RCL is a tough team of individuals. This has to be said. They can mix it with the best. Yesterday’s Nyon side were an athletic, well-trained, and very young-looking team. In fact, they had a very similar looking age make-up to RCL. Yet, RCL are a Brockenhouse of a team – a kind of rag-taggle collection of rugby enthusiasts from all walks of life. They are also a tough bunch of guys.
Enthusiasm characterised much of the day’s play yesterday. There was a very great deal of about. In fact, what with the arrival of some new players in the pack and the back line, RCL fans have every reason to start feeling some enthusiasm. RCL really took the game to Nyon, and did not shy away from running at the opposition in any way whatsoever. Indeed, it was the forwards who seemed to make the most meters beyond the gain line, and yet, the old attribute came back to haunt at times when impatience took reign. That is not to say the whole game was coloured by such phantoms. Far from it. When RCL got the ball moving across the line and were able to piece together progressive phases of attacking play they always looked like scoring.
The same can be said of Nyon, too. They are a team who always look as if they can score, especially when you give them space. When they got space yesterday, score is what they did. They could have run in a few more tries, and RCL were very fortunate to see Nyon denied a try by the referee. On the other hand, when RCL were able to pin Nyon down in their own half, Nyon clearly found it difficult to break out of their own territory. Usually, such escapes were made possible by RCL mistakes letting Nyon off the hook when they should have been turning the screw tighter. This is where patience comes in and a trust in the team’s style. Why let a team off the hook?
Nyon attacked well out of their defence yesterday. But hey! Anything they can do, RCL can do better. There were blistering runs out of the own half, and tries went a begging for lack of handling skills at pace. But still… this is a team still trying to find itself. Not for the first time, there were new players making a debut; old partnerships re-newed and newer partnerships made old. But, alack, no sooner are new pairings forged, than calamity strikes and half-backs are forced to take a break. There is a darker side to the victory and that is Dominik’s injury. Dominik is a soldier on the pitch and a hardy one at that. His General’s skills will be missed as his absence has shown what a significant linchpin he is. We wish him a full and speedy recovery. What a great win that was – with and without the help of a referee’s whistle.