| Resounding Win for RCL
This weekend Rugby Club Luxembourg (RCL) went head-to-head with last year’s main rivals Hausen RFC; having won all three of last seasons matches against the Frankfurt based team, RCL went into the game confident of getting the win. Within the first few minutes of the match it was clear that the Luxembourg side were by far the dominant team. Keeping the German outfit pinned back into their own half and on the back-foot, it only took five minutes for RCL to get the first try of the game. RCL’s pack put enormous pressure on Hausen’s scrum on their own twenty-two metre line and as a result the ball slipped out. Scrum-half Simon Horner was able to react quickly and scoop up the ball, stepping-past the opposition winger to score in the corner, converted by Max Dozin. A silly offside offence after the kick-off by Centre James Clarke allowed Hausen to get themselves on the score board with a penalty. RCL stayed positive though and quickly re-established their seven-point lead when the back-line stopped an attack and got over the ball quickly to win a penalty, converted by Max Dozin.
Dominant RCL take control
Indiscipline and poor-decision making gave Hausen some breathing space, but not for long. After a few good phases with the forwards, the ball was quickly shipped along the line for fullback Peter Hartmann to score in the corner, unsuccessful conversion. Five minutes before-half time, the ball was turned over in the German team’s 22-metre area. Simon Horner spotting a gap next to the ruck which allowed him to slip through and score in the corner, converted by Max Dozin.
Another three tries in the second-half
The second-half continued in much the same way as the first. Hausen only made ground through RCL’s mistakes and indiscipline while RCL kept pinning them back and pressuring the line. RCL should have scored on a number of occasions but it took twenty minutes before they were to get more on the scoreboard. After several phases in the German twenty-two, RCL quickly switched the direction of attack and shipped the ball out to Flanker Jesper Christensen to score in the corner, converted by Stuart Logier. Fly-half Max Dozin picked up an injury just before the try was scored forcing RCL to re-shuffle their back line. The Luxembourg outfit scored again shortly afterwards. A huge scrum by the RCL pack won the ball back five metres from the German try line, replacement Stephen Locke then diving over the line for RCL’s fifth try, unsuccessful conversion. Winger Max Levin got in on the act in the final minute of the game, picking a fantastic line to cut straight through the defence and score under the posts, converted by Stuart Logier. RCL almost scored again in over-time when Stephen Locke broke through the defence in RCL’s own half and got the ball out wide to replacement winger Vincent Dothal. He was stopped just short of the line by a brilliant cover-tackle from Hausens Fullback. The final score, 41-3, shows a marked contrast to last years final where RCL won a tight contest 13-10 and shows how this team has progressed significantly since last season. Honourable mentions go to Simon Horner, who was instrumental in two of RCL’s tries on top of his own brace. Man of the match goes to Second-row Johnny Fitzpatrick who put in a monumental effort in defence and attack.
RCL Director of Rugby, John Paul Keane, was happy with the team’s performance, especially from the younger senior squad members and is looking forward to having all players back in training this week. |
