Saturday was the first game of the regular 2012 season. Our hosts had organised for the game to be played at Malmö Stadium, as a showcase of the sport for young Skåningar. Unfortunately, due to the threat of poor weather, the stadium’s groundkeeper shifted the match to Lindängen only hours before kickoff. While news of the change in venue spread quickly through the Lugi ranks, not everyone received the update: one lonely soul remained stranded, whistle in hand, no doubt wondering what became of the thirty south-Swedish ruggers.

In any case the groundsman was right. Twenty minutes before kickoff a light rain settled in that would continue through to the final whistle.

The Lugi lads started the day well. Pressure on the first kickoff lead to a turnover, from which Malmö conceded an off-side penalty. Adam “Monk” Borg slotted the ball through the sticks and we took an early lead.

Sadly, these were to be the only points we were able to put on the board for the day.

Rain, in combination with a high penalty count – 35 full arms by my math – meant that the game was played largely from the set piece. And our tight-five forwards seized the opportunity to show what they have been working on over the winter.

Lead by Magnus Andersson and Tadas “Horse Power” Valutis in the front row, our scrummaging was strong. New player Mihai Suvaiala adds a lot to that combination, clearly showing in the second half why prop forwards should not, preferably, weigh less than 90kg. Where we struggled in the scrum was in stability after the hook, and in support from the back row. This is something that will come with experience, but in facing an ex-international scrum-half, this was a weakness for which we paid in points.

Lineouts were a little shaky to begin with, but soon settled. Josef Le Pluart was dominant at the front, and “The Pendulum” Guenot solid at the back. Since realising that contact lenses improve your eyesight “The Pendulum” has established himself as a lineout wizard often tapping, yes tapping, the ball from the top. A true display of French flair. But like our scrums, in coming games we will benefit from better stability and support for the scrum-half.

Unfortunately we were unable to capitalise on the platform offered from scrums and lineouts. Our back-row was simply too slow to the breakdown. The Malmö lads are not known for removing themselves from the ball carrier, and we were hesitant to show them how it’s done. Time and again we conceded penalties at the first phase, and time and again we did not react to the resulting quick tap.

Only Johannes “Preacherman” Imberg, in a brief stint at blindside flanker, was able to demonstrate the proper flair that the position requires.

Back row rugby was a strong part of our game in 2011. It allowed us to turn the phases over quickly and move the ball from one side of the pitch to the other. If we are to build on the successes of last year we must reaffirm our strength in this part of the game.

Given the lack of support they received, it is a wonder that Sebastian Thylander and Antonio “The Stallion” Privitera played as well as they did. While we rarely strung together more than two phases, our nine and ten approached what was in front of them with grit and determination. Both players were strong in the tackle and vocal in defensive organisation. With more time together and better decision making in attack they will come to offer us a broad and reliable foundation for dynamic running rugby. Keep an eye on these two.

In the backline, Kyle “Handprint” Cahill was impenetrable in defence, and “Viking” Cordes looked dangerous on the few occasions he was given the ball. Our outside backs had their work cut out for them on Saturday. To stand in the cold rain for 10 minutes at a time and then be expected to turn on a dime is no easy task. “The Tattoo” Lönsjö was certainly up to the task, looking dangerous with a particularly plucky run on to a half-volley in the first half. While our other outside backs worked well in position play – backed up by a sweeping Dennis “Frenchie” Hellebuyck – they too often looked to pass the responsibility of contact on to somebody else.

As the game progressed our breakdowns got better but our defence got worse. As a result, we started to look better with the ball in hand, but unfortunately allowed Malmö to pile on the points. While the final score was 28 to 3, this doesn’t feel to me like a true indication of the day’s match. We had plenty of energy in the legs – fitness was certainly not a problem on Saturday – but some of the fight went out of the heart.

There was one player who lost none of his heart, and for his consistent work rate and tenacity earned himself the best-on-ground award: Dion “Hammer” Granström. Wet weather conditions are never nice to play under. It takes a certain type of player to turn that around and “Hammer” is that certain type of player. He was fierce in contact – one of the few players to actually tackle with his shoulders – a pillar of strength in the set piece and tireless in support.

There were a lot of positives to take out of Saturday’s game. Despite the scorecard, I’m not worried with the team’s progress, and am confident that I will have a very different story to tell after our next battle with Malmö in three weeks time.

If you are at all interested in playing rugby in the Spring, then the Lugi Lions rugby club invites you to join us at training.

