Elite Series 2nd Round

An interesting weekend with all six elite teams competing for the first time this season.

Hammarby faced Exiles and somewhat surprisingly managed to defeat the team that for many are the favourites for gold this year. Exiles had the advantage of playing a couple of weeks earlier and by all reports did not need to field their strongest side to overcome that opposition, perhaps in hindsight that was to prove to be a sorry mistake. With the newly exiled coach from Exiles encouraging Hammarby, was that their second second mistake? Time will tell, but Hammarby will obviously be delighted with the win and it will leave Exiles with some serious deliberations. Result Stockholm Exiles 13, Hammarby 21.

Spartacus made their debut in this season's competition with a home match against Pingvin. The home side were without one or two of their new signings, but despite this managed to overcome the opposition . With a powerful pack and some new additions to their back line they apparently were good value for the win and scored a couple of excellent tries. Against a team that they had not beaten for some considerable time, this will be an encouraging sign for the boys from Partille. From all accounts a good match with Pingvin fielding their strongest available side. Result Spartacus 27, Pingvin 14.

Finally GRF made the long haul to Enkoping for both teams second match this year. Enkoping fielding a side shorn of a lot of their first team stars, still proved to be far too strong for a full strength Goteborg side. Although the away side managed to score some points they were simply overwhelmed by the home side. It seems that it will take a very good side to overcome ERK who when they have their full side out, will take some stopping. Let's hope that the player who suffered a broken leg will recover soon. Result ERK 66, GRF 18.

Things are now warming up nicely in the Elite and we are looking forward to the next round of matches.

Sweden 17 - Croatia 14

A test match result to be enjoyed and perhaps prove how close the earlier matches had been? Had the fates decided otherwise Sweden, could have been at least mid table if not challenging for the top spot. It has to be noted that prior to this match, Croatia had won 7 matches in a row, which included the scalp of the league champions, Holland. So no mean feat by the boys in blue and yellow.

Sweden took to the park in their brand new kit and looked a determined and professional outfit. Whilst they may have lost the contest in the singing of the national anthems, the Croats singing with much fervour, it was the only time on the day that Sweden were going to be second.
A referee that was officiating in only his second international match got matters under way and within a couple of minutes awarded a scrum to the visitors. However undeterred the Swedish pack met this challenge head on and more than matched the bigger unit and succeeded in winning the first engagement. This resulted in Sweden dominating the first ten minutes and after being awarded a penalty, which was successfully kicked, the home side took the game to the opposition. With some incisive running from the back row and the backs Sweden worked a position where a sublime crossfield kick from the Swedish captain saw the whitewash crossed for the first time and with the extra points added, it meant that the home side were 10-0 up.
Croatia, although losing some key players through injuries, (such was the intensity of the tackles), upped their game, began to attack the fringes and started to make inroads into the home sides territory. Eventually earning them a penalty, which thankfully from the home side supporters view was missed. This did not deter them however and with continued pressure they forced the ball over the line and made the conversion. With the pressure mounting, a brave take under a high ball allowed the Swedish full back to take the ball into touch and the referee blew for half time, with the score at 10-7
The opening salvo of the second half was dominated by the away team and it took some time for the home team to settle into their game plan, however this they did and the game became a tense and hard fought contest. So hard in fact that after a try saving tackle, (where did he come from?) the Swedish hooker had to go off with a severe injury to his shoulder. As luck would have it, his replacement after a short period of play, injured his shoulder and was also replaced. During his time on the field Sweden were awarded another penalty, which was unsuccessful. Following a kick downfield by the visitors, the catching full back went on a dazzling run to evade some desperate and bemused opposition players. This was supported by the backs and back row players which led to a tremendous try, lifting not only the team, but the crowd and one could almost see a smile on the faces of the Swedish coaches. The full back converted the score and Sweden were now back in the driving seat.
All credit to the Croatian side they kept playing and applying pressure which eventually led to the referee awarding a penalty try for a shoulder barge against the opposition winger, by the home side's fullback. They also kicked the conversion and brought the score back to 17-14 with about 1 minute to play. It was probably one of the longest minutes that the Swede's had to contend with, but eventually they manged to turn the ball over and were awarded a penalty, which they kicked to touch and that resulted in the final whistle being blown. A hard fought win and much relief was evident throughout the ground.

