Post by Druzik on Oct 26, 2009 10:13:08 GMT 10
www.cymrurl.com/reports/wales/2009-02.html
Serbia 8 Wales 88
Wales will take on Ireland in Pontypridd next Sunday for a place in the European Cup Final after beating Serbia 88-8 in Smederevo on Sunday afternoon.
However the scoreline doesn’t quite reflect the effort that Serbia put into the game. They may have been beaten by the technically much better side but they fought throughout the entire 80 minutes. However Wales played a strong game and stuck to their gameplan and on this form, next week’s game at Pontypridd against Ireland who beat Serbia 82-0 last week, will be extremely competitive.
The match was played at the famous Fortress Stadium in Smederevo, which has hosted UEFA Cup football games against the likes of Celtic and Ipswich as well as World Cup qualifying games involving both Serbia and the old Yugoslavia side.
Man of the match was hat-trick hero Bridgend Blue Bulls’ Christiaan Roets who only just made it over to Serbia in the first place. South African born, the only non-professional in the Wales side qualified to play for Wales through the residency rule having been living in Wales for the last eight years. However he was initially refused a visa and it was only thanks to the British consulate in Serbia that he was granted a visa hours before the plane departed Heathrow last Friday.
The scoreline was just short of Wales’ highest ever score, a 92-4 win over USA in a friendly in Philadelphia in 1995, however it was a record for them in competitive rugby league with Webster’s 14 goals easily a Welsh record for one game.
Wales took the lead after only three minutes after Rhys Williams fed Crusaders’ Elliot Kear to go over for his first international try. Ian Webster converted.
Straight from kick-off, Wales doubled their lead as Bridgend Blue Bulls’ Christiaan Roets ran from the half-way line outpacing his markers to ground.
Serbia won the ball back straight away and gained their second penalty of the game. From the second play, Oldham’s Austen Novakovic twisted his way over the line much to the delight of the home crowd. Filip Brkic converted.
However Wales restored the balance four minutes later after winning a scrum on Serbia’s 10 metre line. Jordan James was the man who broke through the big home defence to ground and Webster made it three out of three in regards to kicks.
Wales scored their fourth try on 19 minutes. Neil Budworth created the gap as he slipped the ball to James and the prop outpaced his markers to race 50 metres for his second. Webster goaled again.
Serbia battled for a second try and won a couple of scrums and another penalty inside Wales’ half. As this was from just 20 metres out, Brkic chose to kick to bring the score back to 8-24.
Wales took advantage of a loose ball to score their fifth try. Ashley Bateman was quick to the ball and made the metres, Geraint Davies did well under pressure to slip the ball to Matt Thomas who forced his way over in the corner. Webster’s kick was just wide of the post.
From the first set after kick-off, Wales scored another long range try. Ian Watson opened up the gap for Ross Divorty who outpaced full-back Ivan Šušnjara to ground under the sticks. Webster goaled to make the score 8-34.
Rhys Williams followed him over on the left flank with Webster kicking an excellent conversion and the score was 8-40 at the interval.
The Serbian defensive line did well to hold Lewis Mills up over the line to prevent an early second half Wales try.
And the hosts created a number of attacks in the first ten minutes of the second half but were just a few metres short of going over the line on a few occasions with the hard-working Igor Kesegi close while Filip Brkic’s grubber kick was picked up by Kear.
Wales were first to break through in the second half with another long range effort from Roets which Webster goaled.
Divorty took advantage of a loose ball to run over for his second on 57 minutes, Webster converting once again.
The next four Welsh tries came straight from kick-off one after another. Lee Williams run under the posts after good work from Webster and Kear, Rhys Williams sprinted down the left for his second, Roets raced down the centre for his hat-trick and Ashley Bateman went over on the right wing. Webster kicked all four conversions successfully.
Serbia attempted a third try. Ivan Šušnjara looked to have broken free but was stopped in his tracks by Lee Williams causing him to spill the ball. From the resulting set, Webster went over for Wales’ 14th try which he converted himself.
