From the start, RCL Men were up against it. No subs. Wings in at hooker and flanker. A back and an injured coach in at second row. It was agreed that we would play with uncontested scrums for safety reasons. Nonetheless, RCL took to the match in a fearless manner, against a well-drilled back line and a pack significantly larger than our own.
The pack fought hard, disrupting Zurich2 constantly. Rucking was even, with the RCL pack showing huge improvement in their clearing and reaction time. Sadly, without enough trained lifters, our line outs were weakened. Our backs worked hard, but sadly simply didn’t click. This was brought about largely by changes in positions and a lack of drilled training.
In all, Zurich2 scored 5 tries in a game where they would have been expected to double that. Moreover, RCL conceded only 2 in the second half, at a time where the floodgates would normally open. However, RCL would have helped themselves with better tackling – especially when defending waves of phases by the Zurich2 forwards. Still, with such a size difference, RCL defended with great spirit.
RCL should take great heart from this performance. However, it is essential that we build on this. And this starts at training, with a good attendance and commitment to organised, well-drilled training from all. It is clearly evident that teams like Bern and Zurich2 have put in this time and effort, and they enjoy the rewards that this training brings. If RCL want to stay in Ligue B – and we all know how hard it is to gain promotion from one Ligue to another – this must happen quickly.
Zurich2 37 – 3 Luzern