2 March 2024
It was a great pity that the international match between these two nations suffered from very poor coverage. It died completely long before the close. Even during play, we were left with only a distant view of play and no commentary.
Now that I have found Germany’s official report, I can fill in the details. The Germans are sticking to their new nickname, Phönix, to remind us that they are at a new beginning.
This is my translation:
Result Germany 36 Belgium 17
Under the guidance of their new head coach, Gareth Jackson, the Germans gained their second successive victory over their near neighbours.
Jackson was pleased both with the result and with the team’s performance after so little preparation time. They played well with the ball in hand and took their chances. They will have taken positive learnings from the game.
They got on top from kick-off, enjoyed plenty of possession and moved the ball well. They made a number of breaks to set up attacking positions. On eight minutes, a line-out led to a good drive by the pack. When the ball was released, it moved fast to the right wing, where Steffi Gruber went over for the first try.
They kept up the pressure, so that more opportunities beckoned.
But the Belgians were finding their feet. They attacked promisingly, but couldn’t yet find a way through. German defences stayed firm, and on 25 minutes the hosts were threatening the Belgian line again. The Belgians held this raid out, but Phönix kept up the pressure and it was Clara Tauschek who scored the second try, benefiting from a splendid break by Johanna Hacker.
Fortunately for the contest, the Belgians were able to score before the interval. The Dutch referee needed a second opinion from his AR, but awarded the try.
Half-time 12-5
Germany again started better. The captain, Mette Zimmat, scored a third try, converted by Clara Tauschek. To the crowd’s delight, the tempo of the game picked up, and the Belgians were showing greater endeavour.
But the Germans were warming to their task; the pack helped Luise Lauter over the line, then Zimmat had her second. (31-5)
German structures faltered as replacements came on, and the Belgians struck twice, the second a penalty try. That forced the hosts to restore their position, and in the 80th minute Sarah Piepkorn added the final try of the day.
Post-match the assistant coach, Melvine Smith, admitted the day had gone far better than he had expected. ‘Bearing in mind the short preparation time we had, and the presence of five debutants, we are more than content with this performance. It’s a long time since we had such a satisfactory result against the Belgians.’
Summary
There was plenty of endeavour on both sides, though the Belgians took much longer to find their feet. In the first half the Germans showed greater readiness to spin the ball across the field and they recycled the ball more adeptly than their opponents. But inevitably, given the stage both teams are currently are at, there was a lot of learning still to be done.
Afterthought
It really is up to Rugby Europe to provide its followers with better coverage. As people responding on YouTube asked: ‘why is the camera constantly jerking around?’ a reply came, not from RE but from the hosts, Aachen RFC, apologising. ‘We are trying to adjust it.’ Matters did improve somewhat thereafter, but it was clear that RE had left coverage in the hands of the club that had generously offered to host the occasion.
It was an attractive setting on the northern outskirts of the Roman city, and a good crowd was in attendance. It was estimated early on at 600, but may well have grown larger by the end. An announcer kept himself busy keeping them up-to-date. In a setting such as this, many would have been mystified by some of the goings-on on the pitch.