And finally with two minutes to go, Ian Watson took advantage of a loose ball to go in under the sticks for Wales’ record score in competitive rugby league with Webster kicking his 14th goal.
“We scored lots of points which is always a plus. Definsively we were good for the vast majority of it and the pitch was quite narrow which made it difficult to play. I don’t think you can be displeased at 88 points away from home. Obviously Serbia are still learning the game but still you can only play what’s in front over you and I think all the players will gain some confidence from that.
“We’ll look at Ireland this week, they’re a good side and well coached. I think they’ll be difficult to break down but we’ll look at them this week, check over our injuries tonight and make sure the boys are all fresh for next week.”
Serbia coach Ged Stokes said: “I’m extremely pleased with the effort that we showed throughout the entire game especially in our defence and that may seem strange for me to say that when you consider the scoreline. I thought our middle channel, which we really worked on during the week achieved a lot today. Physically we stood up well, I thought that our systems worked well but physically we tired before the end which is when the scoreline blew out a bit. I was pleased when we kept Wales scoreless for almost 15 minutes after the half-time interval and these are the things that we need to work on before we take on Italy in a couple of weeks. I have to give credit to the organisers. To have a game in this stadium of this quality in this part of the world is good to see.”
SERBIA
1 Ivan Šušnjara (RK Beogradski Univerzitet)
2 Stevan Stevanovic (RK Doræol)
3 Milan Radojevic (South Sunnybank)
4 Nenad Grbic (R13K Podbara)
5 Nikša Unkovic (RK Doræol)
6 Filip Brkic (RK Doræol)
7 Milan Šušnjara (RK Doræol)
8 Soni Radovanovic (Whitehaven)
9 Zoran Pešic (R13K Podbara)
10 Mario Milosavljevic (R13K Podbara)
11 Vuk Tvrdišic (RK Doræol)
12 Ivan Djordjevic (RLK Crvena Zvezda)
13 Austen Novakovic (Oldham)
Subs:
14 Igor Kesegi (RK Doræol)
15 Dejan Lukeni (RK Doræol)
16 Marko Žebeljan (R13K Podbara)
17 Vladan Kikanovic (RK Doræol)
Tries: Novakovic (10)
Goals: Brkic 2/2
WALES
1. Elliot Kear (Celtic Crusaders)
2. Rhys Williams (Warrington Wolves)
3. Matt Thomas (London Skolars)
4. Christiaan Roets (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
5. Ashley Bateman (Celtic Crusaders)
6. Ian Webster (Central Comets)
7. Ian Watson (Leigh Centurions)
8. Jordan James (Celtic Crusaders)
9. Neil Budworth (Celtic Crusaders)
10. Gil Dudson (Celtic Crusaders)
11. Ben Flower (Celtic Crusaders)
12. Ross Divorty (Featherstone Rovers)
13. Geraint Davies (Celtic Crusaders)
Subs:
14. Lee Williams (Celtic Crusaders)
15. Chris Beasley (Celtic Crusaders)
16. Matt Barron (Gateshead Thunder)
17. Lewis Mills (Celtic Crusaders)
Tries: Kear (3), Roets (6, 54, 65), James (10, 19), Thomas (28), Divorty (31, 57), R.Williams (34, 62), L.Williams (59), Bateman (67), Webster (72), Watson (78)
Goals: Webster 14/15
Referee: Kevin Hale (Australia)
Penalty Count: 5-4
Scoring Sequence: 0-6, 0-12, 6-12, 6-18, 6-24, 8-24, 8-28, 8-34, 8-40, 8-46, 8-52, 8-58, 8-64, 8-70, 8-76, 8-82, 8-88
Attendance: 437
Half-time: 8-40
Men of the match:
Serbia - Soni Radovanovic,
Wales – Christiaan Roets
Gamestar: Many Wales players had a good game but Roets deserves the gong for his hat-trick and keeping his head after the off-field dramas the preceded the contest.
