Playoff run over
The Hants County Machine men knew the semi-final game against the Halifax Tars was going to be a tough one.
The Division 2 rugby team managed to keep the score close until the later stages of the game, when the Tars pulled out a 36-14 upset.
Ryan Alguire, the head coach of the Machine men’s rugby team, said they were disappointed their season came to an end Sept. 24.
“It wasn’t the outcome that we hoped for but we knew it was going to be tough,” said Alguire, who noted the Tars’ bench was deep due to university students being back in town.
“It’s absolutely disappointing to have such a successful season – to go 10-1 – and we beat them on both occasions, both home and away. They were very close games,” said Alguire.
The first game was by one point, the second game was by five points.
“Teams typically don’t get worse. We certainly haven’t. We’ve gotten better. It certainly says something,” Alguire said.
The Machine started off a bit flat, and the Tars capitalized on that, going up 12-0.
“We overcame the adversity of being down 12-0 in the semi-final to go up 14-12,” said Alguire.
“The second 20 minutes of the first half was the best 20 minutes of our season,” he said.
Team captain Axel Lawrence and Connor Sheehan both scored for the Machine, and David A. Foley provided both conversions.
“We came into the half and the boys didn’t want to come off the field. They were certainly ready to go back on the field and get some more but unfortunately, the depth of the other team didn’t help us,” said Alguire.
The score was 19-14 heading into the final quarter before the Tars pulled out the 36-14 victory.
“This one is certainly a shocker – not how we expected it to go,” said Alguire.
The head coach said he was pleased with the commitment from the Machine rugby players this season and sees a bright future for the club.
“I think every single person that came out were part of this successful, history-making season for the Machine,” said Alguire.
“To have 25 guys at a practice when you lose light at 7:30 p.m. in late September, it’s just incredible for rugby in this part of the province. That’s something to build off of. If there’s one silver lining to this, it’s that the future looks bright if we can continue at this pace.”