An early 7am start saw 23 of Göteborgs strongest men load up in two minibuses and a car to begin the journey up to Oslo for the first match of the season. The team was excited to put into practice the systems that had been worked on in training in particular defence and set piece.
Oslo Fusion are always tough opponents and we knew that we would need to be up to the task physically to get a result.
The match started with GRF giving away a few stupid penalties which Oslo decided to kick to the corner and pile up the pressure. What followed was some of the best defending I have seen from a team. Great line speed and big hits allowed GRF to push the heavy runners back and eventually force a penalty which relived the pressure.
It was now time for GRF to have a go with the ball and some strong runs bent the Oslo defence which eventually conceded a penalty in front of the posts 3-0 GRF.
The half continued in much the same fashion with a strong GRF defence keeping Oslo at bay and both kickers missing opportunities to add to the score.
The physical nature of the game led to both teams losing players to injury in the half and the subs bench being called on much earlier than anticipated. Those that came on stepped up to the plate and kept the standard of defence high.
The second half was an exact replica of the first with Oslo having more of the ball but GRF never shied from a tackle so scoring opportunities were scant.
It took until around the 60th minute for the line to be crossed with Anton Oseledko making a typical barnstorming run down the blind side cutting inside the winger only to be high tackled by the fullback 10m from the line. Penalty try. 10-0.
Oslo reacted by putting even more pressure on, camping in GRF's 22 for the final ten minutes crossing the white(orange)wash once only to spill the ball as a last ditch tackle came in. Resolute defence until the final whistle kept the Score at 10-0.
Not all games are won pretty and this one certainly wasn't but to keep a team to nil is always special and made the bus journey home even more enjoyable.
Man of the match was selected by the opposition as Anton though special mention must also be made to Bruno who had a great game at 9.
A big Thanks to Oslo Fusion for a hard and friendly game of rugby. The third half was also a fun affair. It is always a good atmosphere when we visit Oslo and We are looking forward to the return game on the 17:th of June in Gothenburg.