On their only Sunday fixture of the season, Saimaa sharks welcomed Helsinki Rugby Club's 2nd team to the pitch in Harapainen for what promised to be an intriguing match. The weather was "mildly moist" and the ball was therefore a bit greasy and the grass slippery.
The game kicked off and Saimaa went straight into attack, first-time scrum half, Sami Lustberg, moving the rucks around efficiently. A break down the right following 10 minutes of pressure led to a ruck on the 5m line and Iiro Miettinen took the ball quickly to break through the defence to score the first try. At 5-0 Saimaa continued to apply pressure and had many chances to increase the scoreline but couldn't quite get the final ball right. A fine solo effort from number 12, Curtis Pollard, brought the score up to 12-0 in Saimaa's favour, with the visitors unable to contain their powerful centres and quick movement across the pitch. As the first half was coming to an end, Helsinki had a good run of play and eventually broke through the Home side's stubborn defence and scored. A lapse in concentration from Saimaa almost instantly after the restart let HRC through again to score under the posts to make the score 12-12 at half time.
Unfortunately, like many of our fixtures, it was to be a game of two halves. Helsinki made some smart substitutions at half time and began to exploit gaps in the Saimaa defence. Having only one substitute for the match and some minor injuries throughout the game meant that Saimaa had to shuffle their players from almost the first 10 minutes of the match. Kari Päivinen battling through a bloodied head to put in some big tackles throughout the game, and Jim Rif continuing despite a dead leg showed the true determination from this Saimaa side. Sadly they could not stem the flow and, despite some rugged defending and some good possession, Helsinki played very well and
scored 26 unanswered points in the second half to seal the victory with the final score 38-12 in favour of the Visitors.
As always Saimaa can take many positives from the match. Jani Koponen played all over the pitch, showing true leadership in his first game as captain. John Poole and Egor Kudryakov were workhorses in the loose, continuously winning the ball back in rucks. Every single player left it all on the pitch and with performances continuing the way they have been, it's undoubtable that the Sharks can start winning games this season.
Our next fixture sees the team travel to Helsinki to try and exact some revenge on 11.08.18. Come on SHARKS!!