Uppsala men vs Paris Olympique

No 10 Anton Johansson sneaking through

After an intensive training session and team run through on Friday afternoon, the boys in blue were ready to take the pitch against Paris Olympique. The Plebs hadn’t played any contact rugby since their decisive victory against Hammarby back in October. Nevertheless, head coach Luca Illing had the players drilled to clinical perfection and warmed up for contact. Uppsala were able to field a full starting 15 with the help of French fullback Hugo Vorobite and three French university students helping fill spots on the bench. The Plebs arrived at the pitch switched on and ready to play; not only were they representing Uppsala, but Swedish rugby as a whole. Today marked the first day since before the COVID-19 pandemic that the Uppsala men’s team played any international competition.

Scrum-half Joel Fleck led the side as captain and inspired the team with a spirited pre-game speech. Fleck took the first kick off and the match was on its way. Only five minutes into the game, Luka Ford stole his first of many lineouts which was quickly followed up by a clever chip and chase from Emil Marklund, who subsequently knocked the ball on metres away from the try line. Uppsala kept up the dominant attack, maintaining most of the possession. Despite the spirited start, Paris Olympique took advantage of two misplays by Uppsala and scored two quick tries in succession giving them a 14-0 lead. The Plebs would not back down though: shortly after, Luca Illing recovered a brilliant restart kick from the skipper and a quick offload sent Michael Bruun-Nielsen in for his first try of the game. The rest of the first half was a back and forth affair between the two sides, but a try on the last play of the half gave Uppsala a 26-21 lead.

The second half of the game was all Uppsala; Paris Olympique could not keep up with the Plebs’ physicality. Battering runs from Nicklas Larsson and Nils Holmgren sent both Swedes in for tries of their own. Michael Bruun-Nielsen continued his monumental play adding two more tries for his first hat-trick in a Plebs jersey. Uppsala combined their dominating physical play with precise ball movement in the backs. Anton Johansson used his speed to cut through the French defense and a quick off-load sent Nicklas Larsson in for his second try of the game. Late into the second half, rookie winger Sufiyan Momin ran a scintillating line, fending off his opposing defender and scoring his first ever rugby try. French winger Leo Jappini came off the bench and added two tries of his own. Debutant full-back Hugo Vorobite had a wonderful day off the kicking tee, scoring 10 out of 11 conversions. After an impressive second half performance, Uppsala won with a final score of 75-21. It was a day to remember for the Plebs. Michael Bruun-Nielsen was named man of the match for his first ever hat-trick. Luca Illing was crowned “Dick of the Day” for not being able to score, but more importantly for being English. The Plebs celebrated their historic victory with a few pints and a well-earned early night.

Try scorers: Michael Bruun-Nielsen (3), Nicklas Larsson (2), Leonard Jappini (2), Anton Johansson, Hugo Vorobite, Nils Holmgren, Sufiyan Momin

Starting team:

1 – Lars Länta

2 – Nils Holmgren

3 – Anton Nelson

4 – Niklas Wessling

5 – Niklas Larsson

6 – Luka Ford

7 – Luca Illing

8 – Michael Bruun-Nielsen

9 – Joel Fleck (C)

10 – Anton Johansson