The Dauphin Mavericks have been yearning to play a game this season after Rugby Manitoba failed to come up with any opponents for the local men’s rugby squad this season.

But the Mavericks were able to hit the pitch for an actual game thanks to the Winnipeg Wasps, who made the trek north for a friendly match, Saturday afternoon.

Dauphin took advantage of the opportunity to play again, scoring a 56-31 victory over their Winnipeg counterparts.

Mavericks president Codi Harrigan said the game was confirmed on Friday.

“We were hunting down the refs. So it ended up being that one of their players and myself reffed it,” he said.

Harrigan said a few new players had shown up for practice last week and they committed to play the game.

“And they were able to get on the field. Right off the bat, they showed us their skills and they definitely came out to play. They helped us a lott,” he said.

One of those players, Daniel Evans, led the Mavericks with five tries.

“That was a huge debut for him,” Harrigan said.

Given that the Mavericks haven’t played much at all this season, one might expect the team to have been a bit rusty. But the only aspect of their game that showed any rust, Harrigan said, was their conditioning.

“Our ball handling was great. Our set pieces were great. It’s just the conditioning that we need to work on,” he said.

At this point, there are no other games scheduled other than the King of the Hill match against the Brandon Barbarians later this fall in Brandon.

Harrigan appreciated the Wasps for coming out for the match.

“They support us a lot, so it was nice,” he said.

Harrigan invites anyone interested in playing rugby to come out to practices, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Kin Field at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.