Rugby Club Luxembourg (RCL) 1st XV travelled to recently-promoted Darmstadt at the week-end, hoping to go into the winter break undefeated.

Despite arriving late and having to cut the warm-up short, RCL got off to the perfect start with a try in less than a minute. Winning back their own kick-off, RCL ran two quick phases through the forwards and shipped the ball out wide to James Clarke for his first try, converted by Max Dozin.

Small mistakes by the Luxembourgish side gave Darmstadt a chance to get a grip on the match. Their fly-half in particular controlled the game well, kicking into the corners to keep the game in RCL’s half and slotting over two difficult penalties.

Full-back Yared Katema restored RCL’s lead after cutting through Darmstadt’s back-line to score under the posts, converted by Max Dozin.

Although RCL looked the better team at this point, the home side still continued to look dangerous until two tries in quick succession for the Luxembourgish side before half-time.

Centre James Clarke picked up his second after breaking through the back-line from close range. A break by RCL’s backs from their own twenty-two was stopped short but the Luxembourgish side supported in numbers and quickly shipped the ball out wide to winger Edoardo Angioni who finished off a brilliant team effort. Max Dozin failed to convert the kick leaving the score at 24-6.

RCL take it up a gear

The second-half was a completely one-sided affair with RCL running in 50 unanswered points in the form of tries from Max Dozin, Francois Simon, Pierre Toulet, Steven Clarke, Philippe Vymond, Saman Rezapour, Edoardo Angioni and two more by Yared Katema.

Once RCL cut out the silly penalties, Darmstadt struggled to get any territory or possession and simply collapsed under constant pressure from the away team.

This was RCL 1st XV’s best performance of the season so far with a complete performance for eighty minutes. The forwards worked tirelessly to create quick ball and keep RCL on the front foot. The back-line meanwhile were extremely clinical and finished off almost all their opportunities.

Man of the match went to flanker Sean Carroll who epitomised the work rate of the forwards making a handful of good carries and popping up everywhere in defence.