Home win in season premiere

Foto: Josefin Devine

On Saturday May 13th, the rugby season officially kicked off for the Plebs with a fiery home game against Hammarby RFC. Uppsala came into the game loaded with a full squad, which also contained 4 players who would go on to make their debut. The hard work and off-season training was apparent from the start of the match, with a dominant first half from the Plebs. When it clicked, it clicked and it was a joy to watch the running and offloading skills from forwards and backs alike. Jean-Rémi Cazette and Oundu Davis made ground with every carry, and this combined with great runs by James Oakley and Anton Johansson meant that Hammarby struggled to hold out. Hammarby put up a staunch defence, but the relentless attack ultimately ended in a try by flanker Jean-Rémi. He started the move with a great burst through the middle before barging his way over the line for his first try for the club. With the placement in the centre of the posts, Saul Davalos Guaita had no problem converting the kick. Hammarby did not let up and rallied a response in a few short minutes, tieing the game 7-7 with 20 minutes left in the half. After the re-start, the Plebs were able to force some nice penalties and Hampus Wåhlander and Luka Ford able to win some defensive line-outs. With the game back in control, the forwards made great ground in the middle of the park and Joel Fleck was then able to feed the ball out to the backs, who spun the ball wide to speedster Siôn Kinson on the wing. Once he had the ball there was no doubt that he would score, stepping back inside to expertly ground the ball over the line. Unfortunately, the position of the try was on the near sideline, so Saul was unable to convert the kick. Following this try, the Plebs moved the score to 12-7 leading into half-time.

After a rousing speech by coach Luca Illing, Plebs took the field once more to try and shut down any hope that Hammarby held on to. Within minutes of the second half, rookie Serwan Khidr found some running room off the sideline and touched the ball down to also score his first try for the club. After several more minutes of play, Hammarby were penalized 10 meters from the try-line and Saul Davalos Guaita took charge to add 3 more points to the board. Although frustrated with their play, the visiting team began to rally and were able to add another 10 points to the board. Score with 10 minutes remaining, 20-17. With the game coming to a close, James Oakley was able to buzz around the field in great form to add another 5 to the board. Final score: 25-17 in favour of the Plebs. All in all, the Plebs looked great and enjoyed the opportunity to get a solid win early in the season. Man of the match went to Pelle Mikaelsson who played a full 80 mins at prop, tackling like a warrior and carrying hard all day. A big shout out to debutants Jean-Rémi and Serwan who scored their first tries for the club as well as to Oundu Davis and Ben Mooney also making their debuts with distinction.

/ Nathan