We previously reported that on Sunday in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Latvia’s leading rugby club in the Baltic Top League “Baltic XL/Livonia” defeated the home team “Geležinis Vilkas” for the second time this season in a very similar and also high-scoring game with 39:36, thereby avenging the loss last year in the game for 3rd place. As a result, the Livonians took 5th place this year, but with their performance in the last game, they confirmed once again that they were a team worthy of at least the semi-finals.
For Livomni, this was the second game they won against the “Wolf” team, and again on the opponent’s field, where it is more difficult to play. “Previously, the main tournament was won by one point difference (32:31 – author’s note), but I think that this game was even more important from the point of view that if the Baltic Top League were to proceed in a fair way, then both “Livonia” and “Vilkas” would be in the top four, but “Šiauliai” and “Vairas” would be beyond the border of the semi-finals,” says the head coach of “Baltic XL/Livonia” Neil Johnson.
“We were aware that “Iron Wolves”, who had defeated “Šiauliai” and “Vairas” in the main tournament, are a very strong team and that they really needed a victory in this game, because in sports every team wants to win at home. We went to Vilnius without five experienced players, which of course created a feeling of disappointment. We were missing the captain Enzo Beltramino, one of the leading receivers of the ball from the kick-off Dāvids Bērtīns, as well as three other players who were “on antibiotics”, says Johnson.
“We knew that it would be a very similar game, because we understood that “Wolves” would put everything on this game to get revenge for the loss last time. We knew that “Vilkas” is a real Top4 team, which beat “Šiauliai” and “Vairas” who entered the top four, and which deserved a place in the Top4,” emphasizes Neil Johnson.
“I think we started the game very strong. After the first 15 minutes, I thought it would be an easy win, to be honest. But then the opponents met rather quickly. We started giving penalties. I don’t know if they were justified or not, but I can only assume from the actions of the Lithuanian chief judge that they were justified. I saw that the linesman was officiating more than the referee, which was quite interesting. I couldn’t understand the judges because they spoke in Lithuanian,” says Johnson.
“The game was difficult, which we expected. At the beginning of the second half, we gave the opponents several penalties, about six-seven in a row, which gave them the opportunity to take the lead. And this is not a surprise, because “Vilkaš” is a very good and strong team,” the coach of “Baltic XL/Livonia” praises the opponents and continues with the good features in the ranks of the Livonians: “Here you can mention the reserve bench. When the reserves came on the pitch, it left a positive impression and had a positive effect on the course of the game.”
“Given that there are several injuries at the end of the season, it was very good that we were able to make good substitutions with strong players who could do what was needed in certain areas of the pitch in the second half, especially in the last 15 minutes, to provoke the opponents into penalties and secure the result we needed. In the last 5 minutes, the Livonians controlled the game in such a way that they could either score a touchdown or get a chance to take a penalty kick,” explains Neil Johnson.
“Geležinis Vilkas Vilnius, as we saw last year, are a very strong team and if we could beat them twice this year, both times at their home ground and with some of our core players missing, it shows very strongly that that RK “Livonia” is on the right track to prepare players for games of this level. We had three 18-year-old and even younger players in the Baltic Top League games, and the young Ruslan Sosnar won the player’s award. Bruno Osītis came in for a touchdown, which is excellent for a young player. Oskars Vītoliņš and Dāvids Židelis also played a great game. Therefore, this game showed that we have prepared a very good new shift,” concludes the rugby specialist.