Gamebreaker: Wales’ four tries in eight second half minutes sealed what always looked to be a foregone conclusion anyway.
article by Ian Golden
25 October 2009
Serbia 8 Wales 88
Wales will take on Ireland in Pontypridd next Sunday for a place in the European Cup Final after beating Serbia 88-8 in Smederevo on Sunday afternoon.
However the scoreline doesn’t quite reflect the effort that Serbia put into the game. They may have been beaten by the technically much better side but they fought throughout the entire 80 minutes. However Wales played a strong game and stuck to their gameplan and on this form, next week’s game at Pontypridd against Ireland who beat Serbia 82-0 last week, will be extremely competitive.
The match was played at the famous Fortress Stadium in Smederevo, which has hosted UEFA Cup football games against the likes of Celtic and Ipswich as well as World Cup qualifying games involving both Serbia and the old Yugoslavia side.
Man of the match was hat-trick hero Bridgend Blue Bulls’ Christiaan Roets who only just made it over to Serbia in the first place. South African born, the only non-professional in the Wales side qualified to play for Wales through the residency rule having been living in Wales for the last eight years. However he was initially refused a visa and it was only thanks to the British consulate in Serbia that he was granted a visa hours before the plane departed Heathrow last Friday.
The scoreline was just short of Wales’ highest ever score, a 92-4 win over USA in a friendly in Philadelphia in 1995, however it was a record for them in competitive rugby league with Webster’s 14 goals easily a Welsh record for one game.
Wales took the lead after only three minutes after Rhys Williams fed Crusaders’ Elliot Kear to go over for his first international try. Ian Webster converted.
Straight from kick-off, Wales doubled their lead as Bridgend Blue Bulls’ Christiaan Roets ran from the half-way line outpacing his markers to ground.
Serbia won the ball back straight away and gained their second penalty of the game. From the second play, Oldham’s Austen Novakovic twisted his way over the line much to the delight of the home crowd. Filip Brkic converted.
However Wales restored the balance four minutes later after winning a scrum on Serbia’s 10 metre line. Jordan James was the man who broke through the big home defence to ground and Webster made it three out of three in regards to kicks.
Wales scored their fourth try on 19 minutes. Neil Budworth created the gap as he slipped the ball to James and the prop outpaced his markers to race 50 metres for his second. Webster goaled again.
Serbia battled for a second try and won a couple of scrums and another penalty inside Wales’ half. As this was from just 20 metres out, Brkic chose to kick to bring the score back to 8-24.
Wales took advantage of a loose ball to score their fifth try. Ashley Bateman was quick to the ball and made the metres, Geraint Davies did well under pressure to slip the ball to Matt Thomas who forced his way over in the corner. Webster’s kick was just wide of the post.
From the first set after kick-off, Wales scored another long range try. Ian Watson opened up the gap for Ross Divorty who outpaced full-back Ivan Šušnjara to ground under the sticks. Webster goaled to make the score 8-34.
Rhys Williams followed him over on the left flank with Webster kicking an excellent conversion and the score was 8-40 at the interval.
The Serbian defensive line did well to hold Lewis Mills up over the line to prevent an early second half Wales try.
And the hosts created a number of attacks in the first ten minutes of the second half but were just a few metres short of going over the line on a few occasions with the hard-working Igor Kesegi close while Filip Brkic’s grubber kick was picked up by Kear.
Wales were first to break through in the second half with another long range effort from Roets which Webster goaled.
Divorty took advantage of a loose ball to run over for his second on 57 minutes, Webster converting once again.
The next four Welsh tries came straight from kick-off one after another. Lee Williams run under the posts after good work from Webster and Kear, Rhys Williams sprinted down the left for his second, Roets raced down the centre for his hat-trick and Ashley Bateman went over on the right wing. Webster kicked all four conversions successfully.
Serbia attempted a third try. Ivan Šušnjara looked to have broken free but was stopped in his tracks by Lee Williams causing him to spill the ball. From the resulting set, Webster went over for Wales’ 14th try which he converted himself.
