season for Mystic River.

The Mystics started their game versus the Wolfhounds at a slow pace. The Hounds were able to find 13 early points within the first 15 minutes via a try, conversion, and two penalties. Despite an early lead for the Wolfhounds, the Mystics responded in true club fashion. Flanker John Sullivan found the try zone and dotted one down narrowing the score to 5-13. Hooker Diego Maquieira added to the score by dotting down a try off of a driving maul. The halftime whistle was blown and the Mystics were down 10-16 after a Hounds penalty conversion, but the Mystics we still regaining momentum.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, wing Chris Frazier scored in the corner and center Alatasi Tupou slotted the difficult conversion. Mystic now had the lead 17-16 over the Wolfhounds. Wing Vini Daleyjoined the scoring; after strong pressure on a deep kick, Daley gained possession of the ball and scored under the post. Tupou slotted the easy kick and extended the lead to 24-16. Maquieria scored another try in the corner after strong phase play. Tupou converted the kick yet again and increased the Mystic lead to 31-16. With 5 minutes remaining in the game, fullback Jared Collinson assisted a hard running Robbie Malneek for a 40m try. When the final whistle blew, the Mystics had won the match 36-16 and extended their record to 4-2 in the ARP.

The Mystic Barbarians hosted Providence with hopes of redeeming themselves after losing to Worcester last weekend. The Barbarians opened up the scoring with two relatively quick tries courtesy of wing Atoa Ripley and scrumhalf Adam Tafau. After a penalty conversion from center Stephen Diamantopolous, the Barbarians were up 13-0 early in the match. Diamantopolous continued adding to the scoreboard by self-converting his own try assisted by 8-man Alex Appel extending the lead to 20-0. Prior to halftime, Ripley scored another try by breaking a 50m run down the sideline, giving Mystic River a 25-0 lead. Providence managed to drive in a maul bringing the score to 25-5 at halftime.

In the second half, Mystic River added 3 more tries against their counterparts. Wing John Wilson dotted down a try extending the lead to 35-5. Second Row Andrew Burns added to the scoring hitting a hard line off of a quick tap by prop Matt Maloney. The final try for the Barbarians resulted in a hat trick for Atoa Ripley as he picked off a pass and scored untouched. The conversion was made and the score was 42-5. Providence scored late in the match, but that was all they could manage. The Mystic River Barbarians won the match 42-5 and improve to 5-1 on the season.

This Saturday, the Mystics will be in two locations again yet again. The Division 1 team will stay at Pine Banks to host Life University for the team’s lone match in the Atlantic Cup. Mystic last played Life in March 2015 where they suffered a tough loss 88-7, but was a pivotal point in the club’s history as they realized they needed to improve greatly to win a National Championship. The Division 2 team will head north to Maine to play against Portland. These two teams last played in April during the NERFU playoffs. Mystic River won that match 53-24 and will look to repeat that fixture.

We hope that you can attend either of these matches to support the Boys in Blue!

Upcoming Schedule:
10/28 (FRI) 7:00pm – Welcome Reception @ MJ O’Connor’s (in the Westin Hotel at 425 Summer St)
10/29 (SAT) 1:00pm – D1/ARP vs Life University
10/29 (SAT) 1:00pm – D2 at Portland
10/29 (SAT) 4:00pm – Post Match @ The Harp (85 Causeway St)

Thank you to all our sponsors and Mystic Nation for your unwavering support!

GO BLUE !!