Super Cup Semi Final
The Lusitanos beat the Tel-Aviv Heat (42-26) and reached Rugby Europe’s Super Cup final.
Written by: Rui Neto Fernandes
The best part: In a very tight match, the home team performed really well in the last 20 minutes and scored 14 points that eventually sealed the victory.
The not-so-good part: The Portuguese team made some defensive mistakes that could have been avoided. They allowed the visitors to score and fight for the match until the end.
Player of the match: Rodrigo Marta. Another great game from the Portuguese back. In a match with several good individual performances (Manuel Cardoso Pinto, Jorge Abecassis or Pedro Lucas), Rodrigo Marta showed his great form. Always very much in the middle of the game, he scored two tries – the second one a very strong contender to feature in the highlights of the season.
The Lusitanos hosted the Israeli team in the first semi-final of the Rugby Europe Super Cup, in a match that saw the home team progress to the final.
The Tel-Aviv Heat, a professional team based in Israel but with players from South Africa, England, Ireland or Fiji, reached this semi final after the Russian team (Lokomotiv) was excluded form the competition due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The first try of the match was scored by Manuel Cardoso Pinto that, after a tremendous line break, sprinted to the try line.
The Heat scored at the 14th minute after a portuguese penalty in the scrum inside their own 22 with the ball reaching the full-back Sebastian Jobb that scored an easy try and tied the match (7-7).
At the 22nd minute, Jorge Abecassis scored the first of the two penalties of the match and seven minutes later, in a good offensive play, assisted the captain Tomás Appleton for the second Portuguese try.
The Isreaeli squad scored twice in a row, the first on the 32nd minute by Jacqes Potgieter and the second five minutes later after another mistake by the Lusitanos (this time after a line-out), with the ball reaching the winger Jamba Ulenga that scored.
The Lusitanos scored before half-time by Rodrigo Marta that took full advantage of a great grubber by Manuel Cardoso Pinto and scored after a great sprint. The half-time came and the Heat scored again (brace by Jacques Potgieter) but the highlight of the match came at the 61st minute: Rodrigo Marta got the ball, sustained the pressure from three different opponents, escaping the tackle and managed to score what was an amazing try.
This try propelled the home team to the victory: Domingos Cabral (that had replaced the fly half Jorge Abacassis (injured)) scored another penalty and at the 77th minute Jason Cornelies (on his debut for the Portuguese team) scored the final try, moving the scoreboard to its final form: 42-26.
The Portuguese team will play the team Black Lion from Georgia that beat the Spanish Castilla y Leon Iberians in the other semi-final. The match will be played in Lisbon on the 7th May.
