The Dragons coaching team stuck to their word, with the starting XV for match one at Central Etobicoke High School composed entirely of players who had made training in recent weeks. A last minute switch saw Rob Ricci move to hooker and Kieran McQuattie come in to the back row, a move that would pay dividends throughout the match. Jeff Harris partnered Clayton in the second row, while in the backs newcomers Craig Burkett, Robbie Egan and Paddy Birch all started, with returning Dragon Mandela partnering Elliott Taylor in the centres.

The opening exchanges were dominated by the Blues, with the Dragons struggling to contain their heavier and much more experienced pack. Mississauga's talented outside centre also made yards, and would have scored in the first five minutes had it not been for Burkett's intervention, coming from the opposite wing to make the cover tackle. Kieran McQuattie was also putting himself about in the loose with a number of solid tackles in the first 20 minutes. But the pressure finally told as the Blues rumbled over the line through the pack after the 15 minute mark.

The Dragons hit back almost immediately however, as an Elliott Taylor drive into Mississauga's 22 resulted in a yellow card for McCann of the Blues. From there the forwards took a series of drives to the right, before reversing the play and some excellent handling through the backline led to left wing Robbie Egan going over for his debut try.

The Blues pack continued to hold sway for the remainder of the second half, but the Dragons defence held firm and bit by bit were able to put some structure into attack. They suffered a setback however when skipper Kunal Taneja, having spotted a gap and made a solid 20 yards before being brought down, went down with an ankle injure which forced him off the field.

But it was following that phase of play that another break down field eventually had the Dragon's pack on the opposition's five yard line, and after a couple of attempts prop Matt Latta powered over, with Paddy Birch converting to take the score to 12-5 at half time.

At the break Kelvin Yu came in at hooker to give old man Rob Ricci a break, with Jo Di Michele also coming on for Gabe De Nota. Elliott Taylor was replaced by Jeff Lemieux in the centre, with Julius Cajimat already on for the injured Tajeda.

Having weathered the efforts of the Blues forwards, the second half saw the Dragons take control of the match, with Paddy Birch doing a great job as a stand-in scrum half, moving the ball about as the opposing pack started to tire. The first try come in the opening five minutes when, from a scrum inside their own half, Jeff Lemieux delaying his pass to Mandela, who broke through the first tackle and took an arching run through a straggling defence to touch down beneath the posts to finish of a 50m try. He was knackered after that, although put his decision to come off down to a leg strain... hmm. Kenny Walker came into outside centre, and that move paid off just a few minutes later, when a smart high ball from Birch into the Mississauga half wasn't collected properly, and Walker timed his run with the bounce of the ball superbly to beat the Blues full back and race to the line. Birch was also having a good day with the boot, adding his third conversion to take the score to 26-5.

The Blues weren't done yet however, as mistakes in defence allowed them to score a long range try of their own with less than 10 minutes to play to make it 26-10.

The home team had the final word. A penally kick to the corner by Birch gave the Dragons good field position inside the opposition 22. A mixup in the line out saw them initially lose the ball, but the forwards made up for it and some excellent turnover work by the back row led to replacement Brian Kim going over for the final try, with the conversion taking the score to 33-10.

This was a decent effort against a side who could have easily overpowered us with the weight advantage, and greater experience, in the pack. But the game was won thanks to a good attacking display and solid defending, particularly from McQuattie, who was consistent throughout and a deserved man of the match. A mention should also go to Paddy Birch, who kicked four from five off the tee and did a fine job at half back after Kunal's injury. Nice one gents...