2010 Season review.

With the season finally over, following the last of the Swedish International matches last week, we thought that we should reflect on the last year.

The Men's National team had an interesting start to the year with a win in Barcelona against a strong Catalonian side. This was followed by a narrow defeat in Riga by Latvia, with several of their top players unable to make the match through no fault of their own. But they did not let that loss cloud the issue, (think about it) and they recovered to beat Croatia at home leaving them in good shape for the Autumn Internationals, both were wins and Sweden sits proudly on top of the league. So a very good year for them.

The Women's National team played in both the EM and the World Cup. Great things were expected of them following their success in 2009. Unfortunately, since qualifying for the World Cup by winning the 2009 European Championship, they have failed to win an International match. Thus the high expectations were not met and the overall losers appeared to be the women's game in Sweden.

Stockholm Exiles were runners up to Hammarby in the Elite league, but managed to overcome the same opponents in the Men's finals to deservedly win Gold. They also won the Svenska Cup, although that was obtained through a walkover following an appalling decision by GRF to forfeit the game.
Hammarby confounded their critics by having their best ever season, although faltering towards the end of the season, they should be proud of their achievment.
Enkoping went backwards and appeared to have lost some of their zest from 2009, finishing 3rd in the Elite and being totally overwhelmed n their semi-finals. A disappointing season for them.
Spartacus confounded all the critics and had their best ever season. Extremely difficult to beat at home, losing just twice, although they did come unstuck in a few of their away matches, which they managed to turn around in the semi-finals, failing by 10 points to go for gold. A creditable season for them.
Göteborg Rf were the major disappointment of the season in the Elite series. Although they did manage to win the vital away match against Pingvin. Their failure to play the final of the Svenska Cup was in our opinion a disgrace and is not what Rugby is about!
Pingvin were unlucky to be relegated losing at home to Grf in the final match of the season. However it was their performances over the season that cost them their place in the top division and they must be regretting some of their losses.

Enkoping ladies managed to prevent an overconfident Göteborg ladies from making it 3 in a row, so congratulations to them on winning Gold.
Atilla won the right to compete in the Elite next season by one point, our congratulations to them also.

Overall an interesting season with some fine rugby played, let's hope for another fine one next year.

APOLOGIES.

Many apologies for not having posted the report on Sweden''s wonderful 26-22win over Lithuania. Unfortunately after the match we indulged in rather too many toasts and as such were suffering quite badly on the Sunday, when we usually post our views. As we then embarked on rather a luxurious holiday that Sunday evening, we have been out of circulation for a week, So once again our sincere apologies.
Enough grovelling! What a great result and one that puts Sweden in a very favourable position within the group. two more wins in May next year will cement the place and get everyone talking about Swedish Rugby in a positive manner, something we all want. Congratulations to all involved!!

Sweden v Lithuania

The next team to play Sweden in the group is Lithuania on Saturday at Trelleborg, kick off is at 1.00pm.
This could well be a sterner test for Sweden as Lithuania are currently on a roll and have won their last 17 matches. Whilst Sweden will be confident after the fine display against Croatia they will and are surely wise enough not to be overconfident in the approach they take to this game. Both teams will be wanting to impose themselves on the opposition and this battle could come down to the the service the backs get from their forwards. Winning the set pieces will be vital and Sweden did well in their last outing, let's hope that it continues. It has to be noted though, that the Lithuanian pack is a lot stronger and more efficient in their game, so expect a ferocious battle between the packs. Sweden's backs did well the last time out, even the grandfather of them managed to cross the line. Given quality ball they could well do the same.
This will be a closer game but with a favourable crowd behind them, we feel that Swedish rugby will be to the fore come 3pm on Saturday.

Croatia 13 Sweden 32

Under a beautiful sky and with the weather just right for rugby the game kicked off in front of a large and expectant crowd.
Sweden receive the kick off and immediately secured the ball and through a series of play advance up the field applying pressure on the favourites, this was not what the Croatians expected and eventually succumb to foul play, conceding a penalty for a high tackle. A successful kick gives the visitors a 0-3 lead.
Sweden continue to press their advantage and attack down the right wing and are quickly awarded another penalty, which was unsuccessful this time. Then the Croatians making inroads into the Swedish half are awarded a penalty of their own which earns them 3 points.

