UVIC 30 CAPILANOS 24
Riffing off the old Motown hit by Martha and the Vandellas, the UVic Vikes in rugby having been wondering: Philly Mack, when are you coming back?
The answer was Saturday.
Mack, expected to captain the Canadian sevens team in Olympic qualifying for Rio 2016, returned after injury to lead the Vikes to a 30-24 upset over the defending champion Capilanos of North Vancouver in B.C.
Premier League action at Wallace Field.
He returned to the Vikes roster for the first time since injuring his ACL last December and Mack's performance was vintage as the Oak Bay High grad scooted across for two tries and also slotted a drop goal from an acute angle.
"It's been a tough year and a long road back but sometimes you have to go through these things and it makes you try even harder," said Mack.
"I'm just happy to be back, especially for the home opener in which we beat the defending champions. This was a real measuring stick."
What made UVic's win all the more impressive was that the Vikes were missing injured Adam Kleeberger, whose beard became nearly iconic during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, and injured standouts Sean Duke and Nathan Hirayama, who, with Mack, paced Canada to the gold medal in sevens at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"It's only a matter of time until everybody is back and it'll be interesting to see us when we're at full strength," said Mack.
Other UVic tries came from Aaron Johnstone and Keaton Styles while Pat Kay kicked a penalty and two converts.
Mack was missing last week, because of B.C. provincial team duties, as UVic opened the Premier season with a 27-5 loss to the Meralomas in Vancouver.
"This was a great result for us and a very big step forward," said Vikes head coach Doug Tate, after Saturday's victory.
"Phil Mack was amazing. He was the best player on the field while Beau Parker, Liam Murray and Chase Keliher were on fire defensively."
Two other Island clubs opened the 2012-13 season Saturday on the Lower Mainland with mixed results as James Bay defeated Meralomas 28-24 while Burnaby Lake beat the Castaway Wanderers 20-10.
