VANCOUVER —For Lord Byng’s Grey Ghosts, this past week was the busiest stretch of their senior boys varsity rugby season shy of a hopeful run at the upcoming provincial championships.
Three games in seven days, including a pair of league wins over a challenging three-day span, in which they went a combined 2-1 meant a well-earned break over the holiday long weekend for Lord Byng which is back in action Tuesday in North Vancouver at Lucas Centre against the Argyle Pipers.
KRISTIN (New Zealand) 31 LORD BYNG 26
VANCOUVER — The Grey Ghosts opened their demanding stretch on April 12 by hosting New Zealand’s Kristin School, the same side they beat on tour back in 2018.
This time around, however, the program from the North Harbour area of Auckland came away the winners, rallying from 26-7 down in the second half behind a match-ending flurry of 24 unanswered points.
Kai Way, Max Marshall, Jack Sandover and Philippe Salazar had opened the scoring parade for the hosts with one try apiece.
The schools will renew the rivalry when Byng tours the southern hemisphere in March of 2020.
LORD BYNG 55 KITSILANO 17
VANCOUVER — A match with implications to both the VSSAA and Lower Mainland standings saw Triple-A No. 9-ranked Byng face its westside rivals, the Blue Demons, at Camosun Park.
Kitsilano started the match strong with plenty of possession, but the Grey Ghosts defended well and after great defensive line speed, it forced the Blue Demons’ fullback to spill the ball.
Byng winger Marshall kicked the ball through and chased it down to score a 60-metre try, opening the offensive floodgates.
Captain Landon Clironomos scored and converted each of his three tries. Halfback Nate Berrington-Dom scored a pair of tries while Marshall, Sam Cochrane and Sandover also managed to get over the goal line.
Kitsilano responded well after Byng made a number of changes to score the final 17 points of the match.
LORD BYNG 43 R.A. MCMATH 14
VANCOUVER — Lord Byng improved to 2-1 in Lower Mainland play with the win, getting on the scoreboard first with a great 30-metre line break from Cochrane who finished with three tries on the day.
The Grey Ghosts were able to capitalize on all of their possessions, putting multiple of phases together in order to run the McMath pack around the field and build a 26-7 lead at the half.
Clironomos scored a pair of tries, while Niko Kilindris and Salazar each found touch once. Halfback Dimitri Garyfallos had a solid outing in the first start of his senior varsity rugby career.
After competing for medals that past two seasons at provincials as a Double-A school, McMath continued to improve its performances against Top 10-ranked schools in its debut season at Triple A.
“Lord Byng proved too fast and too experienced late in the second half to open up the score line,” said assistant coach Ross Breen, “but we showed many positives for the majority of the game.”
The Wildcats will play host to North Vancouver’s Handsworth Royals when they resume Mainland play on Tuesday.
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