The Lugi Lions train at Centrala IP near Lund Central Station every Monday and Thursday from 6pm. We urge anyone interested in the sport to come down and give it a shot.

What have you got to lose?

The Lugi Lions Rugby Club is a great place to play rugby, keep fit and have fun – an environment in which Swedes and exchange students mix freely. We have both men’s and women’s teams and can cater to all backgrounds and levels of experience. Our teams include beginners of all ages, internationals who have played for many years in their own country, as well as Swedes who have played at the national level.

Lugi is a very social club. Over the years we have welcomed players from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, England, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazahkstan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and of course the USA! There are plenty of opportunities to party; our beer prices are as cheap as the Nations and in 2012 we will be showing rugby games every week at the clubhouse.

Ladies, get in contact with Helene at damer@lugirugby.com.
Gents, you’ll need to speak to Paolo at gents@lugirugby.com.

The Lugi Lions Facebook Group
The Lugi Ladies Facebook Group

Ladies and Gentlemen, the first Lund Rugby Grand Slam is on!
(English follows)
Vad är det? Det är en rugbyturnering för både damer och herrar från gymnasieskolor runt Lund. Reglerna kommer vara förenklade 7-manna regler så att även spelare utan rugby bakgrund kan njuta av det snabba, tuffa och spännande spelet.

När och var? Turneringen kommer att spelas på Centrala IP. Preliminärt datum är lördag den 16 juni. Den slutliga upplägget för turneringen beror på hur många lag som kommer att registrera sig.

Är det säkert? Rugby är en kontaktsport och hårda tag är en del av spelet. Alla spelare uppmanas att delta i några träningar för att lära sig hur man säkert tacklas.

Vi vet ingenting om spelet! Inga problem: tränare från Lugi Lions RC finns för att lära dig grunderna.

Vad kostar det? Det kostar inget!

Hur anmäler jag ett lag? Samla minst 7 lagkamrater, hitta på ett lagnamn och skriva ett mail till kontakt@lugirugby.com. Om skolan inte har ett lag kan du gå med i någon av de andra lagen. En skola kan ha så många lag som möjligt. Deadline för registrering är den 15 maj.

Frågor? Kontakta oss på: kontakt@lugirugby.com
Glöm inte att trycka på “Gilla” på RGS Facebook-sida.

Må bästa lag vinna!

What is it? It’s a rugby tournament open to Ladies and Gents teams from gymnasia in the Lund area. It will be played under simplified 7s rules so that even players with no rugby background can enjoy a fast tough smart thrilling game.

When and where? The tournament will be played at Centrala IP. Preliminary date is Saturday the 16th of June. The final format of the tournament depends on the number of teams that will register.

Is it safe? Rugby is a contact sport and hard hits are part of the game. All players are requested to attend some training sessions to learn how to safely tackle.

We don’t know anything about the game! No problem: coaches from Lugi Lions RC are available to teach you the basics.

What does it costs? N o t h i n g!

How can I enter a team? Gather at least 7 team-mates, find a team name and write a mail to kontakt@lugirugby.com . If your school doesn’t have a team but you want to play you can join any of the other teams. A school can enter as many teams as it can. Dead line for registration is the 15th of May.

Questions? Contact us writing to kontakt@lugirugby.com
Don’t forget to press “Like” on the RGS Facebook page .

May the best team win

“What happens on tour stays on tour”, dear Lugi friends, so nothing will be told in this report about the Lions’ performance outside the pitch in Saarlandstraße 71: it’s enough to mention that the battle has been preceded by a long night reconnaissance mission and our warriors were somewhat drowsy when they entered the arena good 15 minutes before kick-off (poor David “SpicySnus” Lönsjö had to skip his stretching). Beautiful scenery for a glorious day: almost 20°C, cloudless sky and a lovely facility right on the edge of Hamburg city park. According to the St.Pauli homepage the Lions were to face a mixture of players from the local first and third team. Lugi responded with the experienced back line displayed in the last games of our 2011 campaign, Seba Andersson “Highlander” returning at 9 and a very experimental scrum that took advantage of the heavy physicality of flankers Will Byckford, Ben Mwenda Singleton and Jordan “7seconds” Hayes.

