Rugby Europe Super Cup 2022: First round
The Lusitanos started the 2022 edition of the Rugby Europe Super Cup against the Dutch team Delta.
Written by: Nuno Madeira do O
The best part:
- A very intense rugby match with both teams fighting for the win until the very last play of the match.
- All tries were of great quality, with Francisco Rosa’s second one resulting from of particular brilliant offensive manoeuvre from the Portuguese offence.
The not-so-good part:
- The Lusitanos should have never struggled as much as they did to secure this victory. In the first half, Delta only visited the Portuguese 22 once but all that territorial control only originated 2 tries.
- It was the first match after the pre-season and players are still looking for form but Lusitanos made a lot of offensive mistakes (knock-ons, passes to no one) – to correct in the next matches, as these mistakes may cost points in the future.
Player of the match: Manuel Cardoso Pinto. He was the main threat in the Portuguese offence, scoring a try, assisting for another, and creating a third one. Unplayable, at times, and a constant headache for Delta’s defence.
Luís Pissarra, in Patrice Lagisquet’s absence said, had said before the match that the goal of this year’s competition was to give game time to the players, with the World Cup repechage in mind. With some of the usual Lusitanos players out (Rafael Simões, David Wallis, Tomás Appleton, Nuno Sousa Guedes, José Paiva dos Santos, and Jerónimo Portela (injured during the warm-up)), the Lusitanos debuted five new players and had a very young starting XV, with an average age of 24 years old.
The away team started the match on top, with the fast-paced rugby that was their trademark last season. With three minutes of game, after a successful line-out, hooker Duarte Diniz wrapped around the maul and managed to get the ball to the right wing where Manuel Cardoso Pinto, unopposed, scored the first try of the match. Pedro Lucas converted the try and the Lusitanos were leading by 7 points.
The Lusitanos dominated the match (Delta didn’t visit Lusitano’s half during the first 10 minutes) and even when Manuel Picão saw a yellow card for a no-arms tackle, they didn’t back down. However, tries were hard to come back. There were a lot of handling mistakes and knock-ons going on that hindered that. At the 32nd minute, it was Delta’s turn to go down to 14 men. During the remainder of the first half, the Lusitanos increased the pressure on Delta’s defence even further and three minutes later Manuel Cardoso Pinto kicked a grubber to the back of the Dutch defence where Pedro Lucas grabbed the ball and scored behind the posts (0-14).
The Dutch fans in the audience had to wait until the 40th minute to see their team visit the Portuguese 22 but without creating any danger. At the break, the Lusitanos led by 14 points against nothing, in a half where the gap on the scoreboard could (and should) have been a lot bigger.
Those who thought that the second half was going to be like the first, soon saw that they were wrong. Delta came back from the changing rooms ready to change things and at the 43rd minute, after a kick to the back of the Portuguese defence, the ball got to Joran Shoenmaker that scored on the left wing. Try not converted and the home team narrowed the gap to 5-14.
Delta stayed on top but it was the Lusitanos’ turn to score: Duarte Diniz had a good carry (good carrying game from the Portuguese hooker, especially in the first half), before passing to Pedro Lucas. The scrum-half passed to João Granate that bounced back from two tackles before offloading to Francisco Rosa that scored. Try not converted and 5-19 on the scoreboard with 48 minutes of game.
Three minutes later, Manuel Cardoso Pinto beat two defenders opening several gaps in the Dutch defence. The ball eventually got to Francisco Rosa that scored his second try of the match – not bad from the 22-year-old. With 30 minutes to play, the Lusitanos were ahead (5-26) and it seemed that the Lusitanos had everything under control.
However, it wasn’t a day for easy things. João Belo (captain for the day) didn’t manage the kick to touch with Delta catching the ball inbounds. After a long kick, well inside their 22, the ball perfectly bounced into the hands of William Edwards that beat two Portuguese defenders and scored under the posts (12-26).
Five minutes later, Delta won a scrum inside the Lusitanos’ 22 and Dirk Wierenga, with good pick and go crossed the try line. 19-26 on the scoreboard and all to play for in the last 20 minutes.
The Lusitanos kept trying to gain momentum but they were making handling mistakes after handling mistakes. Duarte Diniz also had a lot of line-out mistakes (4 mis-throws) which gave Delta possession. Lusitanos kept playing on the Dutch half and with the clock on red the won a penalty on the 22 line. Everyone thought that they were going to kick to the posts and end the match but the captain chose to kick to…touch. Another bad throw, again Delta with the ball and a few more minutes of suffering for the Portuguese fans watching the match.
Fortunately, nothing terrible happened and the Lusitanos got the first victory of the season, making them second in the Western Conference. Their next march is on the 17th (5pm), in Lisbon, against the Brussels Devils.
