Rugby Pforzheim with the German champions from Frankfurt without a chance – sport
Frankfurt/Pforzheim. You didn’t have to be a prophet to predict the winner of the first game of the second half of the season this year in the South/West Rugby League between the reigning German champions and runners-up SC Frankfurt 1880 and bottom of the table Rugby Pforzheim. You couldn’t expect much countable from the “Rhinos” in their away game in the Hessian metropolis, but it was a little bit disappointing that in the end in the 0:89 defeat it wasn’t even enough to score points with a penalty kick or try .
Frankfurt dominated from the start and surprised the “Rhinos” in the fourth minute with the first try. A minute later there was a yellow card (ten-minute time penalty) for a Pforzheimer and then a penalty attempt for a high tackle for the SCF. The favorites lead 14:0 after seven minutes. There were a total of seven attempts before the break whistle. Before the final whistle, Frankfurt made six more attempts in the Pforzheimer Malfeld. Attacking attempts by the Goldstadters, who were exhausted at the end, mostly failed well before the SCF goal line.
It was a one-sided game, but coach Fabian Broughton had previously said that what matters in the difficult second half of the season is the attitude of the players, their will and their commitment. The Rugby Pforzheim coach apparently does not have to worry about the combative attitude. “Whoever stuck his bones at 1880 today: Their rugby heart was in the right place!” praised an SCF fan of the Pforzheim team on social media.
“The player base is generally very thin in the second half of the season and it was clear that it would be difficult. But we fought to the end and were able to take a lot with us. Despite the clear result, we showed that we came out of the winter break with a completely different morale,” said Rugby Pforzheim spokesman Robin Häberle.
The expected clap against the reigning champion is ugly, but probably not decisive in the fight against relegation. However, there is little hope of significantly better results in the next two games against SC Neuenheim, third in the table, and against table leader TSV Handschuhsheim.
“Now it’s time to keep up the morale that we currently have and to start the final sprint towards the end of the season without injuries in order to actually turn the expected tight games into victories,” says Häberle.
With four points for a win in rugby plus the option of a bonus point, Rugby Pforzheim (9 points) can quickly gain places in the table against RC Luxembourg (7th place, 11 points), RK Heusenstamm (6th, 13) and Heidelberg RK (5th, 14th).
It could be an advantage for the “Rhinos” that Rugby Pforzheim has two home games in May in the basement duels against Heusenstamm and HRK. Until when do morale and attitude have to last if the German rugby champion of 2016 and multiple German runners-up want to make it to the Bundesliga class.