The first Gothenburg derby match would be played at the GRF pitch in Välen, Where the Amazing happens..and it did..for the opposition that is.. Weather was hot and sunny with a slight breeze. By all accounts both teams were missing players for this first derby match and that would be fairly obvious in the 80 minutes of match time. The first half would see the visitors dominating Gothenburgs half in just about every facet. Using the age old kicking game to pin Göteborg back in their 22 seemed to work against a team that lacked experience in exit strategies. This ensured Spartacus would have both possession and territory for 40 minutes. Any attempt to get out of jail seemed to be thwarted by poor discipline. Strong defence which caused forced errors kept the score line to an unbelievable 0-7 going into the half. The home team shouldn't have been in touch on the scoreboard considering the amount of possession, territory and chances that Spartacus had in the first half and the only hope for the home team was that they would actually come out firing on all cylinders in the second half to make a game of it. They didn't. Any hope of GRF taking the game to the visitors was all but ended quit quickly in the second, the visitors by now obviously aware that they should have executed and got more reward for their first half endeavours. Not even the bench would make a difference and after a few forays into opposition territory, it was still Spartacus who managed to tear the defence apart and finish off some nicely engineered tries from their backs. After all the defending in the first half, the injuries started mounting up and simply couldn't withstand another 40 minutes without the ball in hand. The end result was imminent despite a late try by Göteborg which was nicely manufactured and executed. Too many unforced errors made this match a one-sided affair. The home team looked more like a 7's squad with a few phone-ins to make up at scrum-time and looking rather surprised when the usual space wasn't available. Spartacus on the other hand played as a 15-a-side squad, putting enough players in at collision, maul, winning the set piece and manufacturing back play off their forwards. Their use of the kicking game also very 15's and smart.
Back to the drawing board for Göteborg and more forwards down to training is the simple answer. The focus on sevens and mixing up the 7s and 15’s has obviously not benefited the home side. There were few positives, but one being that this was a young squad that can only grow with more matches.
The match would end GRF 12- Spartacus 39
Neil Johnson Bystander
