12 a side in Småland

Pre game chat

After several unfortunate last minute drop outs, the back line looked a little deserted on our team sheet for the away game against Småland ladies. Trust a second row to save the day, as Lauren Davies was nominated as a centre option! The trip began already on the Friday, as two mini vans rolled south during the evening, aiming to get to the Växjö hotel before midnight. Saturday morning came round way too early (unless your teammate was snoring relentlessly, then morning couldn’t have been more welcome), and the hotel breakfast provided ample fuel for a 12 o’ clock kick off.

Not knowing what to expect from these new opponents, at least we knew that we were gonna give all rookies as much game time as possible, and that pressure was on the experienced players to keep the structure on the field. Playing 12 a side didn’t help though, and after a tentative start with a lot of tackling from both sides, Småland’s fast winger went round the outside and scored first. Uppsala Berserkers got into some sort of stride in periods, crashing hard and trying to move ball, occasionally thinking quick and playing smart. A quick tap and go earned a subsequent penalty, and from that hooker for the day Dani Sakai managed to shake off several opponents to score the first points for Uppsala Berserkers.

As a whole, rucks were dangerous territory and an area where we lost the ball too many times – this needs to change for future games. Lineouts and scrums were surprisingly good given that we didn’t have any flankers, and debutant Karo Ślaga did a great job as jumper when she came off the bench early on! Having let in another couple of tries due to miscommunication and, frankly, poor tackling, frustration started to build in some players. No 8 Devine took this out in the best possible way, picking and going from a ruck, driving over both opponent and line to score another 5 for the away team. We played with rolling subs and could rest both starting props as Odelius and Millde went into the front row.

In the 3^rd period (game was played 3x20 mins) Småland was down one player after a rib injury, and Ava Feghhi volunteered to change shirts in the spirit of rugby (cudos). Uppserkers had let in another few tries and never really managed to make it click this day. A ray of hope glinted when scrum half Maud Ringertz went down the blindside after a scrum and sprinted all the way to the try line untouched, but it wasn’t enough and the full time Saturday score was 43–17 to the home team; a URFC Berserkers win with 67–43 on aggregate.

/ Josefin

Players of the day: co captains Josefin Devine and Steph Morgan for good leadership and communication

Dick of the day: Dani Sakai Ellis for letting the ref give our lineout to the opposition (and for cheating during the bus quiz on our way there!)

STARTING XII