St.Pauli started the game at high pace while our Lions were still trying to remember the basics of tackling technique and less than 3 minutes after kick-off the white-n-brown center cut the swedish defense to score under the goal posts and bring the local side on 7-0: with the whole game still ahead this was the cold shower that woke up the Lions. The forwards felt that our opponent was within our reach and led the counter-attack controlling the scrums and retaining ball possession at line-outs: a bunch of minutes after the locals scored our hard work paid back and Lugi’s captain (the humble writer) was crossing the try line to reduce the gap to 7-5 and reopen the game.

A forward pack providing good balls and dry weather: what more can a back line ask for? Our runners become in fact even too enthusiastic: an unprecedented number of dropped balls was the consequence of our backs rushing to score from first phase and condemned the pack to some 15+ scrums in the first half only. The first fraction was indeed a forwards game that kept the fatties challenging each other at set-pieces. Line-outs were kept simple (as simple as calling first jumper “Joseph” and second “Gijs/Anna”) but worked smoothly in attack despite an aggressive defense from St.Pauli. The german line-outs were a much better oiled mechanism and we never got close to steal a ball in defense. With both packs being a patchwork of players, the scrums become a challenge between first rowers: Tadas “bulldozer” Valutis at tight consistently held his ground while Dion “the Wall” Granström was pushing back his direct opponent with such an intensity that he finally lost a patch of skin from his neck. The first half ended with two exhausted packs and no more point on the scoreboard: 7-5.

During the break we cooled our minds and recalled the precepts of master Jim “Zen” White: “structure and composure, keep it simple”. The Lions started the second half with a different attitude and went back to what we had practiced on the gravel of Linero: we received kick-off, Seba (very solid display for a guy that hasn’t been on the pitch since last summer) shepherded the forwards in playing flat, the gates opened for Viktor “RichieGray” Cordes that run across the pitch from the middle line and brought Lugi on the sunny side of the score board: 7-12 and one entire half ahead to play. St.Pauli’s reacted immediately bringing fresh bodies in the front row and adding weight and experience both in the forwards and in the backs: the second half saw an evident scrum dominance of the germans but we managed anyway to keep our own feed. Short after Viktor’s try, Olof “Grandpa” Carlsson quickly tapped a penalty, fooled the defense with his deceptive slow pace and run from midfield to the try line: 7-19.

The home team was not any keen on giving away a victory on its own ground and stroke back using its fresher and heavier pack: they won a line-out on our 5 m line, formed a maul and drove all the way to Lugi’s last trench: 14-19. With legs getting tired our lack of organization became more evident and under/over-commitment in our rucks was often an issue. Nonetheless Lugi took charge again of keeping the show alive: Joseph “SafetyStair” Le Pluart finally escaped his tacklers and galloped from the middle of the pitch to bring in 5 more points and Viktor added a second try to his booty. Kyle “PinkRabbit” Cahill, in a desperate attempt to make him score few points for Lugi, was given kicking duties and he slotted in two conversions for a round 14-33.

From this point the Lions’ attention shifted from the game to the BBQ waiting for us while St.Pauli was well determined in launching a last assault. Their aggressiveness in defense raised, as Antonio Rage Privitera experienced in first person, and they shown very effective off-load skills that conquered meter after meter of Lugi’s ground. The Lions’ defense around the break-point was heroic: Diego “Fromage” Guenot repeatedly tried to slow the ball carrier throwing his own body under the boots of his opponent while Dion “HoverDam” displayed an unbelievable tackle rate and deserved his Man of the Match award. While St.Pauli kept raising the pressure on us our defensive line completely lost composure out wide and, despite Linus “the bottler” Persson performing his one tackle and Brian “Guinnes” Kennedy trying to mesmerize his opponents, St.Pauli manage to score two more corner tries for the final 24-33. In his debut in the maroon and black jersey Edwin “Muscle” Bywater proved his values both on and off the pitch: welcome!

A good victory for Lugi on the pitch (St.Pauli was going to challenge us again in the evening…but there won’t be any match report about that) that highlighted many areas to work on in the next month. We thank St.Pauli for the warm welcome (including the Swedish flag) and we hope to meet them again at Centrala IP.

Final score: Hamburg FC St. Pauli 24 – Lugi Lions 33
Best on: Dion
Lugi points: Viktor 10 (2t), Olof 9 (1t+2c), Joseph 5 (1t), Paolo 5 (1t), Kyle 4 (2c no try, again)

Congratulations to all Lugi players and supporters for a fantastic weekend of rugby. If you haven’t already, you can check out the games by clicking on read more below.

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