A big weekend for Suisse Rugby
After the 69:12 win over Sweden on November 5th in Malmö, the Swiss national men’s team has struck again in the Rugby Europe men's trophy this weekend and left the pitch in Lausanne with another clear victory over Lithuania. With an indisputable score of 45 : 6, the team secured another bonus point in the competition and move up to the 28th rank in the World Rugby ranking.
Last weekend, the SUISSE RUGBY DAY gathered the whole Swiss Rugby Family showcasing several events. Hosted by Albaladejo Rugby Club Lausanne on their home pitch at Chavannes, and at the Stade Juan Antonio Samaranch, Suisse Rugby conducted a U12-U14 tournament with 8 clubs and 100 young rugby players, an intense training camp for the Women's Senior and U18 team and ended with the 2nd match of the NATI in the 2022-2023 Rugby Europe Trophy.
U12-U14 tournament as curtain-raiser
The Day started early with a U12-U14 Tournament gathering all the regional Rugby School from Lausanne, Morges, Yverdon, Riviera, La Côte Gland, Terre Sainte, Palezieux and the Valais Entente. All games were refereed by young U14 referees from several teams, who did an outstanding job – this was also appreciated by the official Belgium Referees for the Rugby Europe Trophy match.
Women's training session with > 50 players
In parallel, Suisse Rugby gathered more than 50 women from both the Senior and the U18 team for a training session. It was the first opportunity for our new Head Coach, Billy Valentine, to meet up with the girls. Training sessions were intense, dynamic, and delivered with great spirit by everyone - a constructive and positive moment for the Women’s team which is transitioning and building up for the future in order to compete strongly on an international level.
Rugby Europe Men's Trophy - Switzerland to challenge Lithuania
The highlight of the day was the Rugby Europe Men’s Trophy which kicked off at 3 pm with perfect conditions. Just one week after the 1st game against Sweden finishing in a 69:12 victory for Switzerland, there were only 2 changes in the starting fifteen and 1 within the finishers. The team was strategically prepared and highly motivated to overcome last November’s loss against a strong Lithuanian team.
After a hard-fought 1st half with many opportunities for the Edelweiss team, they left the pitch for half-time with a lead of only 14:6 points due to many penalties and a lack of discipline. After returning to the field, the Nati continued to pressure Lithuania, and with better discipline, an intelligent game plan, and a stronger bench depth, Switzerland was able to increase its lead by scoring an additional 4 tries which led to an unassailable score of 45:6 – and an offensive bonus point for the Edelweiss team.
Congratulations for Reuben Bachofner-Brown for his first cap and to Maxime Lucon for his 30th cap!
Credit to Neil Dodd for the amazing photos.
Congratulations to all the Players and to the Staff for a well-deserved win that puts Switzerland at the lead of the 2022-2023 Rugby Europe Trophy, and sends a message to our future opponents. See you all in March for the next game against Ukraine.
Match Day Squad Switzerland
1- Cameron Holenstein
2- Maxime Luçon
3- Vincent Vial
4- Antoine Cramont
5- Tim Voegtli
6- George Hallam
7- Nicolas Mousties
8- Cyril Lin (capitaine)
9 - Donovan O’Grady
10 - Simon Perrod
11 - William Meyer
12- Lucas Heinrich
13 - Julien Perruchoud
14 - Hugo Malyon
15 - Jolan Vincent
16 - Nathan Pelsy
17- Reuben Bachofner-Brown (1st cap)
18 - Jorn Voegtli
19 - Andri Koeferli
20 - Hugh Kisielewski
21 - Gaetan Hirsch
22 - Tommaso Volta
23 - Dominic Gorman
24 - Maximiliano Ducommun
25 - Axel Goudet