Squad for Croatia

Looks like Mike Tatu has decided to keep faith with the players from the last squad, except for one major surprise and a further change in the pack. Magnus Macdonald makes way for a returning Robert Tibell  with Daniel Legge called up from the home reserves in place of Eric Lundquist.

                    Matthias Thor Hard                                       Hammarby

                    Matt Youngman                                            Enkoping

                    Robert Tibell                                                 Enkoping

                    Viktor Pettersson                                          Enkoping

                    Daniel Legge                                                Cambridge

                    Ivar Bengtsson                                             Hammarby

                   Andrew Daish                                               Nuneaton

                   Sebastian Taylor                                           Old Haberdashers

                   Lee Sandberg                                               North Walsham

                  Tim Johansson                                               Enkoping

                   Bobby Nave                                                 Enkoping

                  Alex Taylor  (Captain)                                   Nuneaton

                  Paul Sullivan                                                  Stockholm Exiles

                  Tobias Borg                                                  Enkoping

                  Ian Gowland                                                 Stockholm Exiles

                  Richard Johansson                                        Hammarby

                  Richard Örnberg                                           Vanersborg

                  Stefan Obradovic                                          Atilla

                  Thomas Ardvisson                                        Bordeaux

                  Ricky Opuko                                                Enkoping

                  Jim Wetterström                                           Enkoping

                  Peter Wiklund                                              Vanersborg

After all the trials and tribulations of Latvia, lets hope for a win against Croatia in Enkoping next Saturday.

Off and Running

Yesterday saw the start of the Men's Elite Series and after all the debate, the big two declared their intentions.

Stockholm Exiles took a depleted squad to GRF and comprehensively demolished the home side even with their reported 4 imports. By all accounts the score would have been a great deal more, had it not been for some strange refereeing decisions. But winning 53-13 would have given the visitors plenty to smile about.  GRF on the other hand will need to have some hard training sessions over the next two weeks, as they face Enkoping away in their next match and that may prove to be even tougher.

Enkoping made the long trip to Trelleborg to face Pingvin and despite leaving some of their celebrated stars at home, they still managed to rack up another convincing win 6-28. Ominous signs for some of the other contenders in the Elite as ERK  prevented the opposition from crossing the whitewash. Two penalties being the home sides only reward. The visiting coach was probably annoyed about that as well?

The other match in the series was postponed as Hammarby had no suitable pitch available to take on Spartacus. So we will have to look at those two teams in the next round.

Elsewhere in Division 1, what could prove to be the deciding match of that series, (although no doubt some of the other clubs will argue their case) Vanerborg entertained Attila. This was always going to be a fierce contest and as such a strict referee was brought in to control the proceedings. Despite their young age and with all home grown talent taking the field, Vanersborg gave the visitors, who included a few imports, a tough game, which was entertaining as well.  However, according to reports, lack of discipline cost them the game, which eventually went to the visitors 22-23.

We cannot wait for the next round of matches, let's hope for some good rugby.

Latvia 31 Sweden 27

We thought that we would let the dust settle, not the volcanic type, but the fallout from a disappointing loss away under exceptional circumstances. Before reporting on the trip and match.

It was important to get the facts and we have done that by contacting a member of the management staff and some players.

Facts are as follows,

1. Two players pulled out at the beginning of the week due to exams and an injury which led to replacements from the home reserves being called up.

2. The air space around Skavasta was closed minutes before the the players were due to board the plane.
3. Following a dramatic dash to Stockholm the players managed to board a boat to Riga.
4. The air space around the UK was not closed until Thursday, again just before the flights were due to be boarded. The English players rebooked for Friday morning and looked at alternative ways of getting to Riga. Unfortunately they had to admit defeat on Friday.
5. The management and certain Board members attempted to get extra players from Sweden on Friday's boat to Riga. Unfortunately only one player could make it.

