NYM played the first game of the season on the turf pitch by Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island against erstwhile NYC opponents Old Blue. In an extremely tough game NYM experienced the level they aspire to going down by 38 - 9.

As expected the game was a very chippy affair without ever really boiling over. Many players were given welcome reintroductions to Old Blues relentlessly physical, edge of the limit game. But hey, that's rugby, right? Under new coach Gary Tapley NYM is learning a new playing style and early indications of the progress being made could be seen, along with a lot of heart. Most of the Old Blue scores came as NYM made mistakes while trying to play with the ball in hand - rapid turnovers being fed to the Old Blue wingers who had some pace to burn and finished well. For most of the game the pack held up well also, just allowing a rumble over near the end. Scott Crafton and Mike Toth fought well in the pack while Ben Whitney had an outstanding game at prop. New winger Trini's first contribution was goading the Old Blue flanker into a yellow card, and Duncan had some useful runs through the middle at center.

The B-game showed that NYM has good depth these days and many players stepped up during another bruising battle. Typical of the spirit on the day was a greulling 5 minute goalline stand that ended with NYM keeping OLd Blue B out. However, Old Blue did manage to punch in three tries to take the game. This Saturday marked the start of a long-term process to enhance the the playing style of the club. Thank you to everyone who showed up to play, help and support from the sidelines - in particular to Rizzo and Dave Levine for coordinating the field set-up and tear-down, and Gil for reffing the B-game after playing 55 minutes of the A-game.