The first event of the SRF’s experimentation with the shortened version of the game saw the Lugi Lionesses travel down once again the Trelleborg to take on four other teams, in what was a day aimed at developing not only skills but also the general knowledge of how to plays the 10 man game.

The format saw us take on four different teams and at the end of the day the girls had won one, drawn one and lost two, not bad for our first run out but leaving us with plenty of areas to improve.

Game 1 – Loss to Göteborg 25 – 0

The old rivals were the first team on the slate and we started with a very experimental line-up to see what this game of 10s was all about. The first half really highlighted the difference that playing with five less players makes, as Gothenburg took advantage early on by passing the ball round our defence which was a little too tight around the breakdown. Our attacking play lacked incision to begin with, which meant very little possession going forward and therefore a lack of threat to Gothenburg’s lines. The girls ended the first half trailing by four trys but by no means looked defeated.

The second half was a much tighter affair as time and again the Lugi line, lead by Elizabeth Sonnenholzner and her hard tackling, thwarted the Gothenburg attack and better organisation with the ball in hand meant that the girls threatened on numerous occasions. However, despite the effort Gothenburg scored one more unanswered try to take the game 25-0.

Game 2 – Draw with Vänersborg 12 – 12

Out of all the day’s games, this one meant the most after last weekend’s loss and tomfoolery on the behalf of VRK. This weekend’s clash saw Lugi dominate their opposition in every possible way early on with Sonnenholzner once again shutting down the oppositions most dangerous player, who had had a field day against the Lugi defence the previous weekend.

The attacking play this game was excellent and impact running from Emma Lönsjö and captain Mican Francke – Ryden meant that the ladies constantly broke the gain line. Their excellent play got exactly what it deserved when after putting together numerous phases, Francke – Ryden broke the line and scored under the posts to allow Kerstin Lövendahl to add the extras for a 7 – 0 lead. Unfortunately the girls received a big kick in the teeth when a turnover in the tackle led to a breakaway try just before the half, which was fairly lucky for VRK since they hadn’t created much in the way of attacking phases for the whole half.

Coming out after half time with the score at 7-7 the ladies once again were all over their opposition with Francke – Ryden making herself a nuisance at the breakdown with multiple turnovers and the whole team working together as a unit. The second try of the game was the result of fantastic team play as a lineout won on our own 22 followed by some top level back play led to Lövendahl finding herself some space on the outside and scoring from a long way out.

Travesty then befell the team when a series of poor decisions from the middle led to VRK gaining a head of steam and ultimately a last second try from a couple of meters out despite the valiant Lugi defence. A heartbreaking end, a draw on the scoreboard, but ultimately the girls proved their point after last week’s performance and can be justly proud.

Game 3 – Win against Malmo 66 – 5

The third game against Malmo was a one sided affair but the girls worked hard for every try they scored and never played down to the level of their opposition, instead producing fantastic rugby for the full 20 minutes. Sonnenholzner got the team on the scoreboard after some quick hands and good backline play led to a bruising run that saw her break five would be tackles. The second try came through the hard working Ann Gustavsson who was a constant threat throughout the game with multiple breaks and on this occasion found herself over the whitewash following a handoff and a short run.

The girls were 21 points to the good when Malmo broke the line and despite some hard working cover defence, managed to put up their only points of the game to take the score to 21-5.

Usual service quickly resumed as fearless international Francke – Ryden benefited from some good support play after a Gustavsson break to grab the score that re-asserted the Lionesses as the best team on the park. Anna Thynell also got her name on the score sheet as all her handoff practice finally payed off as she skipped her way through the Malmo defence before juking the last defender to finish off a fantastic solo effort.

As the game wound down, hearts were found in mouths as Britt Dreja went on a barnstorming run with the whole sideline cheering her on only to be brought down inches from the try line, but ultimately leading to a Lövendahl try. From there, Lövendahl and Francke – Ryden both grabbed themselves hat-tricks on the way to a final score of 66-5 and a overall great team performance.

Game 4 – Loss against Pingvin 46 – 10

The final game of the day saw us take on the home team, Pingvin, who had enjoyed a fairly successful day overall in their previous matchups. The game started poorly for the Lionesses as immediately from the kickoff Pingvin worked it wide to their winger who turned on the accelerators and outpaced the Lugi cover defence to the try line. This was quickly followed by a very similar scenario, but from a scrum, when once again Pingvin took advantage of our weak defence out wide to take the ball around us and extend their lead to 10 – 0. Lugi once again proved their newfound resiliency as they then managed to work through a couple of phases up to the oppositions 22 meter line before good awareness from Francke – Ryden spotted a small opening on the blindside, which she exploited for a try with a quick pick and go.

At this stage Pingvin showed a bit of cynic spirit by knocking down one of Lugi key players while the ball wasn’t even in play. The Lugis never really reacted to this episode and from here the team really struggled to cope with Pingvin’s ability to work the ball out to the wing. In fact on numerous occasions the Lugis were faced with breaks out wide which lead to multiple trys from the opposition. The team fought valiantly throughout and once again were rewarded when Lövendahl simply outpaced the opposition’s backline by arcing round the outside and scoring our final points of the day. In the end the scoreboard was a little disappointing with a loss by 46 – 10, but overall the girls could be pleased with their fight and toughness throughout.

