On 28th of July, the Saimaa Sharks headed to Helsinki to face the Warriors for the first time ever. The Helsinki Warriors were due to play in division 1 this season so this was always going to be a big task.
We arrived in Helsinki at around midday and it was already boiling hot, with the thermometers touching 34.5 degrees during the match (unheard of in Finland!). We had an easy warm up and tried our best to stay in the shade. The Sharks won the toss and elected to kick off.
Saimaa got off to a great start, the returning John Poole scoring under the posts following a penalty for a high tackle. The try was converted and the score was 7-0 after just 3 minutes. Saimaa continued to pile on the pressure with the Warriors down to 14 men and found an opening when Ben Fisher put centre Yki Tynkkynen through the gap to break the defensive line. There was still work to be done and Yki slalomed through the last two defenders to score again under the posts. Another successful conversion bought the score to 14-0 and the Sharks were elated.
The pressure of leading suddenly began to show, though, as when Warriors got their sin-binned player back onto the pitch, they put Saimaa's defence to the test and dominated proceedings for the next 20 minutes, scoring two unanswered tries and converting one of them. Saimaa had found themselves too comfortable and their defence wasn't up to the task in the latter period of the first half. The whistle blew for half time and both teams headed for the shade to try and cool off for the second half with the score 14-12 for the Sharks.
A quick pep-talk before returning to the field reminded the sharks that they were still ahead in the match and that it was theirs to lose. Warriors continued to put on the pressure, regularly running hard with their forwards, but the Saimaa defence held true. The first part of the second half was peppered with mistakes from both sides and opportunities were thrown away to take the game by the scrum of the neck. Ironically, it was Saimaa receiving two yellow cards in quick succession that provided the catalyst and lit up the last part of the match. Saimaa wouldn't go down without a fight and they managed to push back the warriors from their line. A breakaway try from the lightning fast Quasim Busari was the spark that the Sharks needed and reinforced their lead. With that try also converted the scores were 21-12 for the Sharks and the win was within reach.
The yellow-carded players returned and Saimaa were once again at full strength. The intensity increased as victory inched closer and Saimaa forced a penalty on the Warrior's 22 line. An intelligent cross field kick allowed Busari to pick up the ball with lots of space and present a fantastic offload for Tynkkynen to record his second try of the match. The final whistle beckoned and the Sharks collapsed with relief - partly from the ecstasy of the win and partly because of the heat and dehydration.
The final score was 28-12 with Saimaa scoring 4 converted tries and collecting a bonus point in the process. The backs dominated the scoresheet but the forwards were solid in defence and set piece and played a massive part in the team's win. The Warriors played a good game and were fantastic hosts, we look forward to playing them again in the future.
Now we look forward to the Karjalan derby at home against KRJ Joensuu on 17.08.19. The Sharks are 2/3 this season and can hopefully take this momentum all the way to the Finals this year!