And finally with two minutes to go, Ian Watson took advantage of a loose ball to go in under the sticks for Wales’ record score in competitive rugby league with Webster kicking his 14th goal.
“We scored lots of points which is always a plus. Definsively we were good for the vast majority of it and the pitch was quite narrow which made it difficult to play. I don’t think you can be displeased at 88 points away from home. Obviously Serbia are still learning the game but still you can only play what’s in front over you and I think all the players will gain some confidence from that.
“We’ll look at Ireland this week, they’re a good side and well coached. I think they’ll be difficult to break down but we’ll look at them this week, check over our injuries tonight and make sure the boys are all fresh for next week.”
Serbia coach Ged Stokes said: “I’m extremely pleased with the effort that we showed throughout the entire game especially in our defence and that may seem strange for me to say that when you consider the scoreline. I thought our middle channel, which we really worked on during the week achieved a lot today. Physically we stood up well, I thought that our systems worked well but physically we tired before the end which is when the scoreline blew out a bit. I was pleased when we kept Wales scoreless for almost 15 minutes after the half-time interval and these are the things that we need to work on before we take on Italy in a couple of weeks. I have to give credit to the organisers. To have a game in this stadium of this quality in this part of the world is good to see.”
SERBIA
1 Ivan Šušnjara (RK Beogradski Univerzitet)
2 Stevan Stevanovic (RK Doræol)
3 Milan Radojevic (South Sunnybank)
4 Nenad Grbic (R13K Podbara)
5 Nikša Unkovic (RK Doræol)
6 Filip Brkic (RK Doræol)
7 Milan Šušnjara (RK Doræol)
8 Soni Radovanovic (Whitehaven)
9 Zoran Pešic (R13K Podbara)
10 Mario Milosavljevic (R13K Podbara)
11 Vuk Tvrdišic (RK Doræol)
12 Ivan Djordjevic (RLK Crvena Zvezda)
13 Austen Novakovic (Oldham)
Subs:
14 Igor Kesegi (RK Doræol)
15 Dejan Lukeni (RK Doræol)
16 Marko Žebeljan (R13K Podbara)
17 Vladan Kikanovic (RK Doræol)
Tries: Novakovic (10)
Goals: Brkic 2/2
WALES
1. Elliot Kear (Celtic Crusaders)
2. Rhys Williams (Warrington Wolves)
3. Matt Thomas (London Skolars)
4. Christiaan Roets (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
5. Ashley Bateman (Celtic Crusaders)
6. Ian Webster (Central Comets)
7. Ian Watson (Leigh Centurions)
8. Jordan James (Celtic Crusaders)
9. Neil Budworth (Celtic Crusaders)
10. Gil Dudson (Celtic Crusaders)
11. Ben Flower (Celtic Crusaders)
12. Ross Divorty (Featherstone Rovers)
13. Geraint Davies (Celtic Crusaders)
Subs:
14. Lee Williams (Celtic Crusaders)
15. Chris Beasley (Celtic Crusaders)
16. Matt Barron (Gateshead Thunder)
17. Lewis Mills (Celtic Crusaders)
Tries: Kear (3), Roets (6, 54, 65), James (10, 19), Thomas (28), Divorty (31, 57), R.Williams (34, 62), L.Williams (59), Bateman (67), Webster (72), Watson (78)
Goals: Webster 14/15
Referee: Kevin Hale (Australia)
Penalty Count: 5-4
Scoring Sequence: 0-6, 0-12, 6-12, 6-18, 6-24, 8-24, 8-28, 8-34, 8-40, 8-46, 8-52, 8-58, 8-64, 8-70, 8-76, 8-82, 8-88
Attendance: 437
Half-time: 8-40
Men of the match:
Serbia - Soni Radovanovic,
Wales – Christiaan Roets
Gamestar: Many Wales players had a good game but Roets deserves the gong for his hat-trick and keeping his head after the off-field dramas the preceded the contest.
Gamebreaker: Wales’ four tries in eight second half minutes sealed what always looked to be a foregone conclusion anyway.
article by Ian Golden
25 October 2009