Squad: Lina Adeen, Chloe Chardon, Britt Dreja, Mican Franke – Ryden, Ann Gustavsson, Emma Lönsjö, Kerstin Lövendahl, Rebeka McCarthy, Malin Carvalho Nejstgaard, Anna Thynell, Linnea Roslund, Elizabeth Sonnenholzner, Gabriella Westerdahl.

(written by Ross Watson)

On the 3rd day of tour (not including the traveling day) was the time finally there to see how prepared the mens team was for the upcoming season. Even though the three days in Amsterdam demanded a lot from us, we still took off to the western part of Amsterdam to play on this beautiful easter day against Ascrum. Because both teams were slightly short on numbers, the decision was made to play ten’s instead of the normal fifteen’s.
The Lions started convincing, as always, which resulted in a beautiful try after many phases of attack. Shortly after Laury, managed to see a gap the size of Manhattan on the blind side and decided to take a run for it and managed to finish off. David and Victor scored not much later in a combined attempt but this try was cancelled because the referee (and we still don’t know why) saw a forward pass in it. This try was for Ascrum the sign to take it up a notch and they scored twice as well before half time which resulted in an equal starting point for the second half. Even though Lugi was camping on the Ascrum Try line for much of the game, it was hard to make it all the way through. The referee for the second half, who made his referee debut, was also not very strict on hands in the ruck (what happens in the ruck stays in the ruck) and so the Lugi Lions saw themselves forced to react quickly, which didn’t really happen, when an Ascrum player who played the entire game in an eastern bunny costume managed to take the ball out of the ruck on the Ascrum try line and run with it across the field. Even though the three days of Amsterdam was starting to take it’s toll on the Lions, which showed in the further part of the game, Victor still managed to score a try by using his strength to ignore the tackle that was made on him. The Lions finished the game with only nine players after both David and Will had to leave the field due to knee injuries. Lluc Out, one of the few who managed to remain fit all game, was awarded man of the Match, partly due to a flying tackle on one of the Ascrum forwards. The third half was obviously won, but that’s something that will remain on tour.

Final score: Ascrum – Lugi Lions 38-26

(written by Gijs van der Poel)

The first game in this year’s Damer Allsvenskan saw the Lionesses take on Vänersborg RK away from the Lion’s den on a beautifully sunny day for rugby.
Once again international commitments and last minute drop outs conspired against the team and meant that we fielded only 11 players in a game of 12’s, which had the girls behind the eight ball from the start.

This report isn’t going to pull any punches, the game finished with Vänersborg running out winners 104-7, but just reading the score would not do justice to the performance of the 11 girls that took the 700km trip north.

If ever the phrase ’a tale of two halves’ was to be used, it was for this game because whilst the first portion of the contest was a very dissapointing display from the ladies, where they were thoroughly out played by their opposition, the second half gave us a very encouraging and in some ways impressive performance from the girls.

VRK’s early backline play was just too good for their Lugi counterparts, who were one player short out wide, as some strong and direct running from VRK’s inside center really caused problems in defence which meant that Lugi were three scores down before the crowd had settled into their seats. Whilst Elizabeth Sonnenholzner and Malin Carvalho Nejstaard were tackling anything that moved, their team mates were not so keen early in the game, and this meant that VRK broke through Lugi’s line on numerous occasions and were always playing on the front foot making life very easy for the home team.

Early encouragement came through a good break from Catherine Blanc who burst through the middle on a crash and took the ball 30 meters before finding herself in a forest populated by VRK players and not a Lugi in sight, meaning that the team wasn’t able to capitalise on their first true attacking platform. The rest of the first half continued to see VRK dominating as Lugi’s tackling, defence and support around the ruck area was lacklustre leading to Lugi’s line being crossed on numerous occasions.

Despite the nearly insumountable total, the second half saw the Lionesses begin make a vast improvement in all aspects of their game. The level of tackling from the entire team improved dramatically, which really made VRK work for every inch of grass. Captain Emma Lönsjö led from the front and could be seen hunting down numerous players in blue, started to cause some real problems for the opposition around the breakdown and became a real source of inspiration for the team as demonstrated by winger Rebecka McCarthy who single headedly cleared out three VRK players in a critical ruck near Lugi’s try line.

No matter what the standard of play, being down by so many points would see many teams give up the ghost and not play, but the Lugi Lionesses are not a normal team. Their play throughout the second half never saw the give an inch that VRK didn’t earn as the defensive work was stellar and unforgiving and the contest up front was much more even and overall a more watchable spectacle.

Eventually Lugi were rewarded for their hard work. When a series of well put together phases put VRK under a lot of pressure they gave away a penalty from 25 meters out. The opportunity was seized upon by Blanc who’s tap and run saw her shaking a couple of tackles and finding herself with enough open grass to score under the posts and add the extras herself.

At the end of the day the result on the scoreboard was a big disappointment for the girls, but upon reflection the second half performance was a real source of encouragement and a gave the team a glimpse of what they are capable of when they put their minds to the task and do the basics correct. This report may have picked our a few specific names but all 11 players on the day should be commended for their second half effort and dedication to the cause.

