Super Cup #6
Lusitanos dazzle again and defeat Delta by 62-7 in the last round of the Rugby Europe Super Cup.
Written by: Nuno Madeira do O
The best part: again, the style of the Lusitanos’ rugby. Full of flair, supporting lines and offensive options. A delight to watch this team play.
The not-so-good part: Nothing to say, really. The Lusitanos XV completely dominated the match from the kick-off.
Player of the match: it was difficult to choose just the one as plenty of Portuguese players had a great match but we want to highlight João Vieira. The number 12 scored two tries and had an assist, in a match where his defensive performance was equally as good. The confirmation of the excellent rugby that he displayed in the u20 European Championship and that earned him a place in the competition’s best XV.
It was under a generous winter sun that the Lusitanos stepped into the Jamor pitch (Lisbon) to play their last game in the group stage of the Rugby Europe Super Cup. The coach Patrice Lagisquet had promise plenty of changes for this match and was true to his word, giving minutes to a lot of young players, some of whom that had participated in the u20 European Championship in November.
The Dutch team Delta had played superbly against the Spanish side Iberians (despite the 32-30 defeat) and started the game on top, dominating for the first ten minutes. However, the Portuguese defence was very solid (Duarte Torgal and João Granate played particularly well) and didn’t allow for any major danger.
The first try was scored by the winger Francisco Rosa at the 13th minute, quickly followed (five minutes later) by the second one, this time scored by João Freudenthal. Jorge Abecassis converted both of them (excellent bend on the latter) and moved the scoreboard to 14-0 with twenty minutes played.
The Lusitanos showed why they were undefeated in the competition and played an excellent rugby, full of support lines and offloads, constantly threatening the Dutch side. Nuno Peixoto and Vasco Durão scored twice more and, at the half-time mark, the score was 26-0 to the home team.
The second half started how the first one had ended and under the command of fly-half Jorge Abecassis, they scored again by Vasco Durão at the 54th minute. Until the end of the match, the Lusitanos kept creating chances and scored five more times: João Vieira (60th and 70th mins), Francisco Cabral (67th and 80th mins) and Nuno Peixoto (73rd minute). Delta also scored at the 49th minute through Gyan van der Bogert.
The Lusitanos ended this stage of the competition with 257 points scored and only five tries conceded. The semi-final of the Rugby Europe Super Cup will be played only in April (opponent yet to be determined). Until then, a well-deserved rest and the feeling of a job very well done.