The direct play of the Swedes though is unsettling the home side and after a well constructed play a try is taken in the right corner, although the conversion was missed.  This was soon followed by a try created and scored by two of the English players in the team following a quick tap penalty. The score is 3-12 and Sweden are bossing the game although the Croatians are dangerous in broken play. 
Another penalty awarded to the visitors and the ball sails between the posts, this is becoming a rout.
Eventually the Croats wake up and through a couple of breaks and a touch of luck score a converted try themselves leaving a half time score of 10-15. Another missed penalty by the away team is a bit disappointing but the side is playing really well

Swedish rugby is looking good and the team continue the good work into the second half. They continue to pres and from a well worked set piece they ground the ball over the line and with the extra points being added Sweden are 10-22 up and playing with flair and confidence. This seems to galvanise the home side and they start to increase the pressure and start gaining more possession and ground, the Swedish defence is holding up well and keeping their goal line secure. After a number of efforts the hosts are eventually awarded another penalty, which they kick, reducing the score by 3. However that turned out to be the last success they were going to enjoy as the visitors took the game back to them, earning yet another penalty and increasing the score to 13-25.
By now Sweden were enjoying the game and were playing in a relaxed style which through some slick and clever play saw one of the most maligned players in the squad score and show just why he is in the ream. The try was converted and Sweden led 13-32. The remainder of the half saw no further scores, although both teams looked dangerous at times. The final whistle went leaving a dispirited home side and a jubilant Swedish squad.



The next match in the group is against Lithuania on the 6th November in Trelleborg. Let's hope that the good work continues and our warmest congratulations to all involved.

Game On!

This afternoon at 16.30 Sweden start their 2 year campaign to gain promotion into group 3A. After finishing second from bottom in the last competition, hope will be high that they will be more competitive this time around.
The match is being shown live on TV in Croatia so what better incentive could there be to display the skills the players have.
If you wish to view the match you could try and use this link, http://www.livestation.com/account/streams/2745112-hrt_2?page=8, otherwise you could view updates on http://twitter.com/svenskrugby.
Let's hope that the stream works and you can cheer on the team and watch your favourite player in action.
The starting line up is:-

1.  Magnus Karlsson                      Hammarby
2.  Matthew Youngman                  Enkoping
3.  Mattias Thorhard                     Hammarby 
4.  Ivar Bengtsson                        Hammarby
5.  Viktor Pettersson                     Enkoping
6.  Mattias Björkebäck                  Hammarby
7.  Andrew Daish                         Old Albanians
8.  Sebastian Taylor                     Old Haberdashers
9.  Lee Taylor                              North Walsham
10. Tim Johansson                       Enkoping
11. Tobias Borg                           Enkoping
12. Alex Taylor                            Nuneaton
13. Paul Sullivan                          Stockholm Exiles
14. Thomas Ardvisson                  Helsingborg
15. Ian Gowland                          Stockholm Exiles


16. Jan-Olof Johansson                Spartacus
17. Stefan Obradovic                   Attila
18. Peter Wiklund                       Vanersborg
19. Andrew Saunders                  Richmond
20. Robin Karlsson                     Hammarby
21. Jim Wetterstrom                   Enkoping
22. Hannes Eriksson                   Hammarby

There are several changes to the line up from the last match against Croatia and with a some players pulling out of the squad or not being selected there is pressure on those selected in their places to perform. Let's hope they are up to the task and help bring home the first W of the campaign and show the watching public the type of game that truly reflects Swedish Rugby.

Swedish Players Attacked.

Disturbing reports are appearing in various papers throughout Europe regarding an assault on four players in the Men's National Squad.
The squad are staying in Zagreb preparing for the important group match against Croatia, some of the players flew out on Wednesday, with others joining the group on Thursday and Friday.
It appears that the four players in question decided to be spectators at a Europa Cup Match between Dynamo Zagreb and Club Bruges on Thursday evening. Upon arrival at their hotel after the match they were attacked by a bunch of football hooligans wielding clubs and sticks. The four players fled into the hotel lobby and escaped serious injury, collecting a few bruises between them.
The incident is being investigated by the local police force and the Croatian Rugby Federation.
This appears to be an isolated case and there does not seem to be a concerted cause against the Swedish Rugby Squad, however it is disconcerting that this attack took place.
After being checked by a doctor, the players appear to be physically sound and are resting, preparing for the match tomorrow.
As an aside to this Eric Lundquist has been injured in training and his place in the squad has been taken by Hannes Ericsson.
Let's hope that there are no further mishaps and the squad get the result they deserve.

Pathetic!

It has come to our attention that Stockholm Exiles have been given a walk over in the Swedish Cup Final!
Apparently Gothenborg have forfeited the game as they cannot field a team. If this is the case then some serious questions need to be asked by the Board regarding this sorry state of affairs.
As far as we can ascertain, Stockholm Exiles were training all week for this encounter and yes with their imports still here ready to represent their club. Grf on the other hand had too few players, perhaps their imports had already returned home, but surely they could have inquired of their near neighbours (Spartacus) as to whether they could borrow some players, then approach both the Board and the Exiles commitee to see if it was possible to play the game. No, the short answer was to forfeit, leaving the other finalists without a game and just as importantly, the Board with a red face and all those other clubs that entered this competition should be outraged.  No wonder Swedish Rugby is struggling!
If a club in the Elite was to forfeit a league match, they would be relegated to the league below, should that not also be the case here? This really was unworthy of the game and of Grf, they should feel ashamed.
Our congratulations to Stockholm Exiles on achieving the double, albeit in embarrassing circumstances,