Squad: Lina Adeen, Catherine Blanc, Jorun Borggren, Ann Gustavsson, Emma Lönsjö, Rebecka McCarthy, Malin Carvalho Nejstaard, Kristina Petersson, Linnea Roslund Elizabeth Sonnenholzner and Anna Thynell.

Lioness of the Match: Catherine B., Malin CN. and Emma L.

(written by Ross Watson)

On a sunny day in Trelleborg, Lugi’s famous ladies team took the short car journey down south to compete in the southern portion of Sweden’s sevens qualification series. The girls group consisted of a newly established team in Kalmar and the old rivals Göteborg, who Lugi fell to in the final of the Håckes Cup. Due to international commitments and a few other excursions, the team was not quite at full strength, but also meant that the side was able to blood some new talent.

The Lionesses played the days first game against Kalmar and whilst the opposition was young and fairly inexperienced, they did not lack in athleticism and showed some decent rugby in the first half whilst being aided slightly by some dubious refereeing, allowing Kalmar’s ladies over for the first try of the game. The second half saw the girls get their act together and start to produce some better rugby, leading to them taking control of the game and putting points on the board through both Jorun Borggren and Emma Lönsjö and closing the game out with a 10-5 victory.

The second, and final, group game came against the perennial favourites Göteborg, who were fresh and playing in their first game of the day. Poor scheduling and a little confusion meant that the warm up conducted was less than adequate, but nevertheless, the girls put their game faces on and took to the pitch. Unfortunately, the Lionesses came out flat and the gap in tournament experience showed as Göteborg eased into an early lead and never really looked under threat. The second half saw the girls come out with a lot more fighting spirit and determination to produce, and whilst the second half was a much tighter affair, Lugi were still unable to cross the whitewash and when the final whistle came the scoreboard read Göteborg 36 – Lugi 0.

The small group sizes and the fifty percent win rate meant that the girls had qualified for the cup semi final which was to be played against Vänesborg, a team who had been dispatched twice by Lugi in the Håckes Cup. The result this time was quite different as Vänesborg ran out winners 29-5. Once again the team was under pressure from the beginning after conceding early and never truly recovered, the only moment of glory came through the strong running of Martina Vivlund after some slick team play.

Despite the loss the girls had a final chance to take home some silverware as they faced off against the host club in the 3rd/4th place playoff. Pingvin came into the game with the same record as Lugi having beat Mälmo and lost to both Vänesborg and Göteborg. The Lionesses came out determined and asserted themselves early on in the game with Vivlund once again being the beneficiary of some nice backline play to go over under the posts. From there however, the game descended into a scrappy affair and was once again hindered by some poor calls from the middle, meaning that the style of game was more favourable for the home side. Despite another Lugi score through Catherine Blanc, poor organisation in defence let the girls down as Pingvin scored two trys themselves and by adding the extras for both ran out 14-12 winners.

Despite the disappointment at the end, the tournament as a whole was a valuable learning experience for both new and old girls, with the newer girls getting to see what it takes to go out and compete against some of the hungrier, more experienced sides, whilst the more experienced Lionesses have seen that past success does not guarantee anything in the present. The girls will look to build from this and will go on the road to compete in their first “15s” game of the season against Vänesborg this weekend.

Squad: Lina Adeen, Maria Alvarez, Catherine Blanc, Jorun Boggren, Chloe Chardon, Emma Lönsjö, Rebeka McCarthy, Malin Carvalho Nejstgaard Linnea Roslund, Anna Thynell, Martina Vivlund.

(by Ross Watson)

Hej All members of LUGI Rugby Club!

Thank you for a long but very valuable Annual General Meeting.

During the meeting a new board was elected:

General Committee Members:

Gabriella Westerdahl, President

Mia-Maria Nordlund

Paolo Cifani

Göran Sterner

Linus Persson

Ana Pejic

Joakim Thilén

Alternating Members:

Digeo Guneot

Emma Lönsjö

Auditiors:

Magnus Andersson

Kristina Petersson

Election board 2014:

Nicklas Andersson, Teresia Bengtsson, Iain Lednor

During the meeting we also voted on the membership fees for 2013.

These are:

Senior full year: 1800 SEK

Senior half year: 1000 SEK

Junior full year: 600 SEK

Old boy full year: 600 SEK

Support member: 300 SEK

Beginners will now need to pay 500 SEK to try out for rugby for 2 months.

The membership fee should be paid at the latest on May 1. Please pay it as soon as possible. We have a no pay no play policy. Becoming a member will also allow you to participate in any of our club events.

Membership fee can be paid to our Postgiro bank account: 797887-7.

This can also be paid in cash to your team manager. Mia-Maria will also try to be down to training and take payments directly. She will let you know when she can do that.

Player who began since January 2013 and have not paid membership should pay a full year or full half year membership. This will cover the last month of training as well. Members who paid full year membership fee during the autumn should pay their next membership fee in July/August 2013.

Looking forward to another year with lots of rugby and fun!

//The board