The women’s sevens season kicked off just over the German border on Saturday as Luzern performed impressively to win the first of three tournaments that will decide who are the Swiss Champions. With surprisingly nice weather and great hospitality from Rugby Club Konstanz, the Dangels began the defence of their title in the best way possible.
A squad of 11 travelled North for a tournament that was contested by 6 teams split into groups of three. The top two in each group would advance to the semi-finals, followed by the final.
Luzern would have to find a way past arch-rivals Bern in the first match of the day. Both sides showed some rustiness in a tight match that was decided by Luzern’s greater composure in possession. Winning two tries to one settled everyone down, although there was still plenty of improvement to be made, particularly in conceding a try in the last seconds.
The hosts were up next and gave a great account of themselves as Luzern had to work hard throughout in order to win. After conceding the first try in the 4th minute, the Dangels responded with three scores in return. After another exchange of points, the final score was 22-10. Still some work to do, but the first target of making the semi-finals was achieved.
In the semi-final, Luzern began to use their rugby brains as CERN were blown away following some excellent teamwork and good passing. Carole and Edith both scored hat-tricks, but the allround team play helped set them up and pushed the team into the final as 38-0 winners.
With Bern beating Zurich in the other semi-final after an impressive win, the final would be a repeat of the first match of the day – would the outcome be the same?
The opposition started the brighter and took the lead in the 4th minute. It was clear Luzern would have to dig deep to pull out the win. As the Dangels’ hands started improving, so too did the chances and just before half-time 2 quick tries were made to take the lead. Tackling was good in the second half and everyone relaxed as Luzern’s use of the whole width of the pitch began to pay dividends. This resulted in 3 more tries without reply, leaving the final score at 29-7.
This was a great start to the Swiss Super Sevens campaign. The team improved as the tournament went on and every single player contributed significantly to the victory. One tournament won, but another two needed to win the title. Round 2 is in CERN next weekend…!
Angel of the Tournament: Marlen – her passing was good, she won many turnovers and her positional play was excellent
Devil of the Tournament: There were several candidates for the horns but poor Cynthia got them after receiving our only yellow card of the day (with Sarah Mac the referee too)!
Beers for: The whole team! Instead of a trophy, Konstanz provided a barrel of beer. Good work!
Squad
Bea, Carien, Carole, Cynthia, Edith, Esti, Isa, Julia, Jen, Marlen, Sarah S
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Luke