The Maoris had a beautiful spring Saturday for their home opener against UIC. The day started with a curtain raiser by the high school club. In which an outsized Predators side fell to defeat in a lopsided loss to the Glenn Ellyn Ducks. As the men took the field at 1pm for their match expectations were high for a positive result, which the Maoris were ready to deliver. Quickly settling into their game plan and an effective offloading game saw the men score early and often, going up 31-0 by the half. The scoring would continue in the second half with some spectacular highlights including a Cody Crawford drop goal, and a perfectly weighted kick by Dave Henne that settled right on the try line for winger Joel Sung who took it over the final score of the game. The Maoris defensive effort stymied the few attacking opportunities put together by UIC who could not maintain possession or gain any cohesion due to the effective poaching by the Maoris. The final whistle saw the score line at 78-0.

The Maoris Man of the Match for the day was flanker turned center Peter Banks. Stepping into a new position Peter’s hard running and devastating tackling helped to cement the win for the Maoris and settle a backline that has seen several changes since the fall.