A measured all-round display by the Canadian Wolverines chopped down the Cedars’ aspirations of walking off Lamport Stadium as winners with the home side taking control of the game from the opening whistle.  The Canadians propelled their 20-0 half time lead to an emphatic 36-18 victory. Despite less than friendly storm clouds the 2,300 strong crowds braved the wet conditions and remained in voice for the entire game as the Canadian and Lebanese flags battled the winds all over the stadium.  

Tony Felix starred for the Wolverines, scoring a first-half brace of tries and setting up several more, as his forward pack steamrolled their way all over the ground. The young Lebanese were no match for their bigger, faster and much fitter opponents. The visitors showed nerves from the outset and never really recovered despite outscoring the Canadians 18-16 in the second half. Two tries to Tony Felix and tries to Stu McReynolds, Geoff Bylund, Matt Wyles, Robin Legault, Justin Redguard and four goals by Stu McReynolds were enough to outscore the efforts of James Boustani, Mohamed Merheb, Toni Sassine, and Boustani’s three conversions.

The Canadian halves took on the line from close range to put their forwards through the Lebanese defensive gaps.  The meters gained by the forwards allowed their backs to get in the thick of the action at every opportunity. The Cedars reduced the gap to 12 points just twenty minutes into the second period, but any chance of a comeback was put on hold when the Wolverines ran in their second full length-of-the-field try.

Speaking after the match, Canadian Coach Richie Moore commented: “It was a great team performance. Everybody played an important role and the whole team should be proud of their performance. I know I am”.

While Cedars Coach David Bayssari was disappointed with the effort of his team, he had nothing but praise for the home side. “Our boys didn’t step up tonight and were well under par from what I expected. We didn’t perform the little things well and wrong options were taken too many times. The Canadians played an excellent game. They applied early pressure on us and were rewarded on the scoreboard. Good luck to them.”

Photo: www.colinwatsonphotography.com

CANADA
Robin Legault,Tony Felix, Geoff Bylund, Stu McReynolds, Justin Redguard, Matt Wyles, Jamie Lester (c), Keegan Watcham-Roy, Graham Dobbs, Mike Thorne, Enoch Wamalwa, Henry Miers, Chris Chalmers, Matt Pettie, Graham Stevens, Cam Grace, John Felix

LEBANON
Abraham Al Zakham, Mazen Knio,  Mohamed Merheb,  Robin Hachache,  Riad Khoury,  Toni Sassine,  James Boustani, Mounir Finan,  Andrew Kazzi, Raymond Finan,  Michael Elias,  Geaton Osman,  Nemer Saliba. Subs:  Michael Moubarak,  Rodger Tohme,  Elie Hdayed,  Adel Kanso