Super Cup #4

It was under torrential rain, in the Nelson Mandela Stadium (Brussels) that the Lusitanos XV faced the Brussels Devils, in the 4^th round of the Rugby Europe Super Cup.

It was in Valladolid, in the Pepe Rojo Stadium that the Castilla y Leon Iberians hosted the Lusitanos XV for the second round of the Rugby Europe SuperCup.

Written by: Nuno Madeira do O

The best part:

• The last 20 minutes of the first half, where the Lusitanos scored three tries and didn’t allow the Devils to cross the halfway line.
• The Portuguese replacements, that didn’t give the Devils a chance in the last 15 minutes of the match. Particular highlights to Antonio Cerejo and Jorge Abecassis.

The not-so-good part:

• The first 20 minutes of the match. After scoring with only 48 seconds on the clock, the Portuguese team made a lot of mistakes and conceded a lot of penalties, allowing the Devils to get ahead on the scoreboard.

Player of the match:

• Rafael Simões. Majestic up in the air (we can’t remember a single lost line-out), had an amazing match, full of bravery and character. He cleaned everything that came his way and score the 6^th try of the match (70^th minute) before being subbed off, exhausted but certainly feeling like a job well done.  

The Lusitanos started the match in Brussels with a try, scored by Pedro Lucas. The Portuguese scrum-half, full of opportunity and following a maul close to the Devils’ 22’ line, jetted off from behind the Portuguese wall and crossed the try line without any opposition

Perhaps with some excess of confidence due to the try scored before the first minute was over, the Lusitanos started playing a very sloppy rugby, conceding a lot of penalties and with not a lot of criteria. The Devils took this opportunity to score two penalties and went ahead in the scoreboard (6-5), at the 10-minute mark..

The match didn’t change until the 22^nd minute when José Santos, after an impressive Portuguese maul and an excellent work from Jeronimo Portela and Nuno Sousa Guedes, scored the team’s second try and moved the scoreboard to 6-10, in favour of the away team.  

From that point onwards, the Portuguese style of rugby became very flashy, with the third try (Pedro Lucas) resulting from an excellent offensive effort, with a succession of offloads that made impossible for the Belgian side to stop the Lusitanos’ progression

The fourth try (37^th minute), was the result of a great line-out where Rafael Simões capture the ball high up in the air, creating another maul and allowing Duarte Torgal to cross the try line.

The rain that fell tirelessly during the first half, stopped for the second and the Lusitanos resumed the match on top. Nuno Sousa Guedes, electric, put the Devils’ defence through their paces, every time he gained some speed..

It was one of those situations that gave the Lusitanos the fifth try of the match. Sousa Guedes caches the ball close to the half-way line and, after going forward for 20 meters, kicks the ball up high. Rodrigo Marta catches it after a rebound and dives across the try line.

For several times, the Lusitanos were close to scoring another try, due to an offence full of options and support from all those involved. However, the heavy pitch was starting to take its toll on the players fitness which led to some mistakes. It was Rafael Simões, close to the limit of his strength, that managed to pierce through the Belgian defensive line and score the Lusitanos 6^th and final try – an impressive match from the Portuguese second row.

Right after, the Devils also scored a try which put the final score of the match at 13-38, in favour of the away team.

It was the fourth win in a row for the Lusitanos that carry on top of the table in the Western Conference. Their next match will be against the Devils, in Lisbon (4^th December, 3pm).