CN Round 2: Sub-16/18 v Belenenses

Match reports and photos from the games against Belenenses.

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Sub-18 MATCH REPORT  

by Damian Steele 

After a spirited first half which saw us take a 5-0 lead, then go to the break at 12-5 down, the Sub 18´s had a rather forgettable second half and ended up on the wrong end of a 45-5 scoreline against Belenenses. 

The opening exchanges were intense, with both sides showing good physicality at the breakdown and a willingness to throw the ball around in attack. A Franziscus Frost chip kick was successfully gathered in by Santiago Oriol who then left a wake of defenders behind him on his weaving run to the tryline for a 5-0 lead. A number of basic errors saw us camped in our own territory for the latter part of the first half, and ultimately resulted in two tries to Belenenses before the break.  

Spirits were high at half time and it appeared a suprise victory may have been possible. Unfortunately, simple fundamental errors, which killed us the previous week against Direito, came far too often and Belenenses ran out deserving 45-5 winners.  

There were some outstanding efforts for the duration of the match, particularly in the forward pack, and special mentions go to Sam Heger, Mathieu Rodrigues, and Antoine Collard, who kept the large Belenenses scrum at bay, and Santiago Oriol who was a constant threat in attack from fullback, and was our sole try scorer.  

The boys continued to fight until the end, just as we did the previous week, however it was not enough to stay with Belenenses, who are a quality and established team at this level.  

There were a lot of positives during the game and it was a big step in the right direction from the previous week´s match. The players are quickly understanding the physical and mental demands that are required to compete at this level, and hopefully we can continue to improve and develop this week, in preparation for next week´s home game against Agronomia. 

SCORES 

Try - Santiago Oriol 

MEN OF THE MATCH

Sam Heger, Mathieu Rodrigues, Antoine Collard, Santiago Oriol

Click here to view Fernando Santos’ images from the sub-18 game: http://goo.gl/WNUpC

Click here to view Peter Fay's images from the sub-18 game: http://goo.gl/E5jmL

Sub-16 MATCH REPORT 

by Pedro Gonçalves

In the second round of the championship, the sub-16s played against Belenenses, one of the strongest teams in the Championship, losing by 44-7.

Although Belenenses deserved to win the game, they were made to work hard, and this time our team didn’t concede easy tries, as had happened in the 1st round against Direito when the team put in a disappointing performance. There was a big improvement in defensive organization and tackling, but also in our drift defence when the opposition moved the ball wide. Since Belenenses had more possession than we did, our players defended for most of the game, with great tackles and many turnovers, showing a great defensive attitude.

In attack St. Julian’s had several chances to score, but too much anxiety lead to poor decision-making in attack, with our players losing out on several chances inside the opposition 22. But we scored our try in the last play of the game, after a great build up sequence by the forwards with 3 phases of play, a pass from Salvador Mendes to Charlie Frost and a long miss pass to Charles Trodd who scored out wide. The overall effort culminated with the 1st try of the season, and it was obviously – and deservedly - celebrated by every player, both on and off the field.

It seems like our 16s are heading in the right direction and for now we need to keep improving our defence and tackling and also make a much better use of the ball in attack. We strongly believe if the players keep this attitude at training this week our performance will improve in the next game at home against Agronomia (October 21st)

Man of the match: Daniel Smith

Click here to view Fernando Santos' images from the sub-16 game: http://goo.gl/vQ8Yg

Click here to view Pater Fay’s  images from the sub-16 game: http://goo.gl/Uww0Y