Frauen Ligapokal Turnier in Fürstenfeldbruck
Samstag, 10. Oktober 2015, Report: Line Al F.
After a rather disappointing Oktoberfest 7’s tournament the previous week-end for the girls in blue, coaches Den und Adrien decided to bring a change in the girls’ mentality. After a hard week of training, during which the girls worked on their game plan, the MRFC Ladies were ready to fight and try to win the tournament in Fürstenfeldbruck! The tournament was played with the same teams as the Bayerische Meisterschaft last year so the girls had aimed to reach the final once again.
TuS Fürstenfeldbruck : München RFC
0 : 46
Before our first game, coach Den explained to each player what he expected from us during the tournament. He reminded us that we play for the player next to us and we fight for our jersey. Our mood was set! The girls came on the field with high motivation and determination. Our game plan was simple : play wide. The girls applied the game plan perfectly. They played constantly in their opponent´s half. They were making big hits in defence winning a lot of turn-over ball. In attack, they used their set-plays and the support was always there to carry out the good work from their teammates. At half-time, the MRFC Ladies had the lead with 3 tries. Some changes were made in the forwards. The game could start again! During the second half, the lionesses fought even harder and did not give Fürstenfeldbruck any chance to come back into the game. Special mention to the forwards Lisa G. and Michaela who made breaks and scored tries as if they were backs! And to Rhonda who scored her first try in blue for her last tournament with the MRFC (Rhonda, we are still waiting for your Zulu!).
Tries: Michi (2x), Lila (2x), Zoé (2x), Lisa, Rhonda
Conversions: Audrey (3x)
StuSta München : München RFC
31 : 5
Our second pool game was against Stusta. The lionesses were not intimidated by the Bavarian champion and wanted to show them how much they had improved during the last few weeks! The girls started the game really well. They were aggressive in defense and did not let Stusta apply their game-plan. The girls in blue were disrupting Stusta in their scrums which made it hard on their back line and even won some of their opponent scrums (well done forwards !). After a 50 m break on the wing, Line was able to score the first try of the match. After half-time, the concentration of the MRFC girls decreased a little. The Stusta girls did not ask for more and took advantage of every mistake that was made. As Stusta scored their first try, the confidence of the MRFC ladies dropped and they were less aggressive in defense. Stusta was able to score 4 more tries. The MRFC Ladies finished second of their pool and would meet TSV 1846 Nürnberg in semi-final. Special mention to our vice-captain Audrey who came out of the field for a hand injury (broken). She didn’t want to let her team down and wanted to keep playing in spite of her injury! She tried to tape her hand completely but realized that tape would not be enough and reluctantly had to go the hospital.
Try: Line
TSV 1846 Nürnberg : München RFC
15 : 12
The semi-final was a remake from semi-final of the Bayerische Meisterschaft. The girls expected a close and hard game, but knew they could win it. The game started hard as expected. After touching her first ball, Zoé left the field due to injury. The lionesses were fighting hard, but their ball handling skills let them down which prevented them from scoring after some good breaks that were made. The Nürnberg-girls scored first. But MRFC did not give up and they soon scored a try. At half-time, the score was 5-5. During the second half, our new vice-captain Michaela had to leave the pitch due to a neck injury. As they run out of reserves, the girls in blue grew more and more tired. The Nürnberg-team used their reserve players and soon scored two more tries. The girls in blue did not give up and after a break from Line and the good support from Heidy, a second MRFC try was scored. The game ended on Nürnberg scoring the try of the win with the close score of 15-12. The Nürnberg-team would meet Stusta in the final while the MRFC-Ladies fight for the 3rd position in the tournament against SG Bamberg/Bayreuth.
Tries: Line (2x)
Conversion: Lisa S.
SG Bamberg/Bayreuth : München RFC
12 : 5
After the defeat in semi-final, the players were exhausted and coach Den cheered the team up and brought back our motivation! The lionesses were going to fight to finish the tournament on the podium. The MRFC ladies only had 7 players left, and they knew that it would be a hard game. The girls started once again strong in the scrums. They were defending fiercely. During the first half, the team had to endure two more injuries (both Lisas). The players from Fürstenfeldbruck came to our rescue and completed our team for the rest of the game. Our opponent scored the first try but the girls did not give up. After a good scrum, our scrum-half went to the blind side and was able to score our first try. During the second-half, some beautiful moves were made, but the support was often late. After a break from Kristina and the good support from Heidy and Christina, the girls came really close to scoring another try. The MRFC girls lost the game once again with a close score (12-5), having put all the energy they had left into this game.
Try: Line
As a conclusion, even if the girls in blue did only finish 4th of the tournament, they can be proud of what they achieved. They are playing more as a team and showed the right mentality. They manage to apply their game plan. But due to the number of injuries, the girls grew more and more tired and they lacked this extra amount of energy that would have helped them win the close games. We wish a quick recovery to our injured players and are looking forward to improving our result during the next 7’s tournament.
Mannschaftsaufstellung MRFC:
1. Lisa G.
2. Kristina H.
3. Michaela S.
4. Christina E.
5. Rhonda C.
6. Line Al F. (capt)
7. Lisa S.
8. Zoé C.
9. Audrey C.
10. Heidy P.
Coach : Den G.
Tries: Line (4x), Michaela (2x), Lisa S. (2x), Zoé (2x), Lisa G., Rhonda
Conversions: Audrey (3x), Lisa S.
Player of the Day: Lisa G. (for her performance in the scrums and being a leader on the pitch the whole day as well as scoring a 65m run away Try)
Hammer of the Day: Line Al F. (for making big hits in defence and several try-saving tackles)
Special thanks to Stephanie M. who supported the team and helped as a touch referee during the tournament!