Luzern 25-0 Nyon/Monthey
Excitement was in the air on Saturday as the Luzern Dangels got our 15 a-side season underway, welcoming Nyon/Monthey to the Allmend. After some brutal Summer fitness training and significant work on our gameplay, everyone was itching to hear the referee’s whistle signal the start of the match. With our friends from Basel sending reinforcements in the shape of Hannah, Henni and Viola, we had a big squad to choose from.
A hectic start gave some indication of the struggles that Luzern would have throughout the match. The first scrum shortly after kick-off showed the significant improvement in size and power that Nyon/Monthey had made in the forwards from last year, pushing us back and wheeling the scrum ideally for their scrum-half to get a good pass away.
However 3 minutes in, a penalty awarded near halfway saw Sarah Mac surprise the opposition with a quick tap and run, searing through the retreating bodies and racing away for the try. It was great opportunism from El Capitano who led magnificently throughout.
8 minutes later and the Dangels made it 10-0. A great deep kick through from Sarah Stuart pinned Nyon/Monthey on their own line, and after a couple of dives for the line were thwarted by some typically strong defence, the ball was spread wide through the backline to send Lala over into the corner.
The next few minutes roles were reversed. The start of numerous penalties given against Luzern for infringements at the ruck saw the Dangels camped on our own line for several minutes. Thankfully, our tackling was outstanding and we held out under the onslaught from the opposition. Sarah Stuart once again had to make good use of her boot to clear our lines, which saw some good chasing by Carien and Carole to take the pressure off our forwards.
The Dangels’ third try was as a result of this kind of chasing following a kick over the top. Carien and Tammie pressured Nyon/Monthey’s fullback into giving up good ball. After some solid, simple straight running at the tryline, the ball was sent wide to Carole who ran over to score. It was 15-0 with 22 minutes gone and it looked like the struggles that had just passed would be forgotten about as we broke loose from our shackles.
Straight from the resulting kick-off, Sarah Mac caught and kicked straight back over the top, where Carole was on hand to gobble up the ball, exchange passes with her and score again. 20-0 and that was how it stayed at half-time. But it had been a tough half and strong words were said at half-time.
Unfortunately possession was still being dominated by Nyon/Monthey after the restart. The scrum slowly improved but not enough to give the backs clean ball. When the ball came, passes were not good enough and lots of balls were knocked-on.
The one good passage of passing from the half resulted in a superb try in the corner 5 minutes into the second period. Some great hands up the near touch line and excellent support play saw Sarah Mac once again make the line. 25-0.
In the rucks, penalties were racking up for being off our feet with far too much regularity. Luckily, our tough tackling helped prevent Nyon/Monthey from making too much ground. Particular mention should go to Schlumpf for the way she stopped the opposition backs from getting over the gain line with her hard tackles and quick pressure.
After a run of being penalised for infringements at the ruck, Esti was the unlucky one who got sinbinned for ten minutes. Hannah got a chance to take over at scrum half whilst Isa and Viola also came on at second row and wing respectively.
The game played out frustratingly for the home side, with very little possession and some resolute tackling from both sides preventing further good chances.
Great to start the season with a bonus-point win and no points conceded. We need to learn not to panic when things do not go our way. A superb first game for everyone to play in and we can clearly identify areas to improve on.
Thanks to everyone who came and supported! Also thanks to an excellent visiting side who will be a tough proposition for the other teams in the league – we look forward to the return match next year!
Angel of the match: Marlen. Some great tackling and superb ball-carrying. Also for having to take most of the pressure from the opposition scrum.
Devil: Esti for the white card – unlucky Esti!
written by Dangels-Coaches
First, and probably last time someone refers to me as searing 🙂 Thanks boss!