So Sweden took the pitch with a squad of 19 players rather than the 22 permitted and although fired up and playing well, a turnover on the half way line saw the Latvian's winger race away to score a try that was successfully converted. This did not deter Sweden and they came back to score a fine try, with the extra points  that brought the score to 7-7. There then followed a penalty to the Swedes allowing them to take the lead only for the home side to force the way over the line from a series of pick and go's. Once again the visitors came back and scored a dazzling try to once again force their way in front. Despite some missed penalties, Sweden led 12-15 at half time.
The start of the second half saw another turnover benefiting the Latvian's in front, a position that they were going to maintain for the rest of the match. With two more missed penalties, Sweden were unable to reduce the score before Latvia scored again giving them a lead of 26-15. Some good fortune eventually came their way and Sweden eventually scored out wide . However some more close quarter play allowed the Latvians back in for yet another score.There then followed a period of intense pressure which resulted in a superb try by the captain, this being converted reduced the deficit to 4 points. Despite the amount of pressure and even with two men off the park, (1 injured in the last minute and 1 very harsh sin bin) Sweden kept pushing and had one pass stuck, when the player was in the clear...who knows.
A pretty good performance from most of the players on the pitch, let us hope that Sweden get some good fortune for the next game.

Men's National Squad for Latvia

Following on from the successful win against the Danes last weekend, the squad to take on Latvia in Riga on the 17th April has just been released. There are some interesting changes, with one or two surprise omissions and inclusions. Dominated by players from Enkoping as expected, with the Northern clubs and the overseas players making up the majority of the squad. It's a surprise to see two players from Vanersborg and none from either Pingvin, Spartacus and Gothenborg. Although Spartacus do have two excellent players on the reserve list.We trust the decisions made by the FK will prove to be the correct one.

Alex Taylor (captain)	Nuneaton
Andrew Daish	Nuneaton
Lee Sandberg	North Walsham
Magnus MacDonald	London Scottish
Sebastian Taylor	Old Haberdashers
Matt Youngman	Enkoping
Bobby Nave	Enkoping
Viktor Pettersson	Enkoping
Tobias Borg	Enkoping
Eric Trogen	Enkoping
Ricky Opku	Enkoping
Eiric Lundqvist	Enkoping
Jim Wetterstrom	Enkoping
Tim Johansson	Enkoping
Mattias Thorhard	Hammarby
Hannes Ericsson	Hammarby
Rikard Johansson	Hammarby
Paul Sullivan	Stockholm Exiles
Ian Gowland	Stockholm Exiles
Thomas Ardvisson	Helsingborg
Rikard Ornberg	Vanersborg
Peter Wiklund	Vanersborg
Home Reserves
Paul Mathews	Spartacus
Jan Olof Johansson	Spartacus
Stefan Obradivic	Attila
Daniel Legge	Cambridge
Ivar Bengtsson	Hammarby
Linus Hector	Vanersborg

With some very good players left at home, there must be strong rationale behind the decision not to take them. The best of luck to the players and we look forward to a positive result.

Positive Result 15-37

With the news that Sweden's men managed to reverse the loss they suffered against Denmark last year, this was indeed a positive result, writes our reporter from Copenhagen.
The match was played under inclement weather and with the amount of rain increasing it was not a day for expansive rugby. However with the starting line up there was more than enough talent to ensure that if Sweden performed the basics well, they would win the game handsomely. Yet although they took the lead very early, some poor defending and indiscipline allowed the Danes to close the gap.  There were some encouraging signs in both the scrummaging and line out operations. Was this due to the inclusion of a new hooker?
Sweden were always leading and managed to dominate most of the set pieces in the first half, yet there were far too many mistakes in defence and attack. With poor decision making allowing the Danes to close the lead to just 3 points at half time.
There were no changes made at the beginning of the second half and once again Sweden started brightly and within minutes had scored and looked as if they would start to get some cohesion in their game to. Alas, this was not to be, and even against what was basically a poor team, the mistakes continued to flow. Unfortunately once changes were made to the pack even that source of dominance dried up and the pack at times were driven backwards, in the scrum.
The Danes started to make numerous changes as did the Swedes and the match disintegrated even more. Probably not helped by a referee, who clearly, was not good enough to officiate an international match, albeit a friendly. However he was not the reason for what was a poor team performance against a poor side.
The positives were a few reasonable individual performance, another win and the set piece looked good at times. Will it be as effective against the bigger packs from Latvia and Croatia? We can only hope so, as in our opinion they will prove to be a much sterner test than this was. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.
What of the players who were given a last chance to prove themselves, who were they and did they stand out and justify their inclusion? We wait to see what the FK decides with interest, who with all the hard work that he is putting in deserves